Defining clean energy

Source: BY MATTHEW CHOI, Politico • Posted: Sunday, May 2, 2021

Democrats appear to be uniting around requiring the power grid run on 80 percent clean energy generation by 2030. How they get there — and just what clean means — is another matter.

The party faces fractured approaches to crafting a clean energy standard, with progressives spurning natural gas, nuclear energy and carbon capture, while moderates from fossil fuel producing regions are insisting on including them. Navigating the competing visions will prove a major balancing act since the party holds razor-thin majorities in both chambers.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has been leading the effort for a clean energy standard as part of its CLEAN Future Act, which would be in line with President Joe Biden’s goals for 100 percent clean electricity by 2035. But lawmakers like Sens. Tina Smith(D-Minn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) are also planning to weigh in, as is the house Climate Crisis Committee and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.