The National Energy Policy Institute (NEPI) submitted a response to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Clean Energy Standard (CES) White Paper.
NEPI’s response highlighted an approach to the CES that would require a change of electrical generation to fuels and technologies that emit fewer carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than conventional pulverized coal plants. The NEPI CES is unique in that it does not require that certain fuels get a predetermined percent of usage nor does it exclude any type of fuel. Most other CES proposals do not reward the generalized use of lower carbon fuels; they also do not give incentives for using the cleanest technology in utilization of a particular fuel. The NEPI CES allows utilities to choose the most economical investments in fuel choice and technology, so long as the necessary number of clean energy credits is earned. Capable of large-scale emission reductions at least-cost price, the NEPI CES is the most effective and efficient use of a portfolio standard to reduce CO2 emissions.
The complete NEPI response is available here.
The Senate Committee’s White Paper is available at http://energy.senate.gov/public/_files/CESWhitePaper.pdf.
