Daniel J. Weiss on a renewable electricity standard

What is a renewable electricity standard?

A renewable electricity standard requires utilities to generate a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable energy sources such as the wind, the sun, the earth, and other sources. The American Clean Energy and Security Act would require utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from the wind and the sun. It would also require that they reduce energy use among their customers by 5 percent. In other words, utilities would have to invest in energy efficiency, which would save their ratepayers money.

How would it help our economy and our environment?

A renewable electricity standard would increase investments in the clean energy of the future: wind, energy, geothermal. These are the energy technologies that the U.S. used to be leaders on, but now are being led by China, Germany, and Japan. What these investments would do is to help us develop and use these technologies. They'll save ratepayers money, they'll reduce pollution, and they'll create jobs. Its estimated that the renewable electricity standard in the various states have created thousands of jobs: making steel for wind turbines, in construction, putting solar panels on roofs of buildings, and other good-paying jobs that can't be outsourced. So the renewable electricity standard will both create jobs, build our new clean energy economy, increase the products that we can use for foreign competition, and save money.

How difficult will it be to implement?

Renewable electricity standard will be a lot easier to implement that it will be to pass. Twenty-eight states have them so far, and half of those states actually strengthened them after they enacted them into law because they met the goal so far in advance of the deadlines. Once we require utilities to invest in clean energy, they will make rapid progress. We've seen that in every state where this program has been tried.