Lawmakers resist clean-air mandates
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By JEFF DEMOSS
Standard-Examiner staff
jdemoss@standard.net
SALT LAKE CITY -- Against the backdrop of some of the most heavily polluted air in the United States in recent days, the Utah Legislature has been working to develop an effective clean-energy policy without impeding the state's nation-leading economic growth.
As more states implement renewable energy requirements in anticipation of federal regulations, Utah legislators are resisting mandates as they look at how to diversify energy sources in one of the nation's most coal-dependent states.
Most legislators say that while they recognize a need to address environmental quality in Utah, clean air should not come at the expense of economic prosperity.
"We have to move in that direction, but I don't want a policy that's too stringent and locks us up in our ability to provide power within the state," said Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse.
A Senate committee voted 4-1 last week to reject a proposal that would have required the state's largest electric utility to derive 25 percent of its electricity from sources such as wind, solar and geothermal power by 2025.
Senate Bill 173, the first legislative attempt at setting renewable energy mandates in Utah, included a provision that would prevent residential bills from rising more than 1.5 percent because of higher energy costs.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City, said costs in states that have implemented mandatory renewable standards have risen about 1 percent on average.
"I think there's a growing consensus that we need to be concerned and look at air quality and climate issues," McCoy said.
"Other states around us have taken some major steps forward in this area, and their economies aren't collapsing."
Proactive approach?
He said a nationwide carbon-management regimen is likely in the near future, and Utah would benefit from taking a proactive approach in achieving compliance.
"When that day comes, Utah ratepayers will be disproportionately impacted," he said. "All of our eggs are in the fossil-based basket."
Utah derives about 80 percent of its energy from coal, and only about 3 percent from renewable sources, according to the Utah Energy Office.
Sen. Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, said transitioning to renewables won't be as easy in Utah as it has been in some other states.
"It's going to take time to wean ourselves off of coal," Eastman said. "Solar is very expensive, and we need a lot of water for hydroelectric, which we don't have. I'm all for cleaner air. I just don't want something that sets us up for failure."
PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power, is already implementing a renewable portfolio standard in Oregon.
"If they can live and operate with this kind of system in Oregon, we can do it in Utah," McCoy said. "There are a lot of exciting new technologies out there."
Rich Walje, president of Rocky Mountain Power, said PacifiCorp has steadily increased its renewable portfolio without mandates.
"Our company is putting hundreds of megawatts of renewables online every year and meeting cost-effective requirements, so we don't see a need for mandates," Walje said.
Softer bill
Rather than a renewable mandate, legislators are favoring a measure sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, that sets less ambitious renewable energy goals, and has no mandates attached.
Senate Bill 202 calls for Utah to derive 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025, but only if it is proven to be cost-effective.
Bramble said there is no specific definition of cost-effective as it relates to the bill. That would be determined by comparing the cost of renewable sources to more conventional fossil-fuel sources, he said.
While renewable sources are becoming more efficient with advances in technology, they still don't compare with coal or natural gas in terms of cost, capacity or reliability, Bramble said.
"There is no technological, scientific or economic basis at this time to establish a mandate complete with penalties," he said, adding that his bill "puts a stake in the ground.
"This is saying that Utah will join the movement for clean energy," he said.
SB 202 leaves the door open for consideration of alternative power sources, such as nuclear, and for cleaner fossil fuel technologies, such as carbon sequestration techniques.
That takes the discussion away from truly renewable sources, said Kathy Van Dame, policy coordinator for the Wasatch Clean Air Coalition.
"There has been a loss of the concept of what renewable energy really is," Van Dame said. "Renewable energy doesn't have a fuel or emissions, and most of it doesn't use any water."
Consequences?
Without specific mandates, she said Utah "will continue to fall behind surrounding states in moving into a new, carbon-constrained world, because of a lack of vision."
SB 202 received the unanimous approval of a Senate committee, and is awaiting debate on the Senate floor.
Proponents of a renewable energy mandate say it not only presents the clearest path to cleaner air, but also provides new economic development opportunities.
Christopher Thomas, policy director for HEAL Utah, said a renewable mandate presents a clear market in the state for companies involved in developing renewable technologies.
"I understand the perception that a mandate might send an anti-business message," Thomas said, "but if you are one of these companies, you see it as a new market."
Oil shale
Outside the renewable realm, others are pushing for development of new forms of fossil fuels, most notably the vast reserves of oil shale located in eastern Utah.
Rep. Roger Barrus, R-Centerville, said oil shale development could be the biggest economic opportunity on the table for Utah.
He said much of Utah's oil shale rests on school trust lands, and that royalties from just one company holding leases on those lands could generate up to $15 billion in state revenue over the next 30 years.
A proposal before the House would divert 10 percent of severance tax from oil, gas and mining in the state into a trust fund that would be used to develop the infrastructure needed to extract, process and deliver the more than 1 trillion barrels of oil estimated to be locked up in oil shale rock.
"We need to feed the goose that lays the golden eggs," Barrus said.
McCoy said that while it's not realistic to expect that Utah can completely replace coal with renewable energy, something needs to be done now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"All you need to do is look outside during an inversion," he said. "To me, that's proof enough that we need to be proactive."
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