More attempts to repeal standards expected but advocates say
voters against it
Environmentalists and wind energy advocates are touting the
results of a recent survey that shows bipartisan support among Kansas voters
for renewable energy standards passed in 2009.
Attempts to repeal the standards fizzled last year, but are
expected to resurface during the current legislative session, with House
Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, and the Kansas Chamber, a powerful lobbying
force, speaking in favor of repeal.
But a survey commissioned by the Wind Coalition, Climate and
Energy Project, Kansans for Wind Energy, and the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra
Club shows strong support for the law that requires the state's utility
companies to draw 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.
“Kansas voters overwhelmingly support the energy bill that
passed in 2009, and you’re looking at 73 percent support among
Republicans," said Kimberly Svaty, of the Wind Coalition. "So, very
big numbers.”
The poll, which has a margin of error of four percentage
points, was conducted by phone in January by North Star Opinion Research,
an Alexandria, Va., firm that also does research for Republican candidates for
office.
North Star's pollsters asked 600 registered Kansas voters:
"In 2009 the Kansas Legislature passed a comprehensive energy bill that
requires Kansas utility companies to generate 20 percent of their electricity
from renewable sources by the year 2020. Do you support or oppose that
law?"
The majority, 75 percent, said they either "strongly
supported" or "somewhat supported" the law. Only 16 percent said
they opposed it.
Of the survey respondents, 45 percent were registered
Republicans, 20 percent were registered Democrats, and the rest were either
unaffiliated or a third party.
The poll also found that a majority of respondents would
support increasing the renewable energy standards rather than repealing them,
even if it resulted in a $5 per month increase in their utility bills.
“Kansas is traditionally a red state, and it’s a fairly
conservative red state," Svaty said. "Interestingly enough, you’ll
find not only do the voters support keeping the current renewable energy
standards, they favor increasing them.”
Mike O'Neal, president and CEO of the Kansas Chamber, said
his organization's position in favor of repealing the renewable standards is
"but one of several planks of the Chamber’s Energy & Environment
policy, which has consistently promoted market-driven vs. government-mandated
solutions to address energy costs."
"The Kansas Chamber supports efforts to maintain a
comprehensive energy policy that balances a diverse portfolio of energy sources
and technologies, including wind," O'Neal said. "That policy must
avoid government picking winners and losers among energy sources and
technologies, something the Wind Coalition poll admits is supported by 63% of
those surveyed."
O'Neal said a recent poll his organization commissioned
showed that rising energy costs are one of business owners' greatest concerns
and said that informed the Chamber's position on repealing the standards.
He said the position is ultimately not about wind energy,
but about government mandates.
"Wind energy as a renewable energy source is
here," O'Neal said. "We welcome its producers to our marketplace.
It’s time that it stand on its own as a part of a market driven versus
government-mandated energy policy."
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