Oklahoma House passes RES bill to create renewables standard
Recharge News|May 18, 2010
Oklahoma's House has passed a bill that creates a renewable energy standard and seeks to expand transmission capacity for further development of the state's abundant wind energy resource. The vote was 91-2. House Bill 3028, which creates the Oklahoma Energy Security Act, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Oklahoma's House has passed a bill that creates a renewable energy standard and seeks to expand transmission capacity for further development of the state's abundant wind energy resource. The vote was 91-2. House Bill 3028, which creates the Oklahoma Energy Security Act, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Oklahoma's House has passed a bill that creates a renewable energy standard and seeks to expand transmission capacity for further development of the state's abundant wind energy resource.
The vote was 91-2. House Bill 3028, which creates the Oklahoma Energy Security Act, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
House Speaker Chris Benge of Tulsa, who sponsored the bill, says the proposed RES is not a mandate, but instead will set a goal that 15% of all electricity generated within Oklahoma come from renewable sources and conservation by 2015.
Except for Arkansas, other states bordering Oklahoma - Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Texas - have renewable energy mandates.
"Oklahoma is seen as a national alternative energy leader, and …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Oklahoma's House has passed a bill that creates a renewable energy standard and seeks to expand transmission capacity for further development of the state's abundant wind energy resource.
The vote was 91-2. House Bill 3028, which creates the Oklahoma Energy Security Act, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
House Speaker Chris Benge of Tulsa, who sponsored the bill, says the proposed RES is not a mandate, but instead will set a goal that 15% of all electricity generated within Oklahoma come from renewable sources and conservation by 2015.
Except for Arkansas, other states bordering Oklahoma - Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Texas - have renewable energy mandates.
"Oklahoma is seen as a national alternative energy leader, and this bill will help further solidify our state's commitment to reducing our country's dependence on dangerous foreign oil," he says.
While Oklahoma is a major oil and gas producing state, it remains dependent on coal imported mainly from Wyoming's Powder River Basin as fuel for some power plants.
The state under Governor Brad Henry, a Democrat, has aggressively promoted development of wind energy and cellulosic biofuels. The state had 1,130 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity at the end of 2009, ranking it fourth among Great Plains states after Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota.
Like several other states in the region, transmission grid capacity constraints have hindered Oklahoma's drive to incorporate more wind power. Oklahoma Gas &Electric, the state's biggest utility, is leading the push to add high-voltage lines.
The bill calls for the government to work with state regulators and the Southwest Power Pool, a regional organization that manages transmission in eight states, to develop plans to expand capacity in Oklahoma.