Lawmakers File Bill to Bridge Rural and Urban Renewable Energy Gap

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http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50489

Two members of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, U.S. Representatives Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), introduced legislation in the House that would make renewable electricity produced in rural areas available to urban energy users.

Specifically, their Rural Clean Energy Superhighways Act would improve electricity transmission from rural areas with significant renewable energy potential. This would spread the cost of construction, maintenance, and operation of infrastructure throughout regions and to all beneficiaries.

"The next trick will be finding a way to get power produced in these rural areas to homes and businesses in Seattle, Shoreline, Silverdale and Spokane," said Representative Jay Inslee.

In August, the U.S. House passed in its energy independence package a federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) for at least 15 percent renewable electricity and efficiency improvements before 2020. Inslee and Blumenauer supported RES initiatives in their respective states, and both supported the RES amendment to the House energy bill.

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