Battle Continues over USA Energy Bill – What is ‘Renewable’?
After months of wrangling between themselves and the auto industry, it seems USA Congress just can’t reach an agreement over its proposed Energy Bill. Happily, though, the centrepiece was agreed this weekend and it is the first meaningful increase in fuel efficiency standards for cars, light trucks, SUVs and minivans in the USA for over 30 years. The provision raises average fuel economy standards from 25 to 35 miles/gallon by 2020, thus saving 1.1 million barrels of oil a day (equating to half of current imports from the Persian Gulf).
Not everyone is happy about the Bill, however. The utility and oil industries - Washington’s most powerful lobbyists - are firmly holding out against a measure requiring them to obtain at least 15% of their electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar power. Some have said it will cause a dramatic increase in power prices in some areas of the country and that it will slow economic output by 4% by 2030.
I worry more about the definition of the word ‘renewable’ and the danger of having a federal renewable energy standard based on a politically determined definition of that word. Is a municipal waste burning plant renewable, for example? Or a power plant that burns timber waste? Both of these are counted by the Energy Information Administration as renewable. My view is that their environmental benefits are questionable and a definition of what is a renewable source of alternative energy should be debated and determined outside of politics.
What do you think?
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