In Senate Speech, Sen. Franken Presses Passage of His Amendment to Establish a National Energy Efficiency Standard

Franken Amendment Helps States Benefit from Cost-Effective Energy Saving Programs and Technologies

Washington, D.C. – February 3, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) — In a speech delivered today on the Senate floor, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), a member of the Senate Energy Committee, urged his colleagues to back his measure to adopt a national energy efficiency standard. The measure will be voted on later today.

The American Energy Efficiency Act-legislation introduced by Sen. Franken that serves as the basis for his amendment-promotes efficient use of electricity and natural gas by establishing a national efficiency standard to help energy consumers deploy energy efficient technologies in their homes and businesses. Currently, 25 states, including Minnesota, have such standards. The amendment would be included in the larger Senate Energy Bill that will likely be voted on later this week.

You can download video of his speech by clicking here.

“Comprehensive energy legislation needs to promote innovation, deploy clean energy technology, and create good paying jobs,” said Sen. Franken. “My amendment will send market signals that we are serious about energy efficiency. It will unleash the manufacturing and deployment of all kinds of energy efficient products throughout the economy. It will help households and businesses save money on their electricity bills.”

By 2030, Sen. Franken’s amendment would generate 20 percent energy savings across the country and result in $145 billion in net savings. This measure will help reduce energy bills and help consumers save money.

Sen. Franken has long been a champion for energy efficiency. His Back to Work Minnesota Initiative encouraged Minnesota businesses to retrofit their infrastructure to more efficient, cost-effective systems, which saves money and spurs growth. Most recently, Sen. Franken participated in the momentous climate change conference in Paris where he met with world leaders and discussed efforts to curb climate change through efforts like this amendment.

You can read a copy of his prepared remarks below:

Floor Statement on the Energy Policy Modernization Act
Senator Al Franken
(as prepared for delivery)

M. President, I rise today to talk about the importance of updating our nation’s energy policy. I want to thank Chairwoman Murkowski and Ranking Member Cantwell-and their staffs-for their hard work in crafting a bipartisan energy bill.

Congress hasn’t passed a comprehensive energy bill since 2007, and a lot has changed in the energy sector since then. We have seen a transformation in the renewable energy sector. Electricity generation from wind power has grown by more than 400 percent. Wind energy now provides electricity for 20 million Americans.

The growth of solar energy is equally impressive. In its early days, solar power was known for powering satellites and space stations. Now we are seeing residential and utility scale solar power becoming important components of the grid. Since the passage of the last energy bill in 2007, our solar generation capacity has increased more than 2000 percent. During that time, the cost of solar energy has dropped more than 60 percent.

M. President, we have to build on these trends and reorient our energy sector toward a clean energy future. Comprehensive energy legislation needs to promote innovation, deploy clean energy technology, and create good paying jobs.

The bipartisan energy bill that we are currently debating is an important step forward. It improves our nation’s energy efficiency through common-sense measures like updating building codes. It invests in energy storage, which will turn intermittent renewable energy into base load power. It also helps states and tribes access funds to deploy more clean energy technologies. These are good measures, and that is why I voted to support this bill out of the Energy Committee.

However, the current bill does not go far enough to fight the challenge of climate change. Climate change presents a Sputnik moment, M. President-an opportunity to rise to the challenge and defeat that threat. In response to Sputnik, we mobilized American ingenuity and innovation. We ended up not just winning the Space Race and sending a man to the moon, we did all sorts of great things for the American economy and society.

By rising to the challenge of climate change, we can bet again on American ingenuity. We have the opportunity to not just clean up our air, but also to drive innovation and create jobs.

And that’s why I’m offering my American Energy Efficiency Act as an amendment to this bill.

This amendment-which is cosponsored by Senators Heinrich, Warren, and Sanders-establishes a national energy efficiency standard that requires electric and natural gas utilities to help their customers use energy more efficiently. This is something that 25 states are already doing, and what those programs have shown us is that energy efficiency standards work.

Our amendment will send market signals that we are serious about energy efficiency. It will unleash the manufacturing and deployment of all kinds of energy efficient products throughout the economy. It will help households and businesses save money on their electricity bills. And according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy-the experts in energy efficiency who rated the energy savings in the Portman-Shaheen bill-our amendment will generate more than three times the energy savings of the entire Portman-Shaheen energy efficiency title in the base bill. By the year 2030, our amendment will generate 20 percent energy savings across the country, and result in about $145 billion in net savings to consumers.

Our amendment is modeled on the experience of states that have adopted energy efficiency standards. In fact, the first state to adopt efficiency standards was Texas-and similar programs have been adopted since then by both red states and blue states. And what we’ve seen with these programs is that they work: they are saving energy, and they are saving consumers money.

My state of Minnesota passed its energy efficiency standard under a Republican Governor, Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2007. We have a goal of 1.5 percent annual energy savings. And we don’t just meet that goal, we exceed it.

These energy efficiency standards also send a market signal to companies to innovate and deploy energy savings technologies. The state of Arkansas set its energy savings targets in 2011-and according to the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation, the program has generated $1 billion in sales by energy efficiency companies. The standard has also help create 9,000 well-paying jobs in the state. The program has been so successful that the state public service commission recently extended its energy efficiency goals through 2019.

Arizona implemented its energy efficiency savings targets in 2011. Just 3 years after its implementation, Arizona went from being the 29th to the 15th most energy efficient state in the country. Through the program, utilities have saved electricity equivalent to powering 133,000 homes for one year. Businesses and residents have already saved $540 million from reduced energy and water usage. These savings put more money in people’s pockets. That means more money to buy groceries, or to buy a new car, or to pay for college.

The states have shown that energy efficiency standards work. We should learn from Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado, and 22 others states and bring this successful experiment to the whole country.

M. President, I want to again applaud the efforts of Senators Murkowski and Cantwell in bringing the bipartisan energy bill to the floor. And I want to urge my colleagues to vote for my amendment if it comes for a vote this week.

My amendment will make this good piece of legislation stronger. It will reduce emissions. It will save Americans money. And it will unleash clean energy innovation and jobs throughout the nation.

Thank you, M. President.