“Enhanced geothermal systems have the potential to be the world’s only ever-present form of baseload renewable energy,” said Deparment of Energy Acting Assistant Secretary Katharine Fredriksen.

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Bernie Karl is all about renewable energy. Proprietor of Chena Hot Springs Resort, located 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks and 33 miles off the grid, Bernie acquired the ramshackle resort in 1998 from the state of Alaska. From the very beginning Bernie’s vision was to run his operation using only the abundant thermal energy of the surrounding hot springs.

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If you happened to be in Chena, Alaska last weekend, you may have attended the third annual Chena Renewable Energy Fair, chowed on some hot dogs barbecued on the hydrogen-powered grill, toured the the geothermal power plant, or visited the Aurora Ice Museum that’s kept cool in the summer using the patented absorption chiller.

Bernie Karl is all about renewable energy. Proprietor of Chena Hot Springs Resort, located 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks and 33 miles off the grid, Bernie acquired the ramshackle resort in 1998 from the state of Alaska. From the very beginning Bernie’s vision was to run his operation using only the abundant thermal energy of the surrounding hot springs.

Despite having more geothermal resources than any other state in the country, Alaska hadn’t developed any of those resources until Bernie’s geothermal power plant came online in 2006. Developed in partnership with United Technologies Corporation, the patented power plant is the lowest temperature geothermal resource used for commercial power production in the world. A step many hope will spur development for low cost geothermal development throughout Alaska and the world.

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And it looks like Google made a wise investment choice. According to an MIT report on EGS, only 2% of the heat beneath the continental US between 3 and 10 kilometers (depths we can reach with current technology) is more than 2,500 the annual energy use of the United States.

While traditional geothermal energy relies on finding natural pockets of hot water and steam, EGS fractures the hot rock, circulates water in its system, and uses the steam created from the process to create electricity in a turbine.

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Since Klamath Falls, the home of Oregon Tech, sits near a fault line, heat and energy can be easily taken out of the earth.

And Oregon Tech isn’t the only institution to take advantage of the abundant geothermal energy in the area.

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Ooooh… I can hear the flamers’ keys clicking away furiously already. But, before you type that horribly thought out gunslinging response, hear me out.

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We get into quite a bit of detail below, but before you get into that here’s a very quick summary of geothermal heat pumps:

• Geothermal (or ground source) heat pumps can be incredibly efficient, delivering 3-6x as much energy for heating and cooling as you use to power the equipment;
• They are in some ways a renewable energy system, since they use the heat contained in the earth to provide heating / cooling;
• They do require extensive installation work, including excavation or drilling to install subsurface pipes; and
• They are more expensive than traditional heating/cooling equipment, but the payback period is less than five years almost everywhere in the country due to their greater efficiency.

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Great Balls of Geothermal Fire!

Everyone knows that volcanoes have plenty of heat to spare, and normally we prefer that they keep it to themselves. Now, with energy prices rising, some communities are starting to reconsider their rumbling neighbors.

Geothermal energy relies on heat and water beneath the earth’s crust. Together they can create steam to turn a turbine. The trick is access: most of the earth’s heat is located miles beneath the crust. Even active volcanoes can hide their volitile energy under very hard igneous rock. Young volcanoes can have shallow magma reservoirs and sometimes they still have softer earthen crust. Just add water into this situation and you have potent potential for geothermal energy.

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New legislation in Germany is making geothermal electricity a viable option for the first time. Germany’s support of solar energy, mostly in the form of incentives and high return for consumers who sell excess solar power back to the grid, has made it a world powerhouse in solar energy generation and solar panel manufacturing. Now it promises to surge ahead in geothermal electricity generation, according to a story in Renewable Energy World. A new tariff structure has made deep drilling for higher temperature steam financially feasible, causing a boom in plant construction and a shortage of drilling equipment.

