Energy Bills Leading Topic at Lame Duck

The future of several energy bills may look surprisingly bright following November’s midterm elections, according to some political paparazzi, and will remain a hot topic of conversation come Wednesday’s lame duck session.

One of the bills in question is the natural gas vehicle and infrastructure development bill; since September Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has been trying to pass the bill that would attain natural gas as a viable alternative to transportation fuel, and offers financial rebates to those with such vehicles. According to Greenwire reports, however, the vote is unlike to get a 60 member majority.

Other energy bills potentially up for vote include the oil-spill response bill, renewable electricity mandate and an extension of expiring tax credits. The “Environment and Public Works” lame duck session scheduled for Wednesday will discuss a variety of issues in front of the full committee. Entitled “water resources development act: legislative and policy proposals to benefit the economy, create jobs, protect public safety and maintain America’s Water Resources Infrastructure.”

Late in October, Reid showed his support of such legislatures when he created 300 new jobs at a solar manufacturing plant in Nevada. Armonix, the clean energy company, was able grow due to the Recovering Act tax credit. Meanwhile, the American Wind Energy Association was enthusiastic with the response from votes in California in the defeat of Prop 23. “Yesterday’s vote was a victory over all the fossil fuel lobbyists who seek to block competition from clean renewable energy. A recent Harris poll found 87 percent of Americans want more wind energy,” the organization wrote in a statement.