Clean Energy Opportunity Act Gets Hearing Feb. 28
A bill to start dragging Kentucky out of the energy dark ages and wean us off the crack cocaine of coal gets a hearing in the General Assembly Thursday. Get off your ass and show your support.
From Kentuckians for the Commonwealth:
The Clean Energy Opportunity Act, House Bill 170, will get a hearing before the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee this Thursday, February 28, at 10 a.m. in Room 131 of the Capitol Annex in Frankfort.
This important bill, sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, asks utilities in Kentucky to get an increasing share of their electricity from energy efficiency programs and renewable energy sources over the next ten years. It is modeled after policies that are already working to create jobs and energy savings in 30 other states, including Ohio and North Carolina.
A 2012 study found that this bill could create 28,000 net new jobs over the decade and lower customers bills by 8-10% compared to a “business as usual” scenario.
The bill is expected to receive a hearing, but not a vote, again this year. Your help is needed to urge legislative action. Please join us in the committee room on Thursday if at all possible. And, whether or not you can make it to Frankfort, take a moment to call the legislative message line today.
Take Action
Call: 1-800-372-7181
Ask to leave a message for: “my representative, my senator, and all members of the House Tourism, Development, and Energy Committee.”
Message: “Please support HB 170, the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. Kentucky can’t afford to be left behind as other states race to create new jobs and energy savings.”
More details
HB 170 asks utilities to get 12.5% of their electricity from renewable sources and to help their customers achieve 10.25% energy savings over the next decade. These targets are similar to policies that are already at work in Ohio and North Carolina. The bill also sets up a mechanism, called a feed-in tariff, for people who install their own small-scale renewable energy systems to be paid for the energy they provide to the grid for a set amount of time.
HB 170 can help protect Kentuckians from rising and volatile energy costs by diversifying our energy mix and significantly ramping up energy efficiency programs across the state. Currently about 93% of Kentucky’s electricity comes from burning coal. Electricity prices in Kentucky have risen by 68% from 2001 to 2011, according to the US Energy Information Administration, and those trends are expected to continue.
Unless we act now, Kentucky is in danger of being left behind as other states add clean energy jobs and capacity. In January 2013, 100% of new electric generating capacity in the US came from renewable sources. Nationally, coal accounted for just 29.04 percent of electric generation in January, while natural gas provided 42.37 percent. Renewables provided 15.66% of total generation, with the remainder from nuclear power (9.23 percent) and oil (3.54 percent).
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