Markey: My Climate Bill 'Has Huge Subsidies For Clean Coal! Huge!'

May 20, 2009: Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) explains to Republicans complaining about the renewable energy standard in the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) that the history of US policy is to give "huge subsidies" to the coal and nuclear industry, and this bill is no exception, although it gives renewable energy a chance.

Transcript:

MARKEY: So -- and let's go back over the years, over the years the nuclear industry has received $145 billion worth of federal subsidies, combined the solar and wind industry as received $5 billion. So in talking about socialism, if, if you look at what the nuclear industry has received from this committee, what the coal industry in terms of subsidies has received from this committee, oil industry received in benefits from this committee, it so dwarfs the benefits that we have or even remotely intend to provide for these nascent renewable energy sources.

The truth is, this entire bill is a clean energy bill. We have in huge subsidies for clean coal. Huge. Much more than we have in for renewables. We already have all of these nuclear programs as well. No one is saying that any of these technologies are going to be excluded. All we're saying is that over this area, and it is an exhaustive list. Again, it is wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, biogas, hydro power, marine and hydro kinetic renewable energy, fuel cells, land fill gas, waste water treatment gas, coal-mine methane, qualified waste energy, animal waste, algae, all of this, a triple credit for distributed generation.

Q: Will the gentleman yield?

MARKEY: Let me finish. All of this offers a real potential for job creation and innovation in our country. And the production of new technologies that we can export overseas. The nuclear industry, however, as they look at this bill, these largest of all nuclear utilities in the country, are saying, "We support the bill." And as John Rowe is saying from Exelon, specifically saying that the renewable electricity standard is something that he supports. So I know what you're trying to do. But, please understand that it is a balanced bill. Nuclear, coal, oil, gas, all of these renewables, all part of the mix, including new hydro. Okay. All of it. And I just beg you to give these new renewable energy technologies a chance to play their role as well.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Markey
• Ed Markey
• Congress
• Energy
• coal
• clean coal
• nuclear
• renewables
• renewable energy
• Exelon
• Waxman-Markey
• global warming
• climate change

[seaplaneguy1]

NO subsidies for ANY industry!!!! Stop the corruption. None for coal...make them clean up the mess each year...no piles of mercury ash.. None for nuclear...which is twice the cost of coal. None for wind, which has a real value per Kw-hr of less than 2 cent/ kw-hr because it is not on demand. Make it open market.

Prediction: energy will be <5 cennts/kw-hr on average when REAL COMPETITION is allow in the market. Cartels need to have tax on them, not innovators...

[ruthelator]

Um...Why not just pull back the subsidies for the "dirty" energy producers?? Given our economic crisis, the very last think we should do is ADD new subsidies, and burdens on the American people. Duh!

[KARStarla]

Watch "Cap and trade will destroy the middle class" (lets you know what devestations it means for the average person and cuts the politic talk out)