Renewable Electricity Promotion Act of 2010

Bill: 111-s-3813
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2010-09-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Alaska
Alternative and renewable resources
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Coal
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy efficiency and conservation
Forests, forestry, trees
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Land use and conservation
Lighting and heating
Lighting, heating, cooling
Nuclear power
Public contracts and procurement
Public utilities and utility rates
Solid waste and recycling
Water quality
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2010-09-21
text: 
Renewable Electricity Promotion Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to establish a standard that requires electric utilities to obtain an increasing percentage of their base quantity of electricity that they sell to consumers from renewable energy or energy efficiency (3% in 2012-2013, 6% in 2014-2016, 9% in 2017-2018, 12% in 2019-2020, and 15% in 2021-2039). 
 
Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a renewable energy credit trading program and an energy efficiency credit trading program, under which utilities will submit credits to comply with such standard. Provides for the issuance, duration, transfer, trading, tracking, and reporting of credits. Sets forth civil penalties for utilities that fail to meet such requirements.
 
Allows the Secretary to delegate to: (1) a market-making entity the administration of a national renewable energy credit market and a national energy efficiency credit market to create a transparent national market for the sale or trade of such credits, and (2) regional entities the tracking of dispatch of renewable energy generation;.
 
Authorizes: (1) a state public utility commission or electric utility to request a variance from such renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements, and (2) a utility to meet such requirements by submitting alternative compliance payments.
 
Allows: (1) a governor to expend amounts in a state renewable energy escrow account solely for increasing the quantity of electric energy produced from a renewable energy source in the state, promoting deployment and use of electric drive vehicles in the state, and offsetting the costs of carrying out this Act paid by consumers in the state through direct grants to electric consumers or energy efficiency investments; and (2) states to adopt or enforce laws concerning renewable energy or energy efficiency or the regulation of electric utilities.
 
Exempts from renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements an electric utility that sold less than 4 million megawatt hours of electric energy to electric consumers during the preceding year or that is located in Hawaii.
 
 
Requires the Secretary, when petitioned by the governor of a state or the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the case of TVA's power service area, to allow up to 26.67% of the renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements associated with the sales of electricity of a utility to be met by submitting federal energy efficiency credits.
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary to promulgate regulations regarding the measurement and verification of electricity savings; and (2) the increment of electricity output of a new combined heat and power system that is attributable to the higher efficiency of the combined system to be considered electricity savings.
 
Requires the Secretary to make loans available to electric utilities to: (1) construct a renewable energy generation facility; and (2) install an energy efficiency or electricity demand reduction technology. 
 
Terminates the authority provided by this Act on December 31, 2039.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-09-22
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 576.
action_date: 2010-09-21
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2010-09-21
text: Introduced in Senate