We applaud the progressive think tank the Third Way for their memo today supporting a national clean energy standard (CES) for the United States:
“Third Way proposes a national Clean Energy Standard to help overcome market failures that are restraining the deployment of clean energy sources like solar, wind, and nuclear power. A Clean Energy Standard would provide the certainty businesses have asked for and incorporate national energy goals into policy. It would build upon successful renewable energy standards enacted by 33 states, while providing the flexibility states and utilities need to make long term energy decisions that reflect their geographic regions….”
The memo goes into more of an overview of specifics, but they include:
“A system that allows for maximum flexibility for each region would permit utilities to meet CES goals in the most cost-effective manner, while keeping energy generation jobs local and rates as low as possible for consumers. Con- sequently, our proposed CES would include a percentage of natural gas when replacing existing coal capacity, coal with carbon capture and sequestration, waste-to-energy, biomass, energy efficiency and nuclear power.”
And in their “critiques and responses” section they specifically address the question: “Is Nuclear Energy Clean?”
“Nuclear energy is entirely carbon-free and is currently the only zero-emission source of baseload energy in the United States, other than hydro- electricity. Both nuclear power and natural gas will be vital to providing clean, reliable energy to the U.S. economy as traditional renewables and coal with carbon capture and sequestration are further commercialized.”
There is a lot to think about in this memo, we hope it gains wide readership, and that the country does move towards a sensible, clear clean energy standards supporting both renewables and nuclear energy.
Tweet TAGS: Clean Energy Standard, democratic, think tank, Third Way
Posted in: Biomass, Nuclear Energy, Policy, Renewables, Solar, Wind | No Comments»
