New Energy Bill Passes in the House - 8/5/07

The House passed a wide-ranging energy bill on Saturday that will require most utilities to produce 15% of their electricity from renewable sources like solar and wind power. Bush has vowed to veto the bill because it does nothing to encourage increased domestic production of oil and gas.

The energy measure passed by a vote of 241-172, with 26 Republicans voting in favor and 9 Democrats opposed. Speaker Nancy Pelosi had made the bill one of her top legislative priorities for her first year as leader of the House Democrats.

The bill allots money for the development of alternative fuels and for increased efficiency of buildings and appliances. It is also meant to push research on methods to capture the carbon dioxide emissions that scientists say are largely responsible for climate change.

The House also passed a bill to repeal roughly $16 billion in tax breaks for the oil industry enacted in 2005. Some of the money would be used to pay for the research grants and renewable-fuel projects in the energy bill.

The 786-page House energy bill does not include an increase in fuel-efficiency standards for light trucks and cars that supporters called the single most effective way of cutting oil consumption and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Sponsors vowed to bring it up again when Congress reconvenes in September.

One of the bill’s goals is that the federal government, the world’s largest single energy consumer, be “carbon neutral” by 2050, meaning that all federal operations, including the Pentagon, would not produce a net increase in atmospheric CO2. The bill does not specify how the government is to achieve this.

Even if the major provisions of the House bill are enacted into law, consumers will experience few short-term effects, either in higher utility bills, more choices of fuel at the filling station or different cars on sale at their local car dealership. Those are longer-term goals.

But Americans will soon light their houses differently. The bill outlaws the sale of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs by 2012 and requires that all bulbs be 300 times more efficient than today’s ordinary bulbs by 2020.

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