http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49528Business, farm, labor, environmental leaders and congressional members gathered on Capitol Hill this week in a last-minute push to garner support for the National renewable portfolio standard (RPS) legislation up for debate on the U.S. House of Representatives floor. The vote, however, will come down to the wire since Congress will adjourn for its August recess after Friday.
The National RPS, also referred to as a renewable electricity standard (RES), legislation requiring utilities to obtain 15 percent of the electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020—or to purchase renewable energy credits from others to help meet the 20 percent requirement—will be offered as an amendment to the House Energy package recently unveiled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Based on a stand-alone measure first introduced in the House in 2002 by Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM), and co-sponsored by Reps. Todd Platts (R. PA), the amendment has since continued gaining broad, bipartisan support. To-date, the legislation has 154 cosponsors.
Opponents of the amendment, however, have recently launched a campaign asserting that the Udall-Platts amendment would lead to higher costs for consumers, in particular in the Southeast. In fact, the cost allegations "don't stand up to scrutiny," said Gregory Wetstone, senior director for governmental and public affairs for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
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