[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 28 (Friday, February 14, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S2538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Murray, and Mrs. 
        Feinstein):
  S. 421. A bill to reauthorize and revise the Renewable Energy 
Production Incentive program, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce--along with my 
colleagues Senators Smith, Murray and Feinstein--the Renewable Energy 
Production Incentive, REPI, Reform Act.
  This bill reauthorizes the REPI program, which was created as part of 
the 1992 National Energy Policy Act to foster greater renewable energy 
production and level the playing field for public power utilities, 
which do not qualify for renewable energy tax credits. The REPI program 
provides direct payments to publicly- and cooperatively-owned utilities 
at a rate of 1.5 cents/kWh, indexed for inflation, for electricity 
generated from wind, solar, certain geothermal and biomass sources.
  As some of my colleagues may recall, the Senator from Oregon and I 
introduced a very similar bill last session, which was subsequently 
included in the energy bill that passed the Senate last spring. While 
conferees were ultimately unable to reach agreement on the broader 
energy bill, reauthorizing the REPI program must remain a priority as 
we again contemplate energy legislation during the 108th Congress.
  Since this program's creation, REPI has become an important incentive 
for locally-owned, not-for-profit utilities to become involved in the 
effort to diversify our Nation's generation sources to include clean, 
sustainable sources of power. Since 1995, more than 36 projects in 17 
States have received more than $21 million in REPI incentives and 
produced more than 3,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year.
  In my home State of Washington, where 55 percent of the overall 
energy load is served by public power, the REPI program had already 
helped support wood-waste and landfill gas projects, and promises to 
help locally-owned utilities tap into our tremendous wind resources. 
Already, the hills south of Kennewick, WA are home to the Nine Canyon 
Wind project--a 48-megawatt wind farm consisting of 37 turbines--
producing enough energy to serve 12,000 households. This bill will 
provide continued support for these innovative projects.
  The Renewable Energy Production Incentive Reform Act that my 
colleagues and I have introduced today will do three simple things. It 
will: reauthorize the program for another 10 years; direct the 
Department of Energy, which runs the program, to allocate funds on a 
more equitable basis in years in which the demand for REPI dollars far 
outpaces available appropriations; and clarifies that landfill gas 
projects and tribal governments are eligible to receive REPI funding.
  One of the key challenges in developing a 21st century energy policy 
for this Nation is putting in place the proper incentives to add new 
and sustainable sources of power to the grid. My colleagues and I from 
the Northwest have learned this lesson well over the past few years, 
during which prolonged droughts have stretched to the limit the 
hydroelectric system that has--since the 1930s--formed the basis for 
our region's economic growth. The new clean energy projects the REPI 
program supports help relieve some of the stress on our hydro system 
and position my state and region for the next cycle of innovation in 
energy technology.
  I look forward to working with my cosponsors during this session to 
ensure this small but important program is reauthorized--whether as 
stand-alone legislation or part of a broader energy bill. I believe we 
as a Nation now stand on the cusp of a revolution in clean energy 
technology. The Renewable Energy Production Incentive program is key in 
helping public power systems participate, as we work to put in place an 
energy policy that will meet the needs of our 21st Century economy.
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