During his January 25, 2011 State of the Union speech, President Obama proposed a Clean Energy Standard (CES) policy framework that would result in 80% of U.S. electricity generation coming from "clean energy" sources by 2035. Each of these will be discussed below. Previous CES proposals have addressed multiple policy design parameters, including (1) technologies that qualify, (2) base quantities of electricity, (3) goals and requirements, (4) alternative compliance payments. This report evaluates design elements of previous CES proposals, summarizes the Administration's CES policy framework, provides state-level baseline CES compliance analysis, and presents several policy options that Congress might consider as part of a CES debate. Summary and Design Elements of Previous Clean Energy Standard Proposals

During the 111 th Congress several Clean/Renewable Energy Standard policies were proposed, although none became law. All proposals were compared in order to assess areas of commonality and divergence. President Obama's Clean Energy Standard Proposal

On January 25, 2011, during the State of the Union address, President Obama announced a clean energy goal for the country: "By 2035, 80% of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources." On February 3, 2011, the White House released a document titled "President Obama's Plan to Win the Future by Producing More Electricity Through Clean Energy," which summarizes the goals of the President's plan. Primary objectives of the Administration's plan include:
Double the share of clean electricity in 25 years Draw on a wide range of clean energy sources Deploy capital investment to sustain and create jobs Drive innovation in clean energy technologies Complement the clean energy research and development agenda
Furthermore, President Obama's plan described five core principles for the Clean Energy Standard proposal. Such level of analysis is beyond the scope of this report. Should the Policy Provide Credit to Existing and/or Incremental "Clean Energy" Generation? President Obama's CES proposal states that 40% of U.S. electricity is generated from "clean energy" sources. What Should Be the Value of Alternative Compliance Payments? Should Utility Companies of a Certain Size Be Exempt? Should Preference Be Given to Renewable Energy Generation? Qualified "clean energy" sources described in President Obama's CES proposal include (1) renewable electricity, (2) nuclear power, and (3) partial credits for clean coal and efficient natural gas. Sorting out qualified "clean energy" sources and determining the amount of whole and partial credits awarded for various electricity generation types could warrant further analysis in consideration of a federal Clean Energy Standard. Such issues include: 
1. 2. 3. 5. Methodology
Calculating the generation mix for each state started with data from EPA 2009, which provides information regarding state-by-state electricity generation. With electricity generation from NGCC power plants now available, the pivot table from the EPA 2009 was modified to include NGCC generation and "Other Natural Gas" generation. Energy sources categorized as "Clean Energy Generation" include:
Geothermal Hydroelectric Conventional Natural Gas Combined Cycle (50% of generation) Nuclear Biomass Pumped Storage Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Wind Wood and Wood-derived fuels
Energy sources categorized as "Other Generation" include:
Coal Natural Gas Combined Cycle (50% of generation) Natural Gas Other Other Gases Petroleum Other
In order to calculate the percent of generation from sources that qualify as "clean energy," the sum of "Clean Energy Generation" was divided by the total amount of generation.
During his State of the Union speech on January 25, 2011, President Obama announced an energy goal for the country: "By 2035, 80% of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources." The White House, on February 3, 2011, released a Clean Energy Standard (CES) framework focused on U.S. electricity generation. The framework describes the fundamental goals and objectives of such a policy to include doubling clean electricity, sustaining and creating jobs, and driving clean energy innovation.
Congress, if it chooses to take up CES legislation, will likely sort through and evaluate a number of policy options that might be considered during the formulation of a federal Clean Energy Standard policy. Understanding previous CES proposals, the Administration's CES policy framework, state-level baseline CES compliance, and policy considerations might assist a CES debate during the 112th Congress. These areas are the focus of this report.
CES and related concepts have been debated for more than a decade and several Clean/Renewable Energy Standard proposals were offered during the 111th Congress, although none became law. The scope of this report includes a comparative analysis of four proposals of the 111th Congress: S. 20, Clean Energy Standard Act of 2010; S. 3464, Practical Energy and Climate Plan Act of 2010; S. 3813, Renewable Electricity Promotion Act of 2010; and a substitute amendment offered for H.R. 2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. This analysis, which illustrates commonality and key differences among the legislative proposals, includes an assessment of each bill based on a uniform set of design elements. While the proposals considered generally agree on the definition of "renewable energy" (wind, solar, geothermal, etc.), they differ on certain policy aspects including (1) base quantities of electricity, (2) target/goal for the standard, and (3) alternative compliance payments, among others.
The Administration's proposal states that 40% of delivered electricity is generated from "clean energy" sources today and 80% should be generated from clean energy sources by 2035. Clean energy sources are defined to include (1) renewable energy, (2) nuclear power, and (3) partial credits for clean coal and efficient natural gas. However, the amount of partial credits received by clean coal and efficient natural gas generation is not explicitly defined.
CRS analysis of 2009 electricity generation data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) also suggested that 40% of electricity generated could be considered clean energy if renewable energy, nuclear power, and 50% of electricity generated from natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants are classified as clean energy. Further analysis of EIA data assessed the amount of clean energy generation in each state. This work revealed differences among the states regarding existing clean energy generation, with some states currently generating more than 80% of electricity from such clean energy sources and other states generating less than 5%.
Finally, the Clean Energy Standard debate involves several policy design options that Congress might consider, including (1) Should the policy credit existing and/or incremental clean energy generation? (2) What should be the value of alternative compliance payments? (3) Should utility companies of a certain size be exempt? (4) Should preference be given to renewable energy generation? and (5) Which generation sources would qualify as clean energy? These, and other, policy options are presented and discussed in this report.