GOVERNMENT PHOTO: US President Joe Biden comments on Russia in the Eastern Chamber in the White House in Washington, USA, April 15, 2021. REUTERS / Tom Brenner / File Photo
A group of U.S. electricity companies wrote to President Joe Biden this week that they will work with his government and Congress to design a broad set of policies to achieve a short-term goal of reducing the sector’s carbon emissions by 2030.
Washington must implement policies, including a clean energy standard, or CES, to ensure that by 2030 the electricity industry reduces carbon emissions below 2005 levels by 80%, the group of 13 power interests, including the generators Exelon Corp (EXC.O), PSEG (PEGPP) .UL) and Languages Energy Corp, said in a letter to Biden.
The letter, which Reuters saw as a copy, does not mention Biden’s goal of fully dewatering the power sector by 2035 as part of its strategy to combat climate change. But the 2030 timeline is in line with Biden’s broader goal of making the entire economy carbon-free by 2050.
A federal policy framework could be designed to support the implementation of strategies that are technically feasible for the power source, ensuring reliability and maintaining affordability for customers, ‘reads the letter sent to Biden on Friday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 2030 target is in line with Evergreen Action, an advocacy group that proposed a CES in February. Sam Ricketts, a co-founder, said aid programs need to worry less about the 2035 goal, and focus on early victories, as the latter part of emissions is the most difficult to achieve. read more
Several lawmakers, including Democrat U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and Senator Tina Smith, have introduced legislation that includes a CES.
The standard would gradually set rising targets for the power industry to reduce emissions until it reaches net zero, with a range of methods to consume wind and solar power, use existing and advanced nuclear energy, or suck up carbon from coal and natural gas plants. before they reach the atmosphere.
The White House included a $ 2.3 billion CES infrastructure package this month, without explaining how it would work.
Some plans for a CES include flexibility, such as allowing utilities to earn creditors that can be overcharged in the early years, which can be used later in the year when it becomes more difficult to reduce emissions.
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