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Washington Voters Pass Renewable Energy Ballot
Initiative
November 9 2006
Last Tuesday, Washington voters passed ballot
initiative 937 by a margin of 52.3% to 47.7%. The measure is very
similar to Colorado Amendment 37 passed two years ago: I-937
requires investor-owned utilities in Washington to obtain 15% of
their electricity from renewable energy resources in 2015.
Washington thus becomes the 21st state and the
District of Columbia to establish a minimum clean energy requirement
for electricity. Two other states – Illinois and Vermont – have
voluntary renewable energy goals for electricity. For details, see
the Renewable Portfolio Standards page on the DOE Web site:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/states/maps/renewable_portfolio_states.cfm
Like Colorado, the measure was opposed by the state’s
electric utilities, which resulted in a vigorous campaign. There was
bipartisan support for the ballot initiatives in both states, and
the vote tended to follow a geographic instead of a partisan divide.
Urban voters in both states tended to favor the renewable
requirements. On the other hand, rural voters in the eastern parts
of both states tended to vote against both measures. In Colorado,
this was largely because Amendment 37 was opposed by prominent rural
electric cooperatives, and coop customers usually have a great deal
of trust in their local utilities.
Unlike Colorado, the Washington renewable
requirements apply to municipally owned utilities. One of the
reasons for this difference in Colorado was that a number of
municipal utilities in Colorado were strong supporters of renewable
energy before the initiative. Fort Collins Utilities, for example,
already obtains more than 10% of its electricity from renewable
energy resources and has set much more aggressive targets for the
future.
The Washington requirement also sets binding energy
conservation targets, which are expected to substantially lower the
cost of the measure to consumers. Whereas the costs of Colo.
Amendment 37 are limited by statute, they depend on complicated
resource plans for which utilities have proprietary data. This cost
became the focal point of the election for Amendment 37. In
contrast, the Washington measure is expected to save consumers $1.13
billion by 2025. The conservation measures will create a market for
more than 1,000 megawatts of demand reduction in the next decade. To
see the calculations, read a press release with a link to a report
by the Union of Concerned Scientists at:
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/clean-energy-ballot.html
Newly Elected Western Governors Back Renewable Energy
Governors elect throughout the West touted their support for
renewable energy last week. It was part of a national trend that saw
energy play key roles in a number of campaigns.
In California, Arnold Swarzenegger (Republican)
cruised to victory after being declared moribund in the polls a
scant year ago. His popularity rebounded so extensively that he had
prominent California Democrats showing up to his campaign
appearances in the weeks before the election. Many pundits are
giving a large measure of credit to his turnaround for his
shepherding the California Million Solar Roofs Initiative through
the Calif. Legislature and for his passing a strong global warming
bill last month.
In Minnesota, renewable fuels became a focus of the
campaign in the final days before last Tuesday when Governor Tim
Pawlenty (R) squeaked out a victory over challenger Mike Hatch (D).
Hatch was caught in an interview by a reporter on November 1 to say
that he didn’t know what E85 was – an alternative transportation
fuel that is a blend of 85% ethanol with 15% gasoline. His campaign
would never recover.
Subsequently, Pawlenty was able to tout his record
for building the strongest network of E85 stations in the country.
Pawlenty also took credit for helping build Minnesota capacity to
the third largest among all states. Hatch admitted in an interview
published this morning in Minneapolis that the E85 gaffe helped lead
to his defeat.
Meanwhile, winning candidates for governorships
across the West confirmed their support for renewable energy. In
Nevada, Jim Gibbons (R) said, “As governor, I would continue to make
geothermal power, as well as solar and wind power, economically
attractive. These clean energy sources would give Nevadans
independence from other states and other countries that currently
supply us.”
In Kansas, Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) was
reelected to a second term, and said referring to wind power and
ethanol, “Energy will be a very key area.” In Arizona, Governor
Janet Napolitano (D) was also reelected to a second term based on a
platform of strong support for solar energy.
Finally, perhaps no campaign in the country surpassed
that of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) in support of
renewable energy. Richardson, who won reelection in a landslide, ran
hundreds of TV advertisements picturing him standing in front of a
row of utility scale wind turbines. The governor said in his
campaign commercial, “[Wind energy] is a good example of how New
Mexico is becoming a national leader in clean energy. Since I became
governor, we’ve started requiring utility companies to produce ten
percent of their energy through renewable sources. We’ve eliminated
the state sales tax on hybrid cars and offered a solar tax credit.
Clean energy is the key to holding down gas prices, ensuring our
national security and creating the jobs of the future.” See the clip
from the Richardson TV ad at:
http://billrichardson2006.com/multimedia/commercials/clean
Local Election Results
For a few minutes during election night I thought I was watching a
renewable energy rally on TV instead of election returns. About 10
pm Tuesday, both Bill Ritter and Ed Perlmutter made televised
victory speeches that touted renewable energy. In his speech,
Colorado Governor Elect Bill Ritter said, “We believe that the
Colorado promise is about the new energy economy where this state,
Colorado, is a leader in renewable energy, in wind, solar and
biofuels.”
Perlmutter, who won a seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives from Colorado Congressional District 7, said in his
speech that one of his first actions in Washington would be to
secure stable funding for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
in Boulder and for stem cell research at Fitzsimons Medical Center
in Aurora. Both facilities are in Congressional District 7. Although
both Perlmutter (Democrat) and his opponent, Rick O’Donnell
(Republican) had had good platforms supporting renewable energy,
only Perlmutter was able to make energy a key part of his campaign.
Across the state, both John Salazar (D-CD 4) and Mark
Udall (D-CD 2) ran campaigns with strong platforms in support of
renewable energy.
In the legislature, the Colorado League of
Conservation Voters reports that 48 out of the 51 candidates it
supported were elected to the statehouse. Conservation voters
support environmental issues, include renewable energy and energy
efficiency.
Environment Colorado reported that 73 newly elected
members of the Colorado Legislature have signed their support for
the Colorado New Energy Future. These signatories come from both
political parties and represent more than half of the members of the
Legislature. More than 100 organizations and businesses including
the Colorado Renewable Energy Society have lent their support to the
plan, which aims to:
1. Reduce dependence on foreign oil by establishing a
renewable fuels standard so that 10% of our transportation fuels
derive from renewable resources in 2015.
2. Increase the use of renewable energy to 20% of our
electricity in 2015.
3. Create incentives for utility companies to reduce
electricity and natural gas consumption by 10% in 2015.
4. Invest more public and private dollars in research
and development of new energy technologies that will power our
future.
For details, see the Environment Colorado website at:
http://environmentcolorado.org/envcoenergy.asp?id2=21955&id3=DOenergy&id4=ES
A couple of local ballot initiatives also did well
last Tuesday. In Boulder, voters backed a carbon tax, which will
direct funds to support the Boulder Climate Action Plan. This
program will help businesses obtain utility rebates for purchases of
energy-efficient hardware, perform energy audits on homes, and
distribute energy efficiency kits to low-income families.
The Boulder vote made the news around the world when
Reuters and CNN both picked up the story (see below). And see the
article in the November 8 edition of the Colorado Daily:
http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2006/11/08/news/c_u_and_boulder/news12.txt
In Carbondale, voters approved a measure allowing the
town to issue up to $1.8 million of municipal bonds to build and
operate two large-scale solar systems. This measure passed by a
landslide: 81% to 19%. |
