How you’ll pay for renewable power

Now the federal government is getting in on the act, with a couple of proposals in Congress for a nationwide standard – something along the lines of 15 percent by 2020. Currently about 2 to 3 percent of electricity in the U.S. comes from renewable sources, not including big hydro dams.

The idea is to stimulate the development of clean power, which nearly everyone agrees is needed to provide energy security and counter global warming.

“It’s considered a way to jumpstart the market,” said Dave Hamilton, director of global warming and energy projects at the Sierra Club, which supports a federal standard. “Utilities had proven resistant to doing it themselves.”

CNN