“… Germany could be generating several thousands of megawatts (MW) of electricity from geothermal sources in a couple of decades. More plants — some as big as 8-10 MW — are due to go into operation in 2009-2010 …. And looking 3 to 5 years ahead, there could be more than a hundred plants. About 150 geothermal power plant projects are in the pipeline representing an investment of 4 billion euros, according to the German government.” — Jane Burgermeister, Renewable Energy World

1,300 households get heat, and 500 households get their electricity from a geothermal plant in Neustadt-Glewe, which gets 97-degree centigrade water from a well dug 2250 meters deep.  Image credit: Exorka.com

Editor’s note: While we’ve discussed home geothermal systems a number of times around the Green Options Media network (see the list at the bottom), we’re glad to bring you today’s post from GreenBuildingTalk on the subject. They not only provide an overview of the technology, but point you to some cutting-edge models of geothermal heat pumps. This post was originally published on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

With energy costs on the rise, homeowners are looking for ways to offset higher bills. Geothermal heat pumps are one of the best options, as they currently offer the highest efficiencies of any heating and cooling system available today. A study by MIT emphasizes the potential for geothermal, and manufacturers are offering more options for consumers. While at the Midwest Builders show, I stopped by ClimateMaster and WaterFurnace booths to learn more about their newest offerings. Before diving into the respective systems, let’s review the three main components of a geothermal system; the heat-pump unit, the liquid heat-exchange medium (open or closed loop), and the air-delivery system (ductwork).

The heat pump simply moves heat energy from one place to another, just like your refrigerator or air conditioner. But a major difference is that air conditioners and refrigerators transfer heat in only one direction, while a heat pump can transfer heat in two directions, thereby heating or cooling the space. In the cooling mode, the geothermal heat pump takes heat from indoors and transfers it to the colder earth through either groundwater or an underground earth loop system. In the heating mode, the process is reversed.

The buried pipe, or earth loop, is the most important technical advancement in heat pump technology to date. The idea to bury pipe in the ground to gather heat energy began in the 1940s. But it’s only been in the last twenty-five years that new heat pump designs and more durable pipe materials have been combined to make geothermal heat pumps the ultimate in efficiency. The two main types of loops available are open and closed. An open loop system is less expensive to install, but over time could require more maintenance. A closed loop system is more expensive up front, but requires almost no maintenance. As manufacturers phase out R-22 (HCFC) refrigerant, there have been more environmentally friendly liquid mediums brought into the marketplace to use in your system. The most common antifreeze solutions in the U.S. and Canada are propylene glycol, methyl alcohol, and ethyl alcohol.

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This week, from March 3-10, we’ll be examining renewable energy around the world.

African American community leader Bertha Calloway once said, “we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”

Likewise, we cannot direct the sun, the tides, or ground energy; and these are only a few of the many options for clean, renewable energy.

However, by adjusting our sails we can benefit from energy from all of these untamable forces of nature.

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Especially in the North American west, the geothermal resource is quite accessible. Now there are essentially two kinds of (residential) geothermal and I will not go too far into the details other than to say that one kind only needs to dig down 6-12 feet to tap the earth’s stored temperature. The other kind may take hundreds of feet of drilling but taps into a much hotter source. (There are also utility-scale geothermal facilities that are being developed in places where the source cannot be ignored, because hot waters bubble all the way up to the surface. Iceland, for example, gets 26% of its energy from geothermal and they get their remaining energy from hydro).

Whether you desire to buy trees to help the environment for personal reasons, for investment purposes or you simply refer others to buy trees through our Affiliate Program,  PanAm BioFuels has made the process so simple that everyone can find a way to participate in it.

1) Purchase Trees for Investment

Jatropha trees can be bought directly from Pan-Am Biofuels for only $4 each in lots ranging from 250 trees for $1000 to 25,000 trees for $100,000.  Though delivery is possible for larger volumes, we will believe most people will take advantage of our Contract Farming Program where we will actually plant your trees on our plantations. 

With our Contract Farming Program we do all the work from planting to harvest to sale of the oil.  The only fee for all of this is a 10% fee from profits.  Then 90% of the profits are passed on to you, the tree owner.  All you have to do is purchase your trees in lots for only $4/each.

If you have priced trees at your local nursery you will see most prices range from $10 to $25. So now you may be thinking…

"How can you produce, plant and sell these trees at only $4 each?"

There are several reasons, including, but not limited to,

• Because the cost of living as well as labor is much cheaper in Central America where our nurseries are located.
• The efficiencies and economies of scale we enjoy by the huge volume of trees our nursery outputs allow us to save a tremendous amount of money passing the savings on to you.
• Our nursery is in close proximity to our Jatropha Tree plantation in Costa Rica where our Contract Farming Program is being implemented so there are minimal transportation expenses.

