Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) introduced the watered down National Renewable Energy Portfolio (RPS) amendment yesterday, which included clean coal and nuclear, and it was voted down in the Senate, 56-29.
As we reported yesterday, Domenici introduced the amendment as an alternative to Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), RPS amendment, which calls for 15% of electricity generated in the U.S. to come from renewables by 2020.
Domenici’s amendment raised the RPS to 20%, but allowed states to achieve it through clean coal and nuclear, because southern states claim that it will otherwise be too difficult and costly for them to meet.
“The Clean Portfolio Standard I have introduced is a better way to promote clean energy technology. Our CPS would bring more states into the clean energy fold, while not resulting in massive cost increases for consumers like a narrow RPS proposal would. And CPS would actually result in lower emissions, since it sets a 20 percent standard for clean energy technology.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, among many other industry experts disagreed with his approach, which would greatly reduce the amount of solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and tidal energy used.
They point to the huge subsidies needed for nuclear and the fact that clean coal technologies are at least 10 years away from commercialization.
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