Mar 9 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Alejandro Bodipo-Memba Detroit Free Press

Most American voters think the country is facing an energy crisis and that government and private industry should invest billions of dollars to increase the role renewable fuels play in the nation's economy.

Those are the sentiments of a new survey of 1,000 registered voters commissioned by Energy Future Coalition, a nonpartisan public policy initiative in Washington, D.C. The study found:

* 88% of respondents favor financial incentives such as tax breaks to encourage the use of renewable energy.

* 92% of Americans support the adoption of minimum federal standards for the use of renewable energy by corporations.

* 90% of survey participants support a national goal of having 25% of the nation's energy demand being met by renewable energy sources by the year 2025. Currently, the United States imports nearly 60% of the oil it uses annually.

Renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, are liquid transportation fuels made from such crops as corn and soybeans. Other renewable or alternative sources include solar, wind, water and geothermal energy.

The study, conducted15 and with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, also found that 80% of the respondents think energy issues are as important as national security and education.