"So how much money do I stand to earn by buying your Jatropha Trees? What is the return on my investment?" 

Your trees can potentially bring  as much as 45% PER YEAR calculated  from your original investment once the trees start producing within 3-4 years.   Jatropha trees start bearing seeds the second year and reach maximum production at about 4 years.  You can review the full details and Financial Projections once you register and login.

Pan-Am Biofuels has truly created a unique situation and opportunity for the average person to take advantage of.

Now you can participate in an industry that has produced the wealthiest individuals and corporations in the world. The only difference is, instead of drilling for oil and destroying the environment, you will be growing oil and restoring the environment by owning oil producing Jatrpha Trees

2) Sell trees for Commissions as an Affiliate

We will pay you to refer customers! Pan-Am Biofuels has created a lucrative opportunity for webmasters,  business owners and individuals alike. By becoming an Affiliate you can help promote our Jatropha tree project, earn commissions and at the same time you’ll be doing your part to better our environment.  Learn more about how our Affiliate Program works.

One of the latest trends in homebuilding is the creation of entire neighborhoods or communities of green, energy-efficient homes. The premise behind these energy-efficient communities, which are springing up all over the country, is simple: there’s power in numbers – or, rather, a greater opportunity to reduce energy consumption and improve resource management when dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of homes in a neighborhood incorporate eco-friendly building materials, renewable energy sources and energy-efficient lighting, appliances and heating and cooling systems.

Many of these communities are so new that ground has barely been broken, or at most a few homes have been built. Depending on their location, they focus on different factors and use different approaches to conserve energy. But they all have a common goal – to create communities that are not only green and efficient but livable as well, often by encouraging walking rather than driving, and locating parks, common areas, shops and offices right in the neighborhoods.

To get a feel for the diversity of these innovative communities, we focused on four located in different regions of the country: Withers Preserve in South Carolina, Mountainside Village in Idaho, The Farm West of Krum in Texas and Avignon in California.

Withers Preserve
Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Myrtle Beach has long been known for its greens – golf greens, that is (the coastal city is home to nearly 100 golf courses) – but not so much for greenbuilding. That’s about the change, however, with the construction of Withers Preserve, an energy-efficient community that has partnered with GE’s new Ecomagination Homebuilder Program.

Read the entire Withers Preserve overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• Ecomagination initiative standards
• recycled Air Force base
• renewable sources of energy
• solar power efficiency
• stormwater collection system

Mountainside Village
Victor, Idaho

Nestled in southeastern Idaho in the shadow of the Teton mountain range and just across the state line from Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyo., is Mountainside Village, a new environmentally conscious community. Much like Withers Preserve in several respects, the community is designed to discourage the use of cars and promote walking, biking, hiking and the like.

Read the entire Mountainside Village overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• protected solar access
• windows that harvest the suns energy
• U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED-H
• storm-water harvesting
• Energy Star lighting package

The Farm West of Krum
Krum, Texas

Located 36 miles northwest of Dallas, The Farm West of Krum is a development of 20 homes that combine luxury living with energy efficiency as well as health and safety features. Among those safety features is a storm-safe/fire-safe room located in the master closet of every home.

Read the entire Farm West overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• insulated concrete forms
• roof-mounted wind turbines
• geothermal heating and cooling
• Trane CleanEffects HVAC system

Avignon
Pleasanton, Calif.

Energy efficiency is going mainstream in Avignon, a neighborhood of 30 homes in Pleasanton, Calif., about 25 miles east of Oakland. The homes, built by Dallas-based Centex, range in size from 3,671 to 4,035 square feet, and each is designed to save energy and utilize green products.

Read the entire Avignon overview at:
http://www.smart-homeowner.com/articles/9769/1

Features:

• Build It Green’s "Green Point Rated" program
• sustainable lumber
• CertainTeed’s Optima blow-in fiberglass
• PowerLight photovoltaic system
• Rinnai Tankless water heater

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Census was published by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi-public agency that runs a renewable energy trust fund of green power projects. The study found that clean energy industry had a 26 percent increase in jobs and now accounts for more than 14,000 jobs in the state. Those jobs are expected to grow three times faster than any other major industry, adding about 3,000 jobs in 2007. The next biggest increase was in the scientific, technical, and management services sector with an increase of 5.4 percent.

