PHOTO FILE: US President Joe Biden comments on Russia in the Eastern House of the White House in Washington, USA, April 15, 2021. REUTERS / Tom Brenner / File Photo
A group of US electricity companies wrote to President Joe Biden this week saying they would work with his administration and Congress to devise a broad set of policies to achieve a short-term goal of reducing the sector’s carbon emissions by 2030.
Washington should implement policies, including a clean energy standard, or ETUC, to ensure that the electricity industry reduces carbon emissions by 80% below 2005 to 2030 levels, the group of 13 energy interests, including generators. Exelon Corp (EXC.O), PSEG (PEGPP .UL) and Talen Energy Corp, said in a letter to Biden.
The letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, did not mention Biden’s goal of fully decarbonising the energy sector by 2035 as part of his strategy to combat climate change. But he said the 2030 timetable is in line with Biden’s broader goal of decarbonising the entire economy by 2050.
“A federal policy framework can be designed to support the implementation of strategies in the energy sector that are technically feasible, ensure reliability and maintain accessibility for customers,” the letter sent to Biden said on Friday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 2030 target was in line with Evergreen Action, an advocacy group that proposed an ESC in February. Sam Ricketts, co-founder, said utilities should worry less about the 2035 target and focus on early gains, as the last part of emission reductions is the hardest to achieve. Read more
Several lawmakers, including representatives of US Democrats Frank Pallone and Senator Tina Smith, have introduced legislation that includes an ESC.
The standard will set gradually increasing targets for the energy industry to reduce emissions to zero, with a range of methods from adopting wind and solar energy, using existing and advanced nuclear energy, or aspirating carbon from coal and gas plants. natural before reaching the atmosphere.
The White House this month included a CES in its $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure package, without detailing how it would work.
Some plans for an ESC include flexibilities, such as allowing utilities to earn bank loans for over-realization in the early years, which could be used for compliance in the coming years, when progress on reducing emissions becomes more difficult.
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