On April 11, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that he hopes to have energy legislation on the Senate floor before the Memorial Day recess, which begins May 28. Today, in an effort to move this plan along, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced the "Energy Efficiency Promotion Act," a measure that offers loan guarantees for fuel efficient auto manufacturers and suppliers, codifies the Department of Energy's appliance efficiency standards and streamlines the current rulemaking process so DOE can act more quickly on future efficiency standards. The bill, however, does not include a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). A hearing on the "Energy Efficiency Promotion Act" is scheduled for Monday, April 23, with a mark-up expected shortly thereafter. In introducing the bill, Bingaman said he plans to send it to the floor along with carbon capture research and development and biofuels legislation, possibly similar to bills (S. 962 & S. 987 respectively) he recently introduced on these issues, in the next two to three weeks. He also said he intends to introduce his climate change bill "in the next several weeks."
Regarding an RPS, is also planning on introducing legislation soon that would require utitlies to obtain 15% of their generation from renewables by 2020. The Bingaman RPS is expected to be based on his legislation from the last Congress, which included a threshhold that would limit the requirement to approximately 22 of the largest public power systems. The provision passed the Senate but was dropped during House-Senate conference on the Energy Policy Act of 2005.