How to Shape the Clean Energy Future of the United States

CAP’s Response to the “White Paper on a Clean Energy Standard”

SOURCE: AP/Susan Montoya Bryan

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, right, tours a new 2-megawatt photovoltaic solar array unveiled by Public Service Company of New Mexico on April 20, 2011. The array is one of five being constructed this year by the utility to help meet state renewable energy requirements. A similar clean energy standard for the United States would boost demand for clean energy products.

By Richard W. Caperton, Kate Gordon , Bracken Hendricks, Daniel J. Weiss | April 25, 2011

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Download CAP's submission to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on a Clean Energy Standard (pdf)

Read the white paper in your web browser

The United States is at risk of being left in the dust in the clean energy race. But we can catch up. A Clean Energy Standard, or CES, which mandates that electric utilities generate a certain percentage of their power from clean energy sources, is an essential first step.

The global market for efficient and renewable energy technologies is expected to reach at least $2 trillion by the end of this decade. China and the European Union, and especially Germany, are clamoring to lead this clean energy race. These countries have set clear goals for renewable energy and energy efficiency use, along with carbon emission targets and investment strategies to promote clean technology development for export markets.

China, for instance, just released its 12th five-year plan, which mandates massive deployment of solar power in villages, a 17 percent reduction in greenhouse gas intensity, and a 16 percent reduction in the energy intensity of their economy. China also invests an estimated $12 billion per month into its clean tech sector.

With the right policy tools we have the innovative strength and drive to lead the clean energy future. To do so we must increase market demand for clean energy products, help move public and private financing into clean tech industries, and create the necessary infrastructure to move these new energy resources to market.

Countries abroad—and states within our own nation—that have adopted renewable or clean energy standards demonstrate that a CES is an incredibly powerful tool to boost domestic demand for clean energy products. This in turn provides certainty for those who invent, manufacture, and install those products, and helps to grow a strong national clean energy industry.

President Barack Obama put a CES proposal on the table in his most recent State of the Union address. He proposed that electric utilities be required to generate 80 percent of their power from clean sources—including renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear power, and natural gas— by 2035. The Center for American Progress immediately offered a similar, but more detailed, proposal: one that is guaranteed to generate demand for renewable technologies such as wind and solar power by including a provision requiring that 35 percent of the CES be met by renewable technologies and energy efficiency.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is exploring proposals to craft a strong and effective CES. Committee chair Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Ranking Republican Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) recently released a white paper seeking comment on a wide range of questions about how to design the most effective CES for the nation. The questions were designed to engage advocates and industry in the initial design of this policy and to show the committee’s strong interest in developing a standard that actually works for a variety of regions and industries across the nation.

The Center for American Progress was pleased to respond to the white paper and share our proposal for a CES designed to put the United States on a path toward clean energy leadership. Our responses were guided by proposals that we have developed over the previous year as well as principles that we feel are central to any clean energy policy development.

We believe that for a clean energy standard to be successful it must meet the following core principles:

• Generate new, long-lasting jobs and grow the economy
• Effectively spur development, production, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies
• Account for regional diversity in resources and electricity markets
• Be simple and transparent, and minimize costs
• Provide a floor, not a ceiling, for clean energy, strengthening and building on existing state leadership

We commend the committee on its approach to the policy design process and are excited about the prospects for this policy moving forward. The Senate has the opportunity to develop a no-cost, high-impact policy tool that will jumpstart the transformation to a clean energy economy. We hope they will seize that opportunity and provide a key catalyst to move America toward climate stability, energy security, and sustainable economic growth.

Download CAP's submission to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on a Clean Energy Standard (pdf)

Read the white paper in your web browser

Richard W. Caperton is a Senior Policy Analyst, Kate Gordon is Vice President for Energy Policy, and Bracken Hendricks and Daniel J. Weiss are Senior Fellows at American Progress.