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With overwhelming support, a Clean Energy Standard, also referred to as a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), is gaining teeth in the Statehouse this legislative session.
Originally proposed for last year’s session but dropped at the last minute, this year’s Clean Energy Standard is seeing support from an impressive range of groups and individuals: energy producers and distributors, public health organizations, environmental organizations, consumer advocates, the bill’s legislative sponsors and Gov. John Lynch.
New Hampshire’s energy legacy
This year’s bill comes at an opportune time. For decades, fossil fuels and nuclear
power have dominated New Hampshire’s energy picture. More than two-thirds of
New Hampshire’s electricity currently comes from nuclear power, and coal and
gas make up most of the rest.
“With supplies of traditional energy sources declining rapidly, investing in clean energy now means we are setting New Hampshire up for a cleaner, more secure energy future,” said Environment New Hampshire’s Erika Staaf.
This year’s bill, HB 873, increases New Hampshire’s clean energy by nearly 1percent per year over the next 10 years and beyond to 2025, while simultaneously supporting New Hampshire’s existing renewable energy. The bill sets standards for several types of clean, homegrown energy, such as wind, solar and clean biomass. Clean energy’s many rewards
The potential rewards of a Clean Energy Standard are immense: cleaner air and water, less reliance on the unstable market for fossil fuels and new jobs created in the state by local
renewable energy projects.
In fact, a recent study conducted by the University of New Hampshire has found that a Clean Energy Standard could bring more than 1,100 new full-time employment opportunities and $1 million in new state revenue by 2025, boosting the local economy by keeping consumer expenditures in-state.
Environment New Hampshire is working not only to ensure that HB 873 gains legislative and gubernatorial approval, but also that it protects ratepayers and promote smaller clean energy producers by allowing energy produces to enter into long-term contracts with potential investors.
These long-term contracts would protect rate-payers by serving as a hedge against potential energy price spikes, and are crucial for start-up renewable energy companies. Environment New Hampshire is advocating that these long-term contracts be easier to sign onto than they are in the current bill’s language.
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