Three hundred and two companies, government agencies, and university research centers responded to the survey. Those in the renewable energy category said they will increase staff by an average of 30 percent in the next 12 months, while the energy efficiency sector will add an average of 25 percent more employees.

High fossil fuels costs and venture capital funding are contributing to the strong clean energy performance, as well as politicians and a public wanting action on global warming emissions.

However, the report also points out that the industry is still very young: of the 255 companies surveyed, 103 had annual revenues of less than $1 million. Most companies focus on selling their products to other companies within New England to speed up sales cycles. But this may result in limited growth if companies are passing up opportunities in faster growing and larger markets.

Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi agreed last month that by 2010, Massachusetts should offset all of its growth in electricity demand with increased efficiency.

The survey defined “renewable energy” as including solar power, biofuels, wind power, wave systems, solar-assisted fuel cells, and all fuel cell companies, although the study recognizes that fuel cell production may be powered by fossil fuels.

Business Journals
Climate Ark
Massachusetts Clean Energy Census

Editor’s note: We had a technical glitch earlier this week, and some posts got published before they were supposed to.  Gavin’s was one of them — by the time we’d discovered it, though, it had already gotten out to several social bookmarking sites.  We didn’t, however, want it buried immediately… 

Clean, renewable energy is sweeping the country like a wave, and now
for the individual consumer, it’s “surf’s up!” Power your home with
100% renewable energy for only a few dollars a month through your existing energy supplier.

This month, for the first time, I can’t wait to pay my energy bill. I’ll be looking for a small charge on the bill that indicates that all of my household’s energy has come from renewable sources. Want to be as excited about your energy bill? For many people, supplying renewable energy to their home is as easy as calling their current electrical service provider.

If you live in the U.S., visit the Green Power Network on the U.S. Dept. of Energy website for a state-by-state list of the electrical power companies that give their customers the option of choosing renewables. Whether you get “Climate Smart” with West Coast provider, PG&E, or “Harvest the Wind” in the heartland of the country, you will be excited to find that clean, renewable energy is a reality for you, your friends and your family.

How does it work?

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. If putting solar PV panels on your home and enjoying an energy-bill-free future isn’t an option, why not build solar, wind, and geothermal energy farms in your state? Many local electrical companies offer the choice to pay a nominal fee (usually 1-3¢/kWh), which goes toward building and supplying a renewable energy infrastructure. This is the best thing since Ben met Jerry! Just find your state on this map to see if your current electrical service provider offers this option.

But isn’t renewable energy cheaper than non-renewable energy? Why does this cost a couple dollars more each month? The costs of coal (the widely-used alternative to renewables) are spread out in several directions: in the massive energy needed to transport and burn the coal, in medical expenses from lung and heart health, in the environmental costs of strip mining, mountain-top removal and acid rain, in the associated costs of Climate Change, in the cost of air visibility due to smog, etc. The costs of renewables: simply build and maintain the equipment and you have yourself clean, cheap energy for all. Your few dollars a month goes into building and maintaining a growing network of renewable energy sources that hold the promise of ridding us of dirty coal once and for all.

What if your energy provider doesn’t offer renewables yet?

If your energy company’s renewables program isn’t available just yet, hang tight. Give them a call to ask what steps they are making to bring renewable energy to you. In the meantime, you can feel just as good about buying renewable energy from a nation-wide energy provider. Click here to find certified national providers of clean energy. Or, simply march down to Whole Foods (which already uses 100% renewable energy in its stores) and buy a Wind Power Card for $5, $10, or $15. These are just a few of the options that will effortlessly turn your home into a shining icon of green.

You can also check out which cities are buying large amounts of renewable energy here. Contact your city government and tell them how important it is to you to green your public buildings with clean energy.

Want renewable energy outside the U.S.?

There are many renewable energy providers spread across the world. First try contacting your electrical provider or government energy department to learn about renewable energy programs. You can also find out how to support the development of renewables in your area of the world by contacting the regional or national government and asking what steps you can take. It could be that a percentage of your taxes already pays for the equivalent of your home’s renewable energy.

Otherwise, you can simply offset the energy you use by purchasing that much renewable energy. This is an excellent way to increase demand for renewable energy worldwide and make our global society a little greener. You may even wish to become a partner in a local renewable energy co-op, like Ontario, Canada’s WindShare.

