Washington, 26 July (Argus) — Supporters of a national renewable electricity mandate said today they expect one to be proposed as an amendment to the energy legislation the Senate will debate starting this week.

Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nevada) will unveil modest energy legislation as soon as today that does not include a renewable electricity standard (RES) or cap on greenhouse gas emissions — much to the disappointment of renewable energy advocates. But they expect one of their Senate allies to offer an RES as an amendment to the new energy bill.

“We can virtually guarantee there will be an amendment offered,” former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) said in a conference call with reporters. Daschle has been working with a coalition of renewable energy industry companies to lobby Congress for an RES. On 23 July the coalition sent a letter to Reid urging inclusion of the RES in the new energy bill.

Daschle did not say who might introduce such an amendment, but several Democrats have called for including an RES in the legislation, including Sens. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), Mark Udall (D-Colorado), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado).

Daschle and other coalition members predicted such an amendment would easily pass, despite a statement made by Reid over the weekend that he lacks 60 votes needed to get an RES included in this bill. Reid's comments also indicated he may not have enough time to allow for debate on amendments, as he wants to wrap up work on the new bill before the Senate leaves for its August recess next week.

“He's fully aware we have over 60 votes,” said Denise Bode, chief executive of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

To help clear the path for Senate approval, Bode said she would be willing to accept the 15pc by 2021 RES included in legislation passed last year by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This would fall well short of what some RES supporters have been seeking, such as the 25pc RES proposals by Klobuchar and Tom and Mark Udall, but it would still help send a long-term signal to manufacturers, Bode said. “We need to get something in place,” she said.

AWEA tomorrow will release its industry report for the first half of 2010, which will show just 1,200MW of wind generation were built, compared with 4,000MW over the same period last year, Bode said.

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