Bill Clinton: “I want to speak strongly in favor of Senator Bingaman's renewable portfolio standard amendment. This is a goal-setting…”

“I want to speak strongly in favor of Senator Bingaman's renewable portfolio standard amendment. This is a goal-setting amendment that gives us direction and impetus to do what we should be doing. Requiring us to produce 10 percent of our electricity from renewable energy sources in 15 years is something I think is necessary so we begin to change how we do business, how we conserve, what we invest in. This is a major step in the right direction. Although the critics have raised some alarms about this amendment, numerous studies have demonstrated the efficiency and savings that would flow from the adoption of this amendment. Senator Bingaman has spoken at great length about some of these studies. The recent analysis conducted by the Energy Information Agency, provided some very strong support for what Senator Bingaman has proposed. In fact, it is the administration's analysis that shows if we passed this national 10-percent renewable portfolio standard with a 2020 deadline on it, we would save residential customers over $5 billion, we would lower natural gas prices by 6.8 percent, and that would have enormous benefits for our chemical, pharmaceutical, and other industries that rely on natural gas. It would also reduce electric utility carbon dioxide emissions by 7.5 percent. This does not even take into account all of the benefits that I believe would flow from this amendment. When it comes to renewables, we in the United States need to catch up.…”