Energy standard behind Proposition C

Oct 26, 2008 (The Sedalia Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- GXP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- State voters will decide whether to amend state law and establish a renewable energy standard with their vote on Proposition C.

If passed, Proposition C would require the state's investor-owned utility companies to annually increase their use of renewable sources.

The initiative would mandate industrial utilities obtain 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021, and it would also entail that energy rates not increase by more than 1 percent each year.

The initiative would not enforce the same standards on publicly owned utilities.

Passage of the initiative is estimated to cost state governmental entities $395,183.

The initiative would stimulate the state's economy, along with mandating cleaner energy production, said Tony Wyche, spokesman for Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy, the campaign supporting Proposition C.

"Passage would provide an incentive for companies to come to Missouri to create wind turbines and solar panels," Wyche said.

The initiative will move the state toward energy independence and create manufacturing jobs while saving consumers money, Wyche said. He cited a report from Clean Energy Works for Missouri that found that adopting the proposition would save consumers $330 million over the next 20 years.

Katie McDonald, spokeswoman for Kansas City Power & Light, said the company supports the ballot measure and is already working to implement the use of renewable energy sources. She said KCP&L is using enough wind power to meet the standards that Proposition C mandates utilities reach by 2011.

"The company believes a strong renewable energy policy coupled with incentives for reducing energy costs will benefit the people of Missouri," McDonald said.

Missouri utility providers AmerenUE and Empire do not support Proposition C.

"We are neutral. Beyond that, we think (renewable energy) is a good thing for Missouri," Empire's Director of Corporate Communications Amy Bass said.

Bass said the Windsor-based utility supports increasing the use of renewable energy, but added that the ballot measure should have included co-op and municipal utility mandates in addition to those on industrial utilities.

Empire has been working to increase its use of renewable energy since 2005, she said. The company is contracted with two Kansas wind farms, the Meridian Bass Wind Farm and the Elk River Wind Farm. Bass said company officials hope to produce 15 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2009, regardless of the fate of Proposition C.

Michael Cleary, with Ameren UE, said the St. Louis-based utility company does not support the initiative. Ameren UE is in favor of increasing the use of renewable energy sources, but does not view the mandates called for in Proposition C as the most effective way to bring about that change, he said.

"We don't support the measure, but we are not actively campaigning against it," Cleary said. "Our concern is that the mandates don't account for the resources that are actually available in Missouri."

The proposal's mandates are not tailored to Missouri, Cleary said. He said state utility companies would be forced to import renewable energy from states where wind or solar power are more available, such as Kansas, Arizona or Illinois.

"If we are buying it from out of state, that is not creating jobs in Missouri," Cleary said.

Cleary also said renewable energy sources are less reliable than coal or nuclear power. Ameren UE supports renewable energy production via biomass, landfill gas and small hydroelectric generation, according to a company statement. The company has a goal to provide 11 percent of utility retail sales with renewable energy by 2020.

Warren Wood, executive director of the Missouri Energy Development Association, said the industry trade group remains neutral on the initiative. State utilities are already working to increase their use of renewable energy, and Proposition C's mandates are not necessarily the most effective way to keep utility rates down compared to market solutions, he said.

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