So bring your friends and family and join in the Renewables Revolution. It’s an easy way to become a part of one of the most exciting movements in human history: the development of a truly sustainable society.

References and Resources:

If you liked this post, also check out: “Buy Renewable Energy for Yourself” by Maria Surma Manka and “Real Renewable Energy vs. Renewable Energy Credits” by Philip Proefrock.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/leannz0r/473974362/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/31824130@N00/206532437/

Today the U.S. House is likely to vote on the Udall-Platts Amendment to the energy bill. This legislation would require 15 percent of our nation’s electricity to come from renewable sources by the year 2020. It’s high time the federal government catch up to so many states that already have implemented 21st century policies like this one.

But in addition to broad state and federal programs, consumers can also do some renewable energy good for themselves, even if they don’t own a wind turbine or live in a sunny area. They can buy green power.

“Green power” is a term for clean, renewable energy. More than 600 utilities in 36 states give their customers the option to buy their power from renewable energy sources (depending on the state, they normally include solar power, wind, biomass, hydropower, or geothermal) rather than traditional ones (likely to be coal). Although the transmission system can’t guarantee that particular energy from a wind farm makes it to your refrigerator, the total amount of green electricity that travels over the entire system is increased because (ideally) the utility is taking all of the extra revenue and investing in more renewable energy sources.

My fellow blogger Philip Proefrock just covered a green power program he is considering in his homestate of Michigan. Green power programs do vary, whether it’s the location from which the renewable energy is coming (in state or out of state) or the source (I know of one municipal provider that promotes destructive Canadian hydropower as an eco-friendly option, so make sure you know where the energy is coming from).

Here in Minnesota, I purchase wind power through Xcel Energy’s Windsource program. The initial cost is a little more than $3.50 per 100 kWh block, but I also get a credit on my bill for the avoided fuel costs of conventional (i.e. coal) power. The credit varies each month, but my cost last month was less than $11. Windsource was also audited by the Green-e program to ensure that ratepayers’ money is going to build new renewable energy sources, and it passed with flying colors: Windsource funds the costs associated with Xcel purchasing wind power from private owners of wind turbines and new wind generation facilities across the state, so I feel good about my investment.

Find out whether you can buy green power in your state at the U.S. Department of Energy. If you can’t buy green power locally, consider investing in renewable energy credits (RECs) to offset your emissions.

Sierra Club, North Star Chapter
Union of Concerned Scientists
Xcel Energy

Global warming concerns, government policies, and money-saving efficiency benefits have spurred clean energy systems to spring up all over the world. But a giant wind farm in the middle-of-nowhere North Dakota doesn’t do much good if there aren’t transmission lines to connect the power with the more populated areas that need it.

Europeans are facing similar distribution and reliability issues with their burgeoning renewable energy growth, and some see a continent-wide grid as the solution. Dr. Jurgen Schimd of ISET, a renewable-energy institute at the University of Kassel in Germany, says a transmission system that stretches across Europe is the answer. It could, for example, move electricity generated from a Spanish wind farm to the Netherlands where the wind is not blowing.

Norway is key to Dr. Schmid’s plans, as the Scandinavian nation is well-supplied with hydroelectric plants that can store energy from sources like the wind. For instance, the wind power is used to pump water up into the reservoirs that feed the hydroelectric turbines, so the power is “on tap” when needed. According to Dr. Schmid, even if the wind died and wind farms shut down all across Europe, Norway’s hydropower would leap to action and fill in the gap for up to four weeks.

This continent-wide transmission system for renewable energy has also sparked a renewed interest in direct current (DC). Over 100 years ago, when power grids covered shorter distances, alternating current (AC) transmission was favored because it loses less electricity than DC. However, as transmission lines have grown longer, high-voltage DC lines now suffer lower loses than AC. So using a DC transmission system would allow electric grids to be restructured more efficiently, losing less energy while transmitting it from Point A to Point B.

Some nations have already started work on a DC transmission system. A group of Norgwegian companies have begun building high-voltage DC lines between Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and Germany. An Irish wind power company called Airtricity proposes what it calls a Supergrid that would link offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean with customers in northern Europe.

The electric grid in the U.S. is in sore need of an upgrade, and we should consider ideas that utilize the different forms of renewable energy abundant across the country (like hydroelectric in the Northeast, wind in the Midwest, solar in the Southwest). It’s a combination of these renewable sources – along with crucial upgrades in efficiency – that will provide a clean, reliable network of distribution in the 21st century.

