Lone Star Chapter Sierra Club

Sierra Club tells Governor's Competitiveness Council:
Right on Efficiency & Wind; Wrong on Global Warming

(Austin) -- The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club told the Governor's Competitiveness Council that the 36 recommendations contained in the 2008 Energy Plan offered much good on smart meters, energy efficiency, wind transmission and solar power, but sent the wrong message on efforts and future requirements to reduce global warming gases.

"There is much good in these recommendations," noted Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "But on the chief energy issue of our day - how to reduce global warming gases - the Council chose to recommend 'educating' our citizens about the costs of global warming legislation, instead of viewing it as an opportunity to reenergize our economy to be the clean energy state of the future."

The Lone Star Chapter also submitted copies of its recently updated report previously submitted to the House Select Committee on Energy Capacity and Environmental Effects.

The report contains 12 specific legislative policies that would help Texas meet its energy demand, while reducing global warming generation and other pollutants. The report - A 12-Step Plan for Meeting our Electricity Needs that is Good for Texas and the Climate - is available on the Sierra Club website.

Among the Governor's report recommendations lauded by the Sierra Club as good first steps are:

. Amend the rules and allocation formulas at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to offer incentives for solar power for low-income housing;

. Issue an expeditious ruling on the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones and resulting transmission lines so that more wind capacity can be added to the grid;

. Raise the energy efficiency goals to higher levels;

. Increase funding for customer education through the PUC;

. Require TDUs to deploy advanced meters as quickly as possible.

However, Reed highlighted the negative impacts of Recommendation 11, which calls on the state to "form a private-public partnership to educate the public on the cost of carbon regulation to Texans... (and) conducting a study highlighting the cost of carbon regulation."

"Instead of putting our heads in the sand and hoping that global warming legislation doesn't pass, and then having public money spent on telling Texans that it's bad, Texas should prepare ourselves to reduce global warming gases and become real leaders on a new clean energy economy," Reed told the Council. "We can reduce global warming gases, create jobs and save consumers money if we are smart on how we respond to the challenge of climate change and expected federal legislation."

Reed described the steps that the State of Texas could take that would reduce global warming gases, increase clean electricity generation and prepare Texas for federal global warming legislation:

. Create a global warming reporting and inventory system - as many other states have done - or join the existing Climate Registry so that companies could determine their contribution and begin to make reductions;

. Create a flexible global warming action plan with input from stakeholders to identify cost-effective and beneficial ways to reduce global warming gases;

. For new electric utilities, begin to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, and require carbon offsets for new permits;

. Increase energy efficiency requirements at investor-owned utilities to 100 percent of growth by 2015, and begin a revolving loan program so that electric cooperatives, river authorities and municipal non-competitive utilities can meet their electric demand through energy efficiency;

. Fund the state weatherization program for low-income Texans - already funded through the Systems Benefit Fund whose balance is over $700 million - with an emergency $80 to $100 million fund to reduce energy consumption for low-income Texans.

. Increase the Renewable Portfolio Standard to 20 percent of sales by 2020, with a specific carve-out for solar or other non-wind renewable resources;

. Help commercialize solar power and electricity storage through the Governor's Emerging Technology Fund

. Ramp up commercial, public and residential building efficiencies through an Advanced Building Program which could include home rating systems for energy

. Encourage the development of electric cars and plug-in hybrids through Green Fleet requirements, tax breaks and infrastructure studies to help steer transportation solutions that will reduce global warming gases.

Reed said Sierra Club would be involved in the regulatory and legislative process to help create jobs in Texas, and reduce energy demand through energy efficiency, on-site solar and create transmission lines so that clean energy can be added to the mix. "No state has more to gain with energy efficiency and renewables than Texas. Tens of thousands of new, high-paying "green-collar" jobs could be created in the next 10 years."