In the letter, seen by Reuters, the group of 13 power interests, including generators Exelon Corp, PSEG, and Talen Energy Corp, said the administration should not only implement policies but include a “clean energy standard” or CES that would assure that electricity industry cuts carbon emissions 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The letter does not mention Biden’s plan to fully decarbonize the power sector by 2035, although the 2030 deadline is consistent with his wider goal of decarbonizing the entire economy by 2050, as part of his strategy to fight climate change.
“A federal policy framework can be designed to support the power sector’s deployment of strategies that are technically feasible, ensure reliability, and maintain affordability for customers,” said the letter.
Setting the 2030 goal and moving forward
The administration’s 2030 goal is also consistent with Evergreen Action, an advocacy group that proposed a CES in February. Sam Ricketts, a co-founder, said utilities should worry less about the 2035 goal, and focus on early wins as the last portion of emissions cuts could be the hardest to achieve.
“The most difficult part of the grid to decarbonize is that last 10 percent. Rather than fight about that, let’s talk about what we can do now to get to that 80% reduction,” he said.
A CES would need to be approved by Congress, and several lawmakers, including Democrats U.S. Representative Frank Pallone and Senator Tina Smith, have introduced legislation that includes a CES.
Having a standard would help to eliminate any confusion on what to do first, giving power companies a set of gradually rising targets to cut emissions until they hit net-zero, with a range of methods from adopting wind and solar power, using existing and advanced nuclear energy, or sucking up carbon from coal and natural gas plants before they reach the atmosphere.
The Biden administration included a CES in its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, earlier this month.
The climate crisis is very serious. A Feb. 26 U.N. report estimated that the world is on pace to reduce global greenhouse gas levels barely half a percentage point from 2010 levels by 2030. To hit the 1.5-degree target, nations would have to reduce emissions by 45 percent by that date and become net-zero by 2050.
