My view: Sen. Domenici, join colleagues' fight
2007-08-12
Source: Santa Fe New Mexican
It sure is sunny here in New Mexico. In fact, we average 310 days of sunlight a year. With rising electricity bills, and the worry of importing foreign oil, it seems like a no-brainer to capture our sunlight and our spring winds and turn them into electricity.
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rss feedImagine the new jobs we could create in our state, and the revenue we could bring in by harnessing the clean power of the sun and wind to power our cities.
As your editorial, (Aug. 3, "Udall's bipartisan pitch for renewable energy") pointed out, our U.S. Rep. Tom Udall has this goal firmly in mind.
Unfortunately, not every New Mexican thinks this bright idea is such a no-brainer. Sen. Pete Domenici recently opposed a provision in the Senate that would have helped states like New Mexico by creating a national Renewable Electricity Standard and a strong market for new Mexico's renewably produced electricity nationwide.
In fact, Domenici stands with Southeastern senators instead of New Mexicans saying in a recent press release that requiring renewable sources of energy would be "unfair, unreliable and unaffordable."
Domenici, along with a group of southeastern senators, defeated Sen. Jeff Bingaman's Renewable Electricity Standard bill, but this was the wrong thing to do for New Mexico.
Heather Wilson voted for the House version of the bill, but then voted against the bill it got folded into. Luckily, she was on the losing side of that argument and New Mexicans can still get a national RES, thanks to Udall.
You would think a Renewable Electricity Standard would be an issue that all New Mexicans could get behind, considering our massive renewable resources in this state, but unfortunately it is not so.
Bingaman's bill got filibustered by Domenici, and the Senate had to pass the energy bill without the RES part, which hurts New Mexico's future.
Domenici still is relying on business as usual, propping up old outdated industries like coal instead of looking forward to our better future.
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