[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 87 (Thursday, June 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H6594-H6595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPORTING A SOLAR CARVE-OUT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Giffords) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. GIFFORDS. Mr. Speaker, our Nation today is facing many great 
challenges, but there are three in particular that specifically I think 
are of great concern to the American people: Achieving energy 
independence, addressing climate change and stimulating our economy. 
These are all significant challenges, but they also present great 
opportunities. As we confront these issues, we have the chance to make 
our world stronger, safer and more prosperous.
  One of the best ways to do this is by deploying renewable energy. 
Renewable energy sources, especially solar, our Nation's most abundant 
renewable energy source, offers a real solution to these challenges I 
just mentioned. Our solar resource is vast, it's domestic, and it's 
free. It is clean, and it generates electricity without greenhouse gas 
emissions. In addition, the solar power industry is growing and 
creating good-paying jobs. For all of these reasons, solar is important 
to America.
  This is why I'm concerned about the way that solar power is treated 
in the energy and climate bill that recently emerged from the Energy 
and Commerce Committee. I commend Chairmen Waxman and Markey and their 
committee colleagues for their persistence and skill in moving the 
legislation forward. However, I have to express my deep concern that 
this bill does not do nearly enough to promote solar power, one of the 
best solutions for our Nation's energy and climate challenges. The 
current Waxman-Markey legislation would establish a Federal renewable 
electricity standard, or RES, of 20 percent by 2020, and that's a good 
goal. The State of Arizona is 15 percent by 2025. However, the bill 
fails to establish an carve-out for any specific type of renewable like 
solar; and in my view, this constitutes an enormous missed opportunity. 
The primary reason to establish a RES is to create an assured level of 
demand for renewable electricity. This assured demand allows renewable 
technologies to increase production, learn by doing and bring their 
prices down. This allows them to become cost competitive with 
traditional energy sources. However, without carve-outs for different 
resources, the RES will fall short of its own potential. Instead of 
creating demand for all renewables, it's going to give preference to 
those that cost the least, and currently that is wind and biomass. 
Without assured demand, solar will miss out on an opportunity that the 
RES was designed to create. It

[[Page H6595]]

will not grow as fast as it otherwise could, and it will not become as 
cost competitive as quickly as it needs to.
  Now I have nothing against wind and biomass. But if we develop these 
resources at the expense of a more diverse portfolio, we will lose our 
opportunity to stimulate our domestic solar industry that can compete 
in a global marketplace. I understand the reluctance to pick technology 
winners and losers. In fact, I agree with that. But I'm not talking 
about picking a technology. I'm talking about picking a resource, and 
that is a big difference. It is impossible to imagine a future powered 
by renewables that does not include a significant amount of solar 
energy. We may not yet know what that best type of solar technology 
will ultimately be, but we do know and the rest of the world knows that 
we want it to come from the sun, and we want it to be solar. Therefore, 
it's in our national interest to ensure that the U.S. solar industry is 
the strongest in the world, and we should do so by continuing to 
promote and innovate. Solar power, yes, is in its infancy today; but we 
need to make sure that in the future it really drives America.
  Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Speaker. And as we work towards 
implementing solar technology in our legislation, I just want to thank 
my colleagues for spending time to learn about this important resource.
  To do that, we should establish an effective incentive in the form of 
a 20 percent solar carve-out within the RES.
  A couple weeks ago, researchers at the University of Arizona in my 
hometown of Tucson were awarded a $15 million grant to create an Energy 
Frontier Research Center. They are working to develop ultrathin solar 
panels that use dyes to create electricity from sunlight. This project 
is tremendously exciting, but as we invest in these technologies, we 
must ensure we are creating a market to use them.
  In the race to become the global solar leader, the clock is ticking 
and the competition is fierce. America does not have time to waste with 
poorly designed policies. This is why I call on my colleagues to 
support a solar carve-out within the RES. It is a proven mechanism to 
develop a truly diverse renewable portfolio that includes solar power.

                          ____________________