Smart grid - the bigger picture

A recent post covered a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on Smart Grid, part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, H.R. 6 that became P.L. 110-140 (still unavailable online). CRS subsequently issued a report on the entire act, providing a summary of its major provisions.

The report cites the law's key provisions as:

• Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). Sets a target of 35 miles per gallon for the combined fleet of cars and light trucks by model year 2020.


• Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). Sets a modified standard that starts at 9.0 billion gallons in 2008 and rises to 36 billion gallons by 2022.


• Energy Efficiency Equipment Standards. Includes a variety of new standards for lighting and for residential and commercial appliances, including residential refrigerators, freezers, refrigerator-freezers, metal halide lamps, and commercial walk-in coolers and freezers.

CRS summarizes each of the 16 titles in the new law.

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007: A Summary of Major Provisions, CRS Report RL34294 (pdf, 27pp/152kB, from Open CRS), Dec. 21, 2007