Be Alerted: ALEC Prioritizes Roll-back of US Renewable Energy For Next Year

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11/06/2012 11:27 AM      ShareThis
Be Alerted: ALEC Prioritizes Renewable Energy For Next Year

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Regardless of who wins today's elections, conservative groups and their
fossil fuel industry backers will keep working to crush the renewable energy
industry. They will be greatly assisted, of course, if more Republicans win
elections on the state and federal levels.

ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), the notorious right-wing group
that develops model legislation, which legislators then introduce across the
country, is launching an all-out effort to repeal state Renewable Portfolio
Standards (RPS) through model legislation, the "Electricity Freedom Act."

They plan to make repealing state RPSs a "high priority" for the coming
year.

The bill is written and funded by an ALEC task force consisting of
representatives from major oil, gas and power companies, including BP,
Chevron, ExxonMobil, Koch, and Shell.

As most of you know, these standards - in place in 29 states and Wash DC -
require utilities to source a certain percentage of their energy from
renewables by a target date. The percentage varies depending on the state.
The RPS is among the most important methods for increasing the share of
renewable energy in the US.

ALEC says it opposes the concept of RPS because it is essentially a tax on
consumers and mandates some energy sources over others.

The bill says that wind and solar power are expensive and unreliable, and
that forcing utilities to use renewables threatens electric grid reliability
and will increase the cost of doing business through rate increases or
higher taxes.

"Forcing business, industry, and ratepayers to use renewable energy through
a government mandate will increase the cost of doing business and push
companies to do business with other states or nations, thereby decreasing
American competitiveness," the bill states.

ALEC points to studies that claim electric rates will rise up to 37% by 2025
in Minnesota, for example, because of its RPS. Who conducted the study?
ALEC's right-wing sister organization, American Tradition Institute. Earlier
this year, a memo uncovered that group's planned national PR campaign to
turn public opinion against renewable energy.

This line of logic is false.

Studies find that state RPSs have not significantly affected electricity
rates between 2000-2010. Instead, these policies lead to cleaner air,
economic development, a more resilient electrical grid and greater resource
diversity, which reduces risk to consumers by not relying on any one energy
source.

Actually, states with RPS report the costs of renewable energy are dropping.
In its annual report on the impact of Michigan's RPS (which voters may raise
today), the Michigan Public Service Commission said wind energy was almost a
third cheaper than buying electricity from a new coal plant. Utility Xcel
got a similar deal in Colorado.

ALEC's uses faulty assumptions. That "coal and natural gas prices will be
very low and stable over time, and they don't count any environmental
benefit to society from renewables," Richard Caperton from the Center for
American Progress told Midwest Energy News.

Minnesota's largest utilities say they would add wind power regardless of
the state's mandate, reports Midwest Energy News.

Although ALEC has lost a slew of corporate supporters this past year after
they were finally exposed, 2000 state lawmakers remain members. Among the
raft of right-wing legislation ALEC is responsible for are the voter
suppression laws that have taken hold across the country this year.

ALEC anti-environmental agenda includes dismantling state Renewable
Portfolio Standards, pressuring the EPA to designate palm oil as a renewable
fuel, pushing for loopholes in disclosure of natural gas fracking chemicals,
and killing regional climate cap-and-trade pacts, along with eliminating
clean air and water regulations, and even trying to turn public lands over
to corporations.

ALEC's goal is "to do one thing, and that's to maximize the profits of
fossil fuel industry and eliminate renewables from competition. I don't see
where the freedom is in that," warns Doug Klopp of Common Cause. Advocates
of renewable energy should be worried.

Read ALEC Exposed: Warming Up to Climate Change

Read ALEC Exposed: A Nationwide Blueprint for the Rightwing Takeover

Visit ALECexposed.org to learn more and find ALEC-influenced bills in your
state:
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