New Mexico Senators Fight For National Renewable Electricity Standard

Nov. 1, 2013
U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Mark Udall introduced a bill to establish a national Renewable Electricity Standard.

U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Udall (D-CO) last week introduced a bill to establish a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) that would create jobs, reduce pollution and save consumers money. The bill would require utilities to generate 25 percent of their power from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2025.

According to a New Mexico NPR site, Tom and Mark Udall, who are first cousins, first introduced a similar initiative in 2002 while members of the U.S. House of Representatives. They eventually built a coalition in the House and won passage of an RES amendment in 2007. Since being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008, they have continued the fight in hopes of finally passing a national RES into law.

The senators’ legislation would create the first national threshold for utilities to provide a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable resources, including wind, solar, biomass and hydrokinetic energy. The bill would set a 6 percent requirement by 2014, followed by gradual increases thereafter to meet the 25 percent by 2025 goal....Including New Mexico and Colorado, a total of 29 states and the District of Columbia, representing over half of the U.S. electricity market, already have renewable generation standards with various timelines and targets. This legislation does not pre-empt states that have stronger standards...(KRWG)

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