PRESS ROOM
News Item
Ameren looks to harness sun, wind
Must supply small portion of utlitity's energy in 2008
BY MIKE FITZGERALD
News-Democrat, October 28, 2007
Worried about the effects of global warming? Feeling guilty about the environmental impact of the SUV sitting in the driveway?
Beginning in January, each payment you make on your Ameren bill might help assuage your feelings of guilt.
The $1 billion rate settlement plan Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed in August requires Ameren and other major utilities to draw at least 2 percent of their power from wind and solar energy in 2008. The amount required from renewable energy increases to 25 percent by 2025.
Anne McKibbin, a senior analyst for the Citizens Utility Board, called Illinois' new renewable energy standard "hugely forward for Illinois. We've gone from zero to 50 (miles per hour) on our energy policy in just a year."
So far 22 other states -- including New York, California, Wisconsin, Texas and Iowa -- have set up renewable portfolio standards.
The popularity of such efforts has accelerated while attempts in Congress to set up a national standard have repeatedly stalled over the past decade.
New York has one of the nation's most aggressive programs, with a goal of obtaining 25 percent of its electricity output from renewables by 2013. The state also has set up a cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide -- the chief greenhouse gas -- from power plants by 10 percent over the next decade.
Worries about the link between climate change and greenhouse gas emissions have roiled the electric utility industry and state legislatures nationwide.
Just 10 days ago, for instance, Kansas' state environmental agency became the first American government agency to reject an air permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant on the grounds its greenhouse emissions would endanger the environment.
Meanwhile, utility customers in states such as Missouri, which lacks a renewable energy standard, will have to pay extra if they want to go green.
Ameren UE on Oct. 1 started up its Pure Power program, which allows those of its 1.2 million Missouri customers who enroll to promote renewable energy resources. Participants pay 1.5 cents extra per kilowatt-hour, or an additional $15 per month for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours per month. A company called 3Degrees Group will manage the program for Ameren over the next five years.
Pure Power is limited to Missouri customers, although Ameren is interested in some day bringing it to Illinois, spokeswoman Erica Abbett said.
Libby Klitsch, lklitsch@3degreesinc.com