Oklahoma is ahead of schedule in renewable energy goal, officials say

More than 1,100 megawatts of wind power capacity came online last year in the state. Much of it was driven by a rush of projects spawned by uncertainty over the expiration of a crucial federal tax credit for electricity generated from renewable energy. Congress then extended the wind production tax credit until the end of 2013.

Oklahoma now ranks sixth in the nation for wind energy capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group. The state was in eighth place in 2011.

An Oklahoma Corporation Commission report on the 2012 status of the renewable energy goal is expected in the next few weeks. The 2011 report showed more than 2,750 megawatts of renewable energy capacity and another 165 megawatts that came from energy efficiency measures adopted by utilities.

At least two bills at the Legislature, including one by Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, would have upgraded the renewable energy goal to 20 percent by 2020. Both failed to get a committee hearing this year.

Spokesman Nathan Atkins said Bingman wanted to hold onto the bill and work on it during next year's session. Bingman's Senate Bill 555 included a provision allowing exports of renewable energy outside the state to count toward the proposed percentage.

Oklahoma is one of eight states to have a renewable energy goal. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have renewable energy standards, which have come under criticism by conservative policy groups for forcing utilities to install renewable capacity at the expense of consumers.

The American Legislative Exchange Council has model legislation called the Electricity Freedom Act for lawmakers to introduce in states with renewable energy mandates. The model legislation calls the standards “essentially a tax on consumers of electricity” that distort the market. It has been introduced in at least five states this year.