Saxby Chambliss: “I rise in hope that the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senator from New Mexico, will engage…”

“I rise in hope that the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senator from New Mexico, will engage in a colloquy with myself, as well as Senator Smith of Oregon, regarding some concerns we have about the renewable portfolio standard amendment. While I support the development of renewable energy and other clean energy resources, I believe that each region of the country has the ability to develop these resources in a variety of ways. In fact, at least 21 States already have a State RPS, and many other States have programs to promote renewable energy, all of this being accomplished without a Federal mandate. The problem with the RPS amendment is that it imposes a one-size- fits-all mandate on the whole country without regard for whether the requirement is technologically or economically feasible. Not every State or region has the same amount of renewable energy available to comply with the rigid 10-percent RPS mandate the amendment would impose. As a result, utilities in States that do not have enough renewable energy will need to comply with the RPS mandate by purchasing credits at a cost of 1\1/2\ cents per kilowatt hour. Mr. President, 1\1/2\ cents may not sound like a lot of money, but when it is multiplied by the number of kilowatts needed to comply with a 10- percent RPS by 2020, it can add up to billions of dollars--billions of dollars in what should be called a tax on consumers.…”