Opposition grows to clean energy acts

Oklahoma City - If nothing else, the opposition is organized.

While members of the U.S. Senate struggle to find the right language for the American Clean Energy and Security Act and the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, the opposition to both measures has grown larger and more vocal.

According to the Web site opencongress.org, the Waxman-Markey energy bill (also known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act) includes a cap-and-trade global warming reduction plan designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020. Other provisions include new renewable requirements for utilities, incentives for new carbon capture and sequestration technologies, energy-efficiency incentives for homes and buildings, and grants for green jobs.

The measure awaits action by the full Senate.

The second bill, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, is sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

That bill includes short- and long-term emissions limits, consumer protection measures and support for the development of clean energy technologies, including natural gas. The bill, which was introduced recently, has been assigned to the Senate's Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Neither measure is popular with most energy leaders.

In fact many industry leaders say the bills would kill jobs and wreck the economy. Across the country trade associations have lined up to stop the Waxman-Markey bill.

Charles Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, said the Clean Energy and Security Act offers false promises. According to a recent statement attributed to Drevna, the measure would harm national security.

"While this may appear, in the short term, to be a monumental political success, ultimately it represents nothing more than an abject policy failure," according to the statement. "Ultimately at stake are American energy security and the ability of our homegrown energy providers to compete in global markets, as we must."

The State Chamber opposes the bill.

"Oklahoma could lose 20,000 jobs and see household income fall almost $900 annually under cap-and-trade legislation that recently passed the U. S. House of Representatives, a new study shows," according to a recent statement attributed to chamber officials. "The study evaluated the impact of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, on the manufacturing sector, energy prices and overall state economies."

Natural gas companies have come out against the proposal, too.

Chip Minty, a spokesman for Devon Energy, said his company opposes the Clean Energy Act.

"We're very concerned for a few reasons," he said. "The cap-and-trade provision would create additional costs for energy for everyone in the United States. It would increase energy prices."

Officials at Oneok, the parent company of Oklahoma Gas & Electric, said they were taking a "wait-and-see" attitude.

"We are watching this legislation closely and evaluating its impact on our customers and our businesses," said company spokesman Megan Washbourne. "As is usually the case, you can expect the legislation to change several times before the final vote is taken."

Not every energy group opposes the bills.

Members of the trade group America's Natural Gas Alliance, for example, look forward to working with Kerry and others over the coming weeks to ensure that any final energy and climate bill recognizes the environmental, economic and energy security benefits of abundant natural gas, said Rod Lowman, association president.