CAPITOL Hill Democrats negotiating a major energy and climate bill have reached a tentative agreement that could lead to a US renewables power generation target of 15% by 2020 – on a par with the UK’s aspiration.
The agreement – not yet a deal – marks a breakthrough after weeks of wrangling over a plan that requires utilities to supply increasing amounts of power to the American public from sources such as wind, solar and biomass.
The renewables target would be combined with a 5% energy-efficiency target, resulting in a combined target of 20% by 2020.
But it has been reported that if any state shows it cannot meet the renewables target, its renewables requirement could drop to 12%, with a corresponding increase in efficiency to keep the overall 20% level intact.
The US, often regarded as a follower rather than a leader in the renewables race, has an enormous advantage over Britain as it already has a substantial renewables manufacturing base, whereas we do not.