WASHINGTON, DC – Wednesday, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) appointed U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to lead the Subcommittee on Energy. The subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes oversight for: new technologies research and development; commercialization of new technologies including, solar energy systems; Federal energy conservation programs; energy information; global climate change; nuclear, coal and synthetic fuels research and development; nuclear and non-nuclear energy commercialization projects; nuclear fuel cycle policy; DOE National Laboratories; nuclear facilities siting and insurance program; liquefied natural gas projects; oil and natural gas regulation; refinery policy; coal conversion; utility policy; strategic petroleum reserves; regulation of Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and other oil and gas pipeline transportation systems within Alaska Arctic research and energy development; and oil, gas and coal production and distribution.

 

“The next few decades will be all about finding ways to make our energy supplies cleaner and more affordable, efficient, diverse, and distributed. We must seize this opportunity to invest in clean energy technologies in order to make America more energy independent, mitigate global warming, and lead what will be the largest growth industry of the 21st century,” said Cantwell. “Working closely with Chairman Bingaman, I also want to find ways to make our nation’s transmission grid smarter and more robust, leverage the incredible brainpower and innovation at our national labs, get our nuclear waste clean up efforts back on track, and ensure fair and functioning energy markets. I believe the Committee also has an important role to play in crafting climate change control legislation, and I’d like to focus on innovative ways to make climate policy simpler, more equitable, and more transparent.”

  

Cantwell was a key player in drafting and ensuring passage of the bipartisan 2007 Energy bill, which raises fuel efficiency standards for the first time in more than two decades, strengthened and expanded the growing market for ethanol and biodiesel, and created a ban on oil market manipulation she authored. Specifically, some of Cantwell’s other contributions included creating a new tire efficiency labeling program, requiring a national biodiesel fuel quality standard, and requiring the federal government to buy energy efficient equipment that consume less than one watt in standby mode. Cantwell also authored the groundbreaking Smart Grid title of the 2007 Energy bill which established a smart grid research and development and demonstration program and required federal officials to establish a smart grid interoperability framework to ensure all these new technologies work seamlessly together. The provisions of this title are likely to be funded at $4.5 billion in the pending American Recover and Reinvestment Act.

  

Cantwell also led efforts in the 110th Congress to pass a package of landmark bipartisan clean energy tax policies that will provide predictability and spark investment for U.S. clean energy industries. The package, passed by a vote of 92 to 3 in the Senate includes a number of new provisions including: an eight year commercial solar and fuel cell investment tax credit; new credits for ocean energy projects; tax credits for homeowners who install solar, small wind or geothermal heat pumps; a tax credit up to $7500 for new car buyers who purchase a plug-in electric vehicle, based on legislation authored by Cantwell; and a new credit for consumers who use alternative methods to heat their homes, such as wood pellet stoves. The bill also creates an incentive to install new smart meters which empower homeowners to take control of their energy use. 

 

Last Friday, the U.S. Senate voted 80 to 16 to include an amendment to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act authored by Senators Cantwell and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to create new green manufacturing jobs and provide tax relief to consumers buying new plug-in vehicles. Cantwell’s amendment will provide manufacturers of plug-in electric vehicles and components with a tax incentive for increased investment; provide consumers with tax relief when they purchase electric vehicles currently on the market; provide utilities with the flexibility they need to deploy smart grid technologies; and, increase access to recharging stations for electric vehicle owners.

  

Cantwell also played a key role in the development of the 2005 Energy Bill, helping broker a bipartisan deal on hydropower relicensing and creating new incentives and R&D programs to accelerate the production and use of cellulosic ethanol. She has also been a key booster for the biodiesel industry. Cantwell has also focused extensively on rooting out energy market manipulation, trying to block other Enron-like companies or players from jacking up energy and pump prices. 

“Transitioning to a clean energy system is a key component of our economic recovery and I am anxious to continue working with members of the Energy Subcommittee and green energy technology leaders to move America toward this new clean energy future,” said Cantwell.

 

Cantwell will also continue to serve on the Finance Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; the Indian Affairs Committee; and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.