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Bingaman, Domenici Offer Emission Plans:
Proposals Face Vote in Senate
Jun 14 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Michael Coleman Albuquerque Journal, N.M. New Mexico's senators offered dueling proposals to slash greenhouse gas emissions Wednesday, setting up a showdown for a likely vote on the Senate floor today. Sen. Pete Domenici, the top Republican on the energy committee, introduced an alternative that would force utilities to meet a 20 percent mandate of "clean fuels" that would include nuclear and hydro power, as well as renewables like wind and solar. Domenici's plan would allow states to opt out of the requirement. The New Mexico senators introduced their competing proposals as part of the Senate's debate on a larger package of energy legislation. Bingaman said his proposal would reduce utility pollution, as well as U.S. reliance on foreign energy sources. He also said it would alleviate growing demand for natural gas and create jobs. "A strong renewable portfolio standard is an essential component of any comprehensive national energy policy -- not just an important part of such a strategy, but an essential component of such a strategy," Bingaman argued on the floor. Domenici and others, especially Republicans from the southeastern U.S., argued that the southeastern region of the country doesn't have abundant wind, which has emerged as a leading source of clean power. He said his proposal allows for utilities to tap a wider variety of clean energy sources. "The clean portfolio standard results in more clean energy produced," Domenici said. "It allows for a greater amount of technologies for a higher standard." Bingaman's bill provides for the use of clean energy sources other than wind, including geothermal, biomass and others. He argued that the southeast might not have much wind, but does have vast quantities of biomass, such as trees and shrubs. Some opponents of Bingaman's measure argued that it would cause energy prices to skyrocket, but he referred to an Energy Information Agency report that said prices overall would rise less than 1 percent. Domenici and others disagreed and said the report didn't consider regional impacts, only a national assessment. "There are questionable assumptions in its analysis," Domenici said. Bingaman and Domenici also sparred on nuclear energy. Both said they advocate the use of more nuclear power, but Bingaman said the Energy Policy Act of 2005 provided extensive incentives for nuclear power development. |