Connecticut Renewable Energy Standard
Senate Bill 463
Connecticut’s existing renewable electricity standard provides support for the development of renewable energy both in and for the state. Given that the electricity market in New England is region-wide, renewable energy anywhere on the system brings benefits to Connecticut, in terms of less dependence on imported sources of fuel, greater energy security, reduced demand for natural gas (the fuel that generally determines electricity prices in the region), and environmental benefits.
Senate Bill 463, proposed late in the committee process—and heard on the last public hearing date—by Senate Energy Committee Chair John Fonfara (D-Hartford) came to a vote yesterday in the Energy and Technology Committee and approved. It may now be considered by the full legislature. The bill would reduce annual requirements for new renewable electricity under the state’s standard for utilities starting in 2011 and drop the 2020 target from 20 percent to just 11.5 percent—an unambitious stretch from the 2010 requirement of 7 percent. The bill would instead require utilities (and their customers) to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency in the state, but offers no guarantees that additional renewable energy would happen as a result, beyond that specified by the standard.