Thanks to Working Dad at Housekept for the tip.

The Economist
Wikipedia

In southeast Michigan, the local electricity company is DTE Energy. Although it has (or had) a number of business units exploring all manner of alternative energy production, DTE has been relatively resistive to including any renewable energy in its portfolio. Despite consumer demand for green energy, DTE has no plans to construct anything, and has been very resistive to connecting alternative producers to its grid. (This is the same company that fought against connecting a wind turbine installed at a local middle school from connecting to the grid.)

Looking at the renewable energy credit (REC) program that DTE is offering, there isn’t much to it. DTE is offering now has two options for residential customers. One is a premium of 2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) on all electricity used. The other is to buy RECs in blocks of 100 kWh for $2.50 each (2.5 cents per kWh). These are supposed to come from in-state sources, to the greatest extent possible, but DTE has argued that there aren’t many in-state sources available to them.

Michigan’s Pubic Service Commission "Opinion and Order" (PDF) regarding DTE’s program recognizes the comments and criticism about the program and how much (or how little) it will do to encourage the development of renewable energy production in the state of Michigan.

"The primary criticism of the RRP made in the comments centers on the issue of whether and how much the proposed program will encourage development of in-state or in-service-territory renewable resources. Some of the commenters are of the opinion that procuring RECs alone will not prove sufficient to support the development of in-state renewable resources. Other commenters criticize the company’s proposal because Detroit Edison’s only responsibility will be to act as a broker that buys RECs at one price and sells them at a higher price."

The order from MPSC specifically disallows DTE from providing some out-of-state RECs, and has tried to steer the program toward emphasizing in-state energy production as much as possible. A presentation on the Ann Arbor (MI) website notes that "Importing Energy Means Exporting $$$" and goes on to add that 100% of the coal, 96% of the oil, and 75% of the natural gas used in the state is imported. This amounts to an annual outflow of $18 billion from the state. And this is exactly why Michigan (and the rest of the country, too) needs to develop local, renewable energy resources.

As tepid as the DTE program may seem, it’s the only program that I’m aware of that specifically includes funding development of alternative sources of energy in the state of Michigan. On the positive side, some fraction of the proceeds of the REC program will go toward development of in-state renewable energy. And participation in the program serves to indicate consumer interest in the program and a willingness ot pay a premium for green power.

On the downside, this is a company that has demonstrated very little interest in providing green energy for its customers. I’m not sure how much of an effect my participation in the DTE program is going to have towards actual new development. If I want to buy RECs, there are lots of providers around, and many of them are probably competitive with DTE’s rates. The REC program being offered by DTE is unlikely to do much on its own to spur the development of additional in-state sources of renewable energy.

On the other hand, a renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) would mandate that a certain percentage of a utility’s power come from renewable sources. But that’s a whole further step, and something that some states have, but which the state of Michigan still lacks.

Right now, I’m not signed up with the new DTE program, and I’m not hurrying to do so. Once the portfolio of providers is available, I’ll re-evaluate. And in the meantime, I’m looking for another REC provider that supports renewable energy in-state.

A renewable portfolio standard – also called a renewable energy standard – is a measure requiring utilities to get a certain amount of their power from renewable sources by a particular time.

Last month in the Senate, Senator Jeff Bingaman’s (D-NM) RPS amendment to the energy bill was killed before a vote could be held. Although the current House version of the energy bill does not have an RPS provision, Representatives Tom Udall (D-NM) and Todd Platts (R-PA) are expected to offer an amendment requiring utilities to get 20 percent of their energy from renewables by 2020. This amendment is based on H.R. 969, which calls for an RPS and is also authored by Udall and Platts. (Make sure your Representative is one of the 120 co-sponsors here).

In her meeting with wind power supporters, Pelosi underscored the critical role an RPS would play in moving the nation towards global warming solutions.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a 20 percent by 2020 RPS would save consumers nearly $11 billion on energy bills by 2030 and save nearly 2 billion short tons of coal from being burned up into the atmosphere. Similarly, the American Solar Energy Society found that an RPS could help create nearly 40 million new jobs in the U.S. by 2030 in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors.

It’s Getting Hot in Here
Union of Concerned Scientists
Wind Energy Weekly