Senate committee omits renewables from energy package

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s final mark-up of the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 includes five titles: efficiency, infrastructure, supply, accountability and conservation reauthorization. The Committee approved the bill by a vote of 18 – 4. However, it omits any provisions to increase renewable energy.

Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Campaigner Kate DeAngelis offers the following statement in response:

It is ridiculous that Chairwoman Murkowski can claim to modernize the country’s energy policies without making a single mention of wind or solar. The committee seemed to forget that a forward looking energy policy must include a rapid transition to clean, renewable energy. Senator Sanders introduced a provision to encourage the adoption of solar, but the committee shot it down. The bill, instead, remains focused on rewarding the fossil fuel industry for their campaign contributions.

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Expert contact: Kate DeAngelis, (202) 222-0747, [email protected]
Communications contact: EA Dyson, (202) 222-0730, [email protected]