Bingaman ‘anxious’ to work with Obama on clean energy standard despite skepticism

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said Wednesday that he’s planning talks with the White House on President Obama’s State of the Union call for a “clean energy” standard.

Obama last night called for obtaining 80 percent of the nation’s power by 2035 from “clean” sources, including renewables, natural gas, nuclear energy and coal plants that trap carbon emissions.

Bingaman has for years pressed for a more narrowly cast “renewable electricity standard” that would require utilities to supply escalating amounts of power from sources like wind and solar. He has opposed proposals in years past that credit non-renewable sources.

But Bingaman told reporters Wednesday that he’s planning to work with the White House on the “clean” standard idea.

“I never felt it was a bad idea. I just haven’t seen a concrete proposal yet that I thought was workable and made sense,” Bingaman said after a committee hearing on the BP oil spill.

“I am anxious to work with the president and [Energy] Secretary Chu, and Republicans and the Democrats, to see if we can come up with a proposal that does what the president outlined,” Bingaman added.

Asked about introducing legislation that reflects Obama’s plan, Bingaman replied: “We need to get some expert advice as to what would be required and how this would work.”

Bingaman said the White House reached out to him ahead of Obama’s Tuesday speech. “I told them we would be glad to look at it, work with them and see what could be accomplished,” Bingaman said.

A wider standard that credits sources like nuclear energy and natural gas could be a bridge to more bipartisan support. We blogged Tuesday night about Obama's pitch here, here and here.