The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) says it supports the Renewable Electricity Standard Act 2019, introduced by Senator of New Mexico Tom Udall.
AWEA chief executive Tom Kiernan said: “Senator Udall’s National Renewable Electricity Standard proposes a flexible framework for states to make meaningful power-sector carbon emissions cuts, fuelled by market competition between renewable energy technologies.
Kiernan added: “This is the kind of policy, along with improvements to transmission planning and permitting, that is needed to build a 21st century clean economy, drive major new investment in wind farms, grow demand for US factories, and cut consumer energy bills.”
The act, introduced on 26 June by Senator Udall along with Senators Martin Heinrich, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tina Smith and Angus King, seeks to achieve at least 50% renewable electricity nationwide within 15 years, putting the US on a trajectory to decarbonise the power sector by 2050.
Starting in 2020, the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) Act of 2019 would require electricity providers across the country to increase their supply of renewable energy from sources like wind and solar each year.
The senators’ RES meets the recommendations of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1.5C Special Report, which outlines the standards that must be met worldwide to respond to the existential threat of climate change.