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Macomb, IL – Despite all the talk of moving the US away from its reliance on fossil fuels, there is no Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) in the Senate's proposed energy bill.
The RES would require utilities to buy a certain amount of their power from renewable energy sources, such as wind farms, through 2025. The RES is being pushed by trade groups such as the American Wind Energy Association.
Rob Gramlich, Senior Vice President for Public Policy, said RES is needed to demonstrate a commitment to renewable energy. He said it would be a show of support for wind farm development, wind manufacturing and supply chain development.
"It would be the first time at the national level that renewable energy industries would have a long-term signal to attract jobs in all of those sectors," Gramlich said.
"Thus far, federal policies have been on-again, off-again, year-at-a-time type of policies. There's no way to build manufacturing and supply chains on the basis of such intermittent support."
Gramlich said permanent tax credits are in place for most fossil fuels, while the credits are on-and-off again for his industry.
He does not know why RES was left out of the energy bill. He said there is bi-partisan support for it.
Gramlich said 85,000 people work in the wind energy industry in the US. He said an additional 100,000 to 300,000 jobs could be created if RES is included in the energy bill, depending on the level of the renewable standard in the bill.
"There's a foot race between China, the US, and Europe on getting those jobs," said Gramlich. "We have a good shot at hosting global manufacturing. We're well equipped with the skill sets to produce and manufacture wind turbines."
He said more than half of the wind turbines are made in the US.
Gramlich said there is a chance the energy bill could be amended to include the RES.