More National/World

• Congressman is indicted
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

WASHINGTON — In a "friendly" showdown of New Mexico senators, Jeff Bingaman on June 14 defeated Pete Domenici in an early round fight over a new energy bill both would like to see ultimately pass Congress.

Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat, offered an amendment requiring all utilities nationwide to obtain at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable resources - wind, solar or geo-thermal - by 2020.

Domenici, an Albuquerque Republican, countered with a higher standard - 20 percent - but one that let utilities count electricity from nuclear power plants, hydropower and electricity saved through conservation.

The Senate killed Domenici's plan on a largely party-line vote, 56-39, but that was no guarantee Bingaman can pass his own bill either.

The outcome will not affect New Mexico, which this year agreed to a standard of 15 percent renewable power by 2015 and 20 percent by 2020, or 22 other states with renewable standards in the works.

But Bingaman said having a nationwide standard would spur the development of new solar, wind and geothermal technology.

The vote on Domenici's proposal was the first major showdown over an energy bill that mandates increasing the average fuel efficiency of automobiles, trucks and SUVs from the current 27.5 miles per gallon to 35 miles per gallon in 2020. The bill also mandates the use of 36 billion gallons of ethanol from corn and other plant sources by 2020. Bingaman is managing the bill as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Domenici, who was chairman of the committee until the Democrats took back the Senate last year, and Bingaman have seldom gone head-to-head over energy legislation since they worked to pass the energy bill of 2005.

Domenici said it was "difficult" for him.

"There is no animus between Senator Bingaman and Pete Domenici," he said during the debate. "New Mexicans ought to be wondering what's cooking. But they also ought to know that he has an idea and I have a different idea built on it, and that's all there is to it."

Domenici argued that Bingaman's proposal tilted toward wind power and would be unfair to ratepayers in southeastern states, which have little wind. Under the Bingaman proposal, utilities that couldn't meet the standard would have to buy excess credits from other states or pay the government the equivalent of 2 cents per kilowatt hour.

"I don't think wind ought to be the national energy," said Domenici, who has long been a champion of nuclear power.

Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander added, "The one wind farm we have in the whole southeastern United States, the Buffalo Mountain Project in Tennessee, operated 7 percent of the time in August when we are all sitting on our porches, sweating and fanning ourselves and wanting our air-conditioners on, so wind energy doesn't help us in our part of the country."

Bingaman called Domenici's proposed "clean power standard" a "recipe for business as usual" because few utilities would actually be required to change their mix of power sources. States also could opt out of the mandate if they claimed to have their own renewable standard, he said.

Bingaman said his own renewable standard would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, increase the use of wind power by 50 percent and solar power by 500 percent. The Energy Information Administration estimated electricity prices would increase nine-tenths of 1 percent but that natural gas prices would fall because less gas would be needed to burn for electricity.

Bingaman passed a 10 percent mandate for renewable power in 2005, but the provision was dropped by House and Senate negotiators in the final version of that year's energy bill.