Morgan Meguire News

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated that he could bring a Senate energy bill to the floor next week.  S. 1419 is comprised of several, smaller stand-alone energy bills and would mandate biofuel production increases and vehicle mileage.  Other sections of the bill focus on energy efficiency and carbon ...

Congressional focus on exploring climate change strategies continues, however, the House and Senate Leadership appear to have concluded that moving a large, comprehensive "cap-and-trade" bill this session is not feasible.  Instead, leaders have focused their attention on advancing a number of smaller, yet important, legislative ...

On May 2, by a vote of 20-3, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee adopted legislation to advance research and development of carbon capture technologies, electric drive transportation technology, promote biofuels and urge more aggressive action by the Department of Energy (DOE) on energy efficiency standards. In a pre-markup ...

Prior to the May 2 Committee energy bills markup, Chairman Bingaman released a draft version of his revised RPS legislation.  The new bill is substantially similar to the RPS title approved in the Senate version of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), but it would require utilities to meet a renewables requirement of 15% by 2030, instead of ...

Excel, a large, Colorado-based investor-owned utility is working to garner support for its "Clean Energy Portfolio Standard," that would mandate a 25% by 2025 standard which would include new nuclear power generation as well as integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants.  There has been speculation that the Excel proposal ...

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to consider, before the Memorial Day recess, an energy tax title on renewable and biofuels tax incentives. In addition, the House Science Committee is working to develop refine legislation that would establish an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), and promote critical technologies ...

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released an eight-page analysis on the effects of a CO2 cap-and-trade system on the economy.  The study found that electricity, gas and travel would all cost more, the U.S. would have job losses and the poor would suffer the most if such a system to control carbon dioxide emissions ...

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) plans to introduce this Thursday (5/10) a comprehensive energy tax incentives bill, titled the "Clean Energy Incentive Assurance Act," in an attempt to advance development of renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts.  The bill includes, among other things, a five-year extension of the Clean ...

At the request of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Reps. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Ron Lewis (R-KY) introduced H.R. 1965, a bill that would extend the CREB program for one year (through December 31, 2009) and provide a bond allocation volume cap of  $1 billion for 2008 and $1 billion for 2009.  Additionally, the ...

On May 7, 2007, the Northeast Public Power Association (NEPPA) joined a coalition of chemical companies, environmental organizations, utilities and others in sending letters of support for S. 822/H.R. 1385, EXTEND the Energy Efficiency Incentive Act of 2007.  The letters were sent to Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Ranking Member Jim ...