Washington – Senate Democrats, eager for a vote on energy legislation, ran into staunch Republican resistance Thursday to a proposal to require utilities to use more wind, solar and other renewable sources to produce electricity.
The impasse over renewable fuels came as the Senate prepared to vote on an equally contentious matter: whether to allow limited natural-gas development in waters off the mid- Atlantic coast.
Democrats were forced to set aside their renewable-fuels proposal after it became clear they did not have the votes to proceed.
The bill would require power companies to produce at least 15 percent of their electricity via renewable sources by 2020.
Opponents said some regions of the U.S. couldn’t meet the requirement and it would cause electricity prices to jump in those areas, especially across the South.
