Energy futureSenate passes energy bill; mixed news for alternative energy

The U.S. Senate last Thursday passed an energy bill which lacked many alternative energy measures which are included in the House’s version. This may avoid a presidential veto but it is missing an opportunity to boost the role of renewables in the country, according to alternative energy advocates. “This shows that there is no overarching commitment to renewable energy at the federal level,” said Clint Wilder, editor for clean tech research firm Clean Edge. “It has become another pawn in a chess game.” The Senate dropped a $21 billion package of tax breaks for alternative energy, which would have been paid for mostly by repealing tax breaks for big oil. The Senate’s version also left out the renewable portfolio standard, which called for 15 percent of electricity generation to come from renewable sources by 2020. Wilder said there would now be less incentive for investment in the wind and solar industries. He said wind in particular needs the tax credits to make it viable.

The current federal tax credits for wind and solar expire in 2008. Investors become reluctant without long-term guarantees of these credits, said John Stanton, VP for governmental affairs at the Washington, D.C.-based Solar Energy Industries Association. Stanton said the solar industry would go back to Congress early next year for an extension. The Senate’s version is not all bad for proponents of alternative energy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The bill calls for the first increase in auto fuel efficiency in more than thirty years, forcing car companies to raise their fleet average to 35 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks by 2020, from an average today of 25. The bill also expands the renewable fuels standard by requiring that 36 billion gallons of biofuel per year be used by 2022, up from 7.5 billion by 2025 in place today. Biofuel advocates were particularly happy with the requirement that 21 billion gallons of that goal come from advanced biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol. “This bill moves ethanol and renewable fuels beyond being just a blending component in Gasoline,” said Bob Dinneen, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Renewable Fuels Association. “It guarantees that sufficient volumes of ethanol will be available to support the meaningful expansion of E85 and flexible fuel vehicle technology.”

The bill, which passed by a vote of 85-12, will go back to the House for approval and then to the president to be signed into law. The White House issued a statement saying it would accept the bill.