Environmentalists Look to Dorgan for Passage of RES

Environmentalists and renewable energy advocates are looking to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to revive their hopes of passing a renewable energy standard this year.

With the apparent death of a cap on emissions from the utility sector, environmentalists and renewable energy advocates are stepping up their efforts to pass a strong RES of 25 percent by 2025. An RES would require that a certain percentage of the country’s electricity be produced from renewable sources like wind and solar.

But a scaled-down bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is slated to bring to the floor before the August recess is not expected to include an RES.

As I reported last week, Dorgan has said he wants to strengthen the RES and was planning to offer an amendment to the climate bill on the issue. But, with the news that the bill will be slimmed down to include only an oil spill response title and popular energy measures, it remains unclear if Dorgan will offer an RES amendment.

With Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) broaching the possibility that a climate bill could move after the August recess, any effort to include pass an RES may have to wait until the fall.

But one source who has been advocating for an RES says Dorgan is leading an effort to attach such a provision to Reid’s upcoming bill as an amendment. Rick Gion, a spokesperson for Dorgan, would not offer any new details on such an effort, saying, “Nothing new on this end yet.”