PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-466.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 1, 2012
Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require, beginning in calendar 2015, each electric utility that sells electric energy to electric consumers in a state (other than Alaska or Hawaii) to obtain a percentage of such electric energy from clean energy.
Prescribes a schedule for calendar year minimum annual percentages.
Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) establish a federal clean energy credit trading program under which electric utilities may submit clean energy credits to certify their compliance, and (2) issue to each generator of electric energy a quantity of clean energy credits determined in accordance with this Act.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Authorizes the Secretary to delegate: (1) administration of a national clean energy credit market for purposes of establishing a transparent national market for the sale or trade of clean energy credits; and (2) the tracking of dispatch of clean generation.
Subjects to a civil penalty an electric utility that fails to meet the requirements of this Act.
Requires the Secretary to establish a state energy efficiency funding program.
Exempts from this Act any electric utility that sold less than the prescribed quantity of megawatt-hours of electric energy to electric consumers during the preceding calendar year.
Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on mechanisms to supplement the standard under this Act by addressing clean energy resources that do not generate electric energy but that may substantially reduce electric energy loads, including energy efficiency, biomass converted to thermal energy, geothermal energy collected using heat pumps, thermal energy delivered through district heating systems, and waste heat used as industrial process heat.
Directs the Secretary to submit a report to Congress that: (1) quantifies the losses of natural gas during its production and transportation, and (2) recommends programs and policies to promote conservation of natural gas for beneficial use.
People & committees
Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM] · D–NM
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-466.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1197-1199)
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1196-1197)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2146 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2146 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2146 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2146 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.