Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced 13 energy bills on Wednesday that would aim to speed up new power plants while blocking incentives to help wind and solar.
Why it matters: The package is the most comprehensive GOP energy policy yet to address soaring energy demand from AI data centers.
- It leans on President Trump's energy dominance agenda that calls for fossil fuels while attacking wind and solar as threats to grid reliability.
Driving the news: The bills were approved largely along party lines.
- One would require state regulators to look at how reliable their energy supplies would be if utilities sold rising percentages of power generated from wind and solar.
- Another would allow companies five years to contest their power plants' retirements from service and require them to provide a five-year notice of any plant retirements.
- And a bill to prioritize dispatchable generation — power sources that can be quickly adjusted to meet electricity demand fluctuations — already has a Senate version.
What they're saying: "The bills before us today will ensure timely interconnection of dispatchable resources," E&C Chairman Brett Guthrie said.
The other side: Democrats reiterated arguments made in subcommittee that the bills will cause energy prices to rise by excluding renewables that dominate projects seeking to connect to the grid.
- "Instead of figuring out how to get more power of all types on the grid, Republicans just want to prioritize new natural gas plants," E&C Ranking Member Frank Pallone said.
Our thought bubble: House GOP leadership is likely to bring the package up — perhaps as an "energy week."
- Republicans have been keen so far this session to seize on rising energy demand and costs to roll back regulations and fast-track power plants.
