An Energy Roadmap
EnergyBiz Magazine - January 25, 2011 (News Release)
FOR MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY, THE UNITED STATES HAS
had access to abundant, reliable and affordable energy needed for
America to create the largest and most dynamic economy in the world.
However, our great legacy and the promise of future achievements cannot
be taken for granted. With half of our annual trade deficit related to
energy and 70 percent of our oil coming from foreign sources, we have
become dangerously dependent on unstable foreign governments. This
tenuous situation must end and it is time for Congress to enact major
reforms.
Throughout modern history, national energy consumption and economic
prosperity have been closely correlated. Strong and healthy economies
consume vast amounts of energy, which in turn are used to increase
knowledge, productivity and quality of life.
In contrast, policymakers have a clear view of what to expect if energy
abundance is not made a top priority. Poverty and economic duress are
universal characteristics of nations without affordable energy. A
nighttime satellite image of North Korea in total darkness serves as a
powerful example of this fact. This unique perspective on North Korean
poverty from space is sharply contrasted with the shining prosperity
visible in South Korea as well as other energy-rich nations.
To provide America with the energy it needs to thrive, Congress must
first acknowledge certain facts about current energy sources. According
to the Energy Information Agency, oil, gas and coal continue to be the
overwhelmingly dominant source of energy for the people of the United
States and the world. Without these sources of energy, America would
simply not function.
Motorists in the United States consume nearly 485 million gallons of
gasoline per day. As a whole, fossil fuels account for 84 percent of the
energy we consume. The next most significant source of energy is nuclear
power, which constitutes about 7 percent. Policymakers have largely
ignored these energy facts of life.
For more than 30 years, and since the presidency of Jimmy Carter, U.S.
energy policy has largely existed outside the realm of reality.
Rationing, whether through fuel efficiency standards or other rules
imposed on manufacturers, has been used as a crutch in place of
developing meaningful sources of energy. At the same time, politicians
have made fanciful predictions about the capacity of renewable energy to
replace fossil fuels, particularly when it comes to affordability.
President Carter's 1977 prediction, for example, that 20 percent of our
energy would be sourced from solar panels by the year 2000, is 10 years
overdue. In fact, less than one percent of our energy comes from solar
today. Overall, the pace of energy innovation has been painstakingly
slow despite tens of billions of dollars in direct subsidies, tax breaks
and government-sponsored research. The American taxpayer deserves
better. It is time for our nation's energy policy to be grounded in
reality, a goal I have achieved in my new legislation.
The Roadmap for America's Energy Future recognizes that many options are
available to secure our long-term energy security. The bill leverages
these alternatives to produce a diverse energy portfolio that would
offer much greater stability in the long run, as well as more affordable
prices.
The Energy Roadmap begins by securing sufficient domestic fossil fuels
for the coming decades, expanding oil production in the far reaches of
northern Alaska, off our shores, and in the lower 48 through oil shale
deposits.
Additional access to federal land and new conventional energy leases
will not only add reliability to our supply chain, helping to keep
prices low, but will raise billions of dollars in lease and royalty
revenues. These dollars will be dedicated to a trust fund that will be
used to secure the long-term energy needs of our country through the
deployment of affordable renewable and alternative energy options.
The roadmap is much more than an effort to replace foreign oil with
domestic oil. In fact, in my legislation I have proposed unprecedented
investments in new forms of energy - the largest investment in renewable
energy in world history.
At the same time, the roadmap recognizes that past investments in
renewables have failed to provide meaningful choice or affordable energy
alternatives. This is largely because federal funding for renewable and
conventional energy alternatives have traditionally been provided to the
most influential and well-connected special interests. I propose ending
this cronyism by implementing a reverse auction that is blind to
technology and immune from the influence of lobbyists or activists.
To receive federal support from the new trust fund, an energy producer
would simply bid the minimum amount of federal assistance needed to
create 1 megawatt of renewable electricity. The lowest bid will receive
federal support.
The roadmap debunks the notion that expensive energy is the only way to
spur alternatives and rejects the myth that Americans can live without
oil and gas in the near future. Furthermore, the plan recognizes the
importance and enormous potential of nuclear power.
It is beyond dispute that nuclear power is the most effective way to
reduce our nation's overall fossil fuel consumption in the coming
decades. While additional investments in technologies and alternatives
are needed, particularly to accommodate our transportation needs,
America's electrical demand can largely be met with the construction of
200 new reactors by 2050. The roadmap not only mandates the siting of
these reactors, but it also paves the way for regulatory approval by
streamlining the process.
The attractiveness of nuclear energy is greatly enhanced by the
roadmap's waste recycling provision. Since nuclear fuel retains 96
percent of its energy, fuel recycling will greatly increase efficiency.
Additionally, it will mean that only 4 percent of the fuel will end up
in long-term storage.
Nuclear waste recycling isn't a new concept. It is already being done
safely and securely around the world. France, one of the most
environmentally conscious nations on Earth, uses recycling to power
reactors that provide 78 percent of the nation's electricity. Their
waste stream is stored in a building no larger than the size of a
typical high school gymnasium.
The reforms contained in the roadmap present Congress with an
opportunity to build a bridge to our nation's energy future without
sacrificing our national prosperity. The plan will create real,
high-paying jobs, and is certain to reduce carbon emissions more than
any proposal before Congress to date. If enacted, the Energy Roadmap
would fund the most aggressive effort to deploy renewable energy in
history.
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