Green Party Platform:
Energy
Conservation, efficiency and renewable energy sources are essential elements of an energy policy. Our current practices rely on fossil fuels that pollute our air and water, encourage dependence on foreign suppliers, and promote nuclear power plants that produce radioactive wastes that will remain a hazard for millennia.
There is currently a movement toward deregulation of energy utilities in the U.S. In California--a model for the U.S.--deregulation legislation (AB 1890) allows the three investor-owned utilities to issue billions in bonds to bail out nuclear plants and other past bad investments. This will give them a cash windfall that will allow them to control the supposedly "competitive" market, and to invest in cheap energy plants worldwide, especially coal. The legislation was supposed to guarantee rate reduction for residents, but it does not. In addition, environmental damage will come from price discounting to large industrial customers, inducing more energy use than would take place under regulation.
In addition, the legislation provides a relatively small fund for renewables, low income assistance, and energy efficiency. The Renewables Portfolio Standard proposed by the renewable energy industries would have required all electricity generators to produce 10% of their energy from renewables. This was rejected in favor of a 4 year program of small grants to support renewables with no target percentage for energy production.
"Green power" providers are marketing to "green" households. However, most of them will be using existing renewables, and some will be using existing renewables that they are already taking credit for elsewhere. This will not encourage new renewable sources. Furthermore, the green power movement has been damaged by having a top-down, anti-democratic, funder-led set of objectives.
The Green Party proposes:
- Phase out fossil fuels as an energy source to the extent possible and convert to renewables.
- Use subsidies, incentives and regulations, to encourage the development of such renewable sources as passive solar for heating and cooling buildings, solar water heating, solar electricity (photovoltaics), biomass, ocean, wind and small scale hydro.
- Establish higher energy efficiency standards for lighting, home and office appliances and industrial motors; and increase rebate and replacement programs.
- Require energy efficiency, passive solar and solar water heating in building codes.
- Support the state initiative written by TURN (The Utility Reform Network) to overturn parts of the California deregulation legislation, commonly called AB 1890, including its support of nuclear power plants.
- Enact legislation to encourage decentralized public ownership and democratic control of our energy system. We support the creation of non-profit municipal utilities and other buying groups that would buy power in bulk, and we support state and federal legislation that would encourage such groups.
- Encourage citizens to investigate claims before signing up with so-called "green power" providers.
- Require all providers to use renewable sources, and enact a national Renewables Portfolio Standard that would increase the U.S. renewable electricity supply from the current 2% to 10% in 2010.
- Repeal the federal Price-Anderson Act. This limits the financial liability of the nuclear industry in case of accidents. Insurance companies will not cover nuclear power plants, so this liability is now borne by taxpayers.