BIOMASS HUB

Renewableenergyworld.com reports that the long-awaited American Power Act introduced yesterday (see Senate Climate Bill Clears First Hurdle) is noticeably devoid of either a renewable portfolio standard, or renewable electricity standard, which the industry has been lobbying for over the course of the last year.

Renewableenergyworld.com adds:

Overall, however, the bill may indirectly benefit the industry through the reduction of emissions. The bill mandates that utilities, starting in 2013 and other industries in 2016, must participate in a cap and trade system that places a price on carbon. The goal of these measures is to reduce economy-wide global warming pollution to 95.25 percent of 2005 levels by 2013, 83 percent by 2020, 58 percent by 2030, and 17 percent by 2050.

The article also rightly points out that the bioenergy sector will get more clarity under APA. Under the proposal, the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) would be called on to study the benefits of different biomass feedstock sources.

More on Renewableenergyworld.com’s analysis of renewable provisions in APA.