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Energy Trade Coalition to Bush: Get a Clue by Staff Environmental News Network, May 17, 2001

The Bush administration is ignoring the most modern and sensible ways of supplying America's energy needs, says a coalition of energy businesses and industry trade associations.

The Business Council for Sustainable Energy has expressed its disapproval of President George W. Bush's decision to cut $200 million from renewable energy and energy efficiency budget at the U.S. Department of Energy.

The trade group, composed of businesses and trade associations committed to clean energy deployment, made its views known in its testimony on April 26 before the Energy Subcommittee of the House of Representatives Science Committee.

"In the face of supply problems throughout the country, cuts in these programs just don't make sense," said Michael Marvin, the council's president. "What are the three technologies that can help the country most in the shortest period of time? The same ones that make sense in the long term: natural gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency. That's where the budget focus should be."

The Business Council for Sustainable Energy points to the "astonishing" 80 percent reduction in costs of utility-scale wind facilities due to the combined efforts of industry and the Department of Energy.

Nine major wind projects, all announced during the past year, will almost double U.S. wind energy capacity, fulfilling the electric needs of 600,000 average U.S. households.

Collectively, the output of these wind projects is equivalent to several traditional power plants and will aid the heavily-stressed west coast power grid.

Randy Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association and a BCSE member, said, "If we have learned anything from the events of the past year, it is that we need to be investing more, not less, in the solutions of the future like renewables, clean natural gas technologies and energy efficiency."

Department of Energy research and development efforts have also helped to bring down the cost of solar electricity by 50 percent over the last five years. The photovoltaic solar industry has grown three-fold in less than a decade.

Geothermal energy meets the electricity needs of 6 million Americans and supplies 6 percent of California's electricity.

The BSCE reminded the lawmakers that many renewable energy projects in California provide the margin of electricity that keeps the lights on, and their contribution to grid reliability will be realized many more times across the nation as summer approaches and people turn on their air conditioners.

In terms of energy efficiency, billions of dollars in energy savings have far outstripped DOE's investment in energy efficient technologies. According to BSCE member the Alliance to Save Energy, energy efficiency improvements represent nearly 25 percent of America's total national energy consumption. A DOE supported analysis, "Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future," shows that the need for up to 600 power plants can be met through increased energy efficiency.

The alliance estimates that the need for 600 power plants, each generating 300 megawatts of electricity, could be eliminated by 2020 through the following efficiency measures:

• Some 220 power plants could be replaced by implementing DOE standards for air conditioners, clothes washers, water heaters, and commercial air conditioning.

• Some 230 plants would not be needed if retrofit programs for residential air conditioning, commercial lighting, and commercial heating, ventilating and air conditioning were completed.

• About 100 plants could be replaced by modest improvements in residential and commercial new buildings.

• About 30 plants would not be required if people would replace incandescent residential lighting with compact fluorescent bulbs.