he White House hopes to capitalize on growing support from U.S. utilities, unions and green groups for a national clean energy mandate by backing efforts to require the U.S. grid to get 80% of its power from emissions-free sources by 2030, according to a senior administration official.
A 2030 target would be a milestone on the way to achieving President Joe Biden’s stated ambition of net zero carbon emissions in the grid by 2035. It could also potentially be passed without Republican support through a process called budget reconciliation.
“Our goal is to enact this into law,” deputy White Houseclimate adviser Ali Zaidi told Reuters, speaking of the administration’s push for a so-called clean energy standard (CES) to decarbonize the power sector.
The latter would require reductions in emissions by adopting renewables like wind and solar, using nuclear energy or finding ways to suck up and sequester greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel plants.
“There are multiple pathways to get meaningful progress in the power sector,” Zaidi said. “We think this is a really powerful one in terms of giving utilities a clear and clean planning horizon.”
via Reuters
