On the heels of a House panel’s passage of a comprehensive global-warming bill, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was close to approving a wide-ranging energy bill of its own at ENR press time. The Senate committee package, introduced by panel Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), is similar to the one the House Energy and Commerce Committee cleared on May 21, but there are some key differences.
Bingaman’s bill would require 15% of U.S. electricity to come from renewable sources by 2021. The House committee bill has a 20% standard. The Senate committee measure would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority over siting transmission lines in states that have been unable to site facilities or have denied utilities’ applications. The House version does not address that issue. The Senate panel on June 9 added an amendment to expand oil and gas drilling off the Florida coast. The House panel bill is silent on offshore drilling.