Federal law requires 70% clean energy by 2036, helps poor communities.
S. 5434 — American Renewable Energy Act of 2026 · Filed by Peter Welch (D-VT) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Sep 17, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
Big electricity companies must buy more renewable energy each year. By 2036, they must get 70% of their power from clean sources. Companies can buy renewable credits, pay a $50 fee per megawatt-hour, or do both. At least 15 to 20% of credits must come from poor neighborhoods. Money from fees goes to states to build more renewable energy. States must help communities save on power bills.
Who it affects
Electricity companies must follow the new rules. Poor and polluted neighborhoods get at least half the fee money. All people who buy power may see bill changes and cleaner air.
One thing to notice
At least 50% of fee money must go to communities with pollution. States report their work each year and lose fee money if they do not follow the rule.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Sep 17, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 17, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- renewable energy — Power from wind, solar, and other clean sources that do not run out.
- renewable credits — A proof that a power company bought clean energy from wind or solar.
- fee — Money a power company pays if it does not buy enough clean energy.
- poor neighborhoods — Communities with lower incomes that have often had more pollution.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (27,207 characters) on Oct 3, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal law requires 70% clean energy by 2036, helps poor communities.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5434/simple Report an error
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