[P-40]

The proposal would require power companies

Do they mean the power generation facilities themselves? Or just the companies that buy and sell juice on the grids? Those are already buying whatever is for sale...so if you want more 'green' power suppliers create more incentives for them to start up. The Energy Bill of 2005 already covered that though.

[PhiKapMom]

Senator Jim Inhofe is in the center of this as well as Immigration fighting for all of us taxpayers!

[P-40]

The measure also would permit utilities that cannot find enough renewable sources to buy credits from other utilities that have exceeded the 15 percent or from the Energy Department, Bingaman said.

Now that is interesting. Will hydro power count as renewable? Can a refinery owned by BP or Shell build a wind farm and sell any credits it does not need, plus enjoy the tax advantages of wind generated power?

[Realism]

Sen. John Warner offered another contentious proposal: allowing natural gas development in waters along the Atlantic coast

What would this have to do with a renewable energy bill?

[libertarianPA]

The proposal would require power companies to increase use of wind turbines, solar panels, biomass, geothermal energy or other renewable sources to produce at least 15 percent of their electricity by 2020.

This differs from a state-controlled economy (communism) how? Why don't we start calling the Democrats by exactly what they are... Economic Fascists!

[ckilmer]

the way to do this is to have the feds pay for electrical lines from remote locations.

[upchuck]

The proposal would require power companies to increase use of wind turbines, solar panels, biomass, geothermal energy or other renewable sources....

Sorry, power companies, like SUVs and guns, are inanimate objects that can't do anything on their own.

Now, those that manage the companies could do all this politically correct squishy stuff. But the money to implement all this has to come from somewhere. And guess where the companies get revenue?

This should go NOWHERE until a reliable, bipartisan estimate of the cost per customer is presented. But I doubt that'll happen.

A rose by any other name...
A tax by any other name...