Energy Bill Could Pass, While Broader Climate Bill Remains Stalled

Energy legislation that would require utilities to increase their use of renewable power by up to 15 percent by 2021 and that would give FERC the authority to settle transmission line disputes among states could have a better chance of being passed by Congress than the broad climate-change legislation currently stalled in the Senate, the Des Moines Register reported. The energy bill already has been passed by a Senate committee with bipartisan support, indicating that it could be easier to get through Congress than the broader climate legislation, according to energy industry lobbyists.

Nathaniel Baer, an energy specialist with the Iowa Environmental Council, said the energy bill did not sufficiently reduce CO2 emissions, a move needed in order to create a long-term market for alternative energy. He was quoted as saying: "We need a comprehensive piece of legislation that creates that long-term certainty that this is where the U.S. is headed for decades."