Washington (Platts)--31Aug2010/529 pm EDT/2129 GMT
US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Tuesday said that while he does not believe there is any chance the Senate will vote this year on a bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions, he plans to pursue a narrow energy bill that could include a renewable electricity standard. The Nevada Democrat said he hopes to bring a bill to the floor before the November elections, but would be willing to do so after the elections, if necessary. "Maybe after the elections, we can get some Republicans to help us" pass an energy bill, said Reid, who is facing a tough reelection campaign. "You won't hear the last of us until we adjourn sine die." In conference call with reporters, Reid said he "absolutely" believes there is a chance the bill might include a renewable energy standard and that such a provision would actually attract a couple Senate Republicans, who hold 41 of the chamber's 100 seats. "Two Republican senators expressed interest" in voting for the legislation if it also contained an RES, he said. Reid said his energy bill remains a "work in progress," but would contain provisions he proposed before Congress left on its August recess. Those provisions include increasing the spill liability fund requirements of oil companies from $1 billion to $5 billion, encouraging retrofits for natural gas and electric vehicles, boosting the Home Star efficiency program with $5 billion in incentives and fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund. But Reid said there does not appear to be any room to add a controversial GHG cap and trade system, which passed the House of Representatives in 2009. "It doesn't appear to the have the traction we wish it had," Reid said of the GHG measure. Last year, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reported legislation to the full Senate that contained an RES of 15% by 2021. The standard could be met in part by energy efficiency. The House last year passed a 20% by 2020 RES that also would include energy efficiency contributions. --Cathy Cash, cathy_cash@platts.com Similar stories appear in Inside Energy. See more information at http://www.platts.com/Products/insideenergy/