# 119-s-5434: American Renewable Energy Act of 2026

119-s-5434, American Renewable Energy Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-09).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5434
- As of: 2026-10-09
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5434
- Congress: 119
- Title: American Renewable Energy Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-17
- Sponsor: Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-09

## Summary

**Federal Renewable Electricity Standard (FRES)** would create a national standard requiring large retail electricity suppliers to secure rising shares of renewable power and track compliance using a new Federal renewable electricity credit (FREC) system. - Retail electricity suppliers face rising annual targets that start at 20.0% in 2027 and ramp to 70.0% by 2036. Suppliers must submit FRECs by March 31 each year or make alternative compliance payments. Civil penalties include double the ACP plus the quantity of missing credits. - The bill forces investment in local generation and environmental justice by requiring at least 15% of credits from distributed generation and 15% from impacted communities in 2027–2030, rising to 20% each in 2031–2036. At least 50% of alternative compliance payment funds must directly benefit impacted communities. - It creates a national FREC trading market with not fewer than six regional markets, sets a base alternative compliance payment of $50 per MWh adjusted for inflation, and directs ACP funds to State programs for renewable deployment, storage, and efficiency.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-09-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- State production incentive clarification: benefit, low. If enacted, this would clarify that State-approved production incentive programs may require utilities to buy renewable electricity at a set rate and that facilities may voluntarily join those programs. The change would not be limited by other PURPA or Federal Power Act provisions and would preserv…
- New supplier targets and rules: cost, high. If enacted, large retail electricity suppliers (those that sold at least 1,000,000 MWh last year) would have rising renewable targets and reporting rules. The bill would set annual targets from 20.0% in 2027 to 70.0% in 2036 and require suppliers to submit credits by March 31 following each year. I…
- Federal renewable credits and tracking: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would create Federal renewable electricity credits (one FREC per MWh) for eligible renewable generation after December 31, 2026. FRECs would get unique serial numbers, be tradable, and be banked for up to two years, with rules to prevent double counting. Special rules would cov…
- Option to pay instead of credits: mixed, medium. If enacted, a supplier could satisfy some or all of its obligation by paying an alternative compliance payment (ACP) of $50 per MWh (indexed after 2026) instead of submitting a credit. ACPs would be split to States based on where the supplier sells electricity and placed in a State fund to deploy r…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act

## Sources
- [119-s-5434 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5434)

## Related
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2763)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5434 (as of 2026-10-09).