[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S703]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. Ensign):
  S. 3021. A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 
of 1978 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to promulgate regulations 
to allow electric utilities to use renewable energy to comply with any 
Federal renewable electricity standard, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Support 
Renewable Energy Act of 2010 with my colleague, Senator Ensign. This 
bill would modify the Renewable Electricity Standard currently drafted 
in the American Clean Energy Leadership Act to ensure that all forms of 
renewable energy qualify.
  I am pleased that the Senate is again considering the implementation 
of a Renewable Electricity Standard that will encourage the development 
and deployment of new and existing renewable energy technologies. 
However, as the proposed Renewable Electricity Standard is currently 
drafted, only electricity-producing renewable technologies would 
qualify. This would exclude direct use renewable energy technologies 
that displace the need for electricity, rather than produce 
electricity.
  Our legislation would modify the definition of renewable energy as it 
applies to the draft Renewable Electricity Standard to include 
customer-sited renewable energy equipment. Specific examples of these 
direct use technologies are solar water heating, solar space heating 
and cooling, solar daylight and light-pipe technology, biogas, and 
ground source geothermal heat pumps. These technologies can be used in 
homes and businesses to provide light, heating, and cooling directly--
without the need for electricity from the grid. This legislation will 
allow utilities to generate renewable energy credits equal to the 
electricity or thermal energy displaced by direct use renewable energy 
technologies in order to meet a Renewable Electricity Standard.
  In addition to the reduced stress on our overburdened electricity 
transmission grid, the incentivized production and installation of 
these renewable technologies would spur the growth of green, 
sustainable jobs. One example of the potential for job creation was 
provided to me by Orion Energy Systems in my home State of Wisconsin. 
Orion manufactures light-pipes, which captures natural light on a roof 
and transfers that light through a pipe to a ceiling, where it is 
diffused to light a room, like a traditional light bulb. Because light 
pipes uses solar energy directly to produce light, rather than generate 
electricity, this innovative technology would not qualify as renewable 
energy under the draft Renewable Electricity Standard.
  Orion has already retrofitted approximately 5,000 facilities with 
improved lighting technology nationwide. With about 400 lighting 
fixtures on average, if these same facilities decided to upgrade to the 
light-pipe technology it would take between 6 million and 10 million 
man-hours to install. These would be jobs for roofers and carpenters at 
a time when the construction industry is badly in need of work.
  Direct use renewable energy technologies have significant 
environmental benefits. The energy savings from retrofitting these 
facilities with the light-pipe would amount to a savings of between 915 
and 1,934 gigawatts of electricity per year, which amounts to the 
energy equivalent of 343 to 725 million tons of coal that would not 
have to be burned, avoiding the release of between 0.6 and 1.28 million 
tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. In addition, the 
users of this technology will save money on their electric bill, which 
could then be used for other things, like hiring new employees or 
increasing salaries.
  This is just one company and one of the many technologies that would 
qualify for the expanded Renewable Electricity Standard under our 
legislation. This is clearly a win-win-win situation for jobs, the 
facilities that install the technologies and save on energy costs, and 
for the environment.
  Direct use renewable energy technology is cost-effective, can be 
deployed locally, requires no new transmission infrastructure, and can 
be utilized in areas throughout the country that cannot sustain a 
commercial-scale power generation facility from other renewable energy 
sources. Furthermore, it will create much needed American jobs in both 
manufacturing and construction. I encourage my colleagues to support 
the Support Renewable Energy Act of 2010.
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