WisPolitics: Climate change bill draft would mandate 25 percent renewable energy by 2025
12/11/2009

The climate change bill would require the state to receive 25 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025, cut greenhouse gas emissions and loosen the standards required for approval of a new nuclear power plant, according to a draft.

A date for a formal roll out of the bill hasn’t been set, as the four lawmakers who headed up the drafting of the bill await feedback from task force members. The lawmakers are: Dem Sens. Mark Miller and Jeff Plale and Dem Reps. Spencer Black and Jim Soletski,

Among the highlights of the bill, based off recommendations produced by the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming:

*Renewable energy mandates are set at 10 percent by the end of 2013, 20 percent by 2020, and 25 percent by 2025.

*The bill sets goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions, mandating that net emissions in 2014 be no greater the net emissions in 2005, a 22 percent reduction from 2005 emissions by 2022 and a 75 percent reduction by 2050.

*It also includes goals to reduce statewide consumption of electricity by 1 percent in 2011, and by an additional 0.25 percent in each of the four years following 2011. In 2015 and each year thereafter, the goal is to reduce consumption by 2 percent.

*A reduction of 0.5 percent consumption of liquefied petroleum gas, heating oil, and natural gas is called for in 2011, and a 0.75 percent reduction in 2012. A 1 percent reduction is called for in 2013 and each year thereafter.

The proposed legislation would also make it easier to receive regulatory approval to build a new nuclear power plant in Wisconsin.

Current law prohibits the Public Service Commission from signing off on a nuclear plant unless there’s a federally licensed facility that can dispose of waste from all nuclear plants operating in Wisconsin and that the proposed plant is more economically beneficial for consumers than feasible alternatives.

The bill would change those standards. On the waste issue, the PSC would only have to find that the plant have a plan for managing the waste that’s economic, reasonable, stringent and in the public interest, according to a bill overview.

On the economic front, it would tweak the feasibility requirement. One of the changes would require the PSC to weigh the benefits to the state and the environment resulting from reductions of air pollutant emissions compared to other alternatives.

The effective date of those nuclear power plant changes would be delayed until after the PSC had promulgated all rules and issued all necessary orders to implement all the new requirements created in the bill.

The bill also calls for all newly constructed residential and commercial buildings to be zero net energy buildings by 2030.

Zero net energy is defined as “either a building that annually, based on a three-year average, uses no more energy than is provided by on-site renewable energy generation; one of two or more buildings that have an integrated system of energy supply and use and that together annually, based on a three-year average, use no more energy than is provided by renewable energy generation that is part of the integrated system,” according to a Legislative Council description of the bill.

The bill also would create in the DNR the Climate Change Coordinating Council to coordinate state programs and actions related to climate change and to advise policymakers.

The council would consist of one gubernatorial appointee, serving a four-year term, and the secretaries of Administration, Natural Resources, Commerce, DATCP, Health Services, Transportation, the UW System president, PSC chair, and Office of Energy Independence executive director or their designees.

*See the bill draft:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/091210climate_change_bill_draft.pdf

*See the Legislative Council description of the bill:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/091210lege_council_desription.pdf

*See the Legislative Council overview:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/091210lege_council_overview.pdf

*See a topical index of the bill:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/091210topical_index.pdf

*See the letter to the chairs of the Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming announcing the bill draft:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/091210task_force_draft_letter.pdf

- By Greg Bump
WisPolitics.com