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Energy economy poised for
strong year
As this new year gets underway, there are many reasons to expect
the energy economy in our state to remain strong. Besides strong
demand for energy resources, the U.S. Congress took a big step
last month to strengthen the energy economy while reducing America’s
dependence on foreign sources of oil.
After a year-long effort, Congress voted in late December to approve
a new energy bill for this country. This energy bill, H.R.
6, was immediately signed into law by President George W. Bush.
It has several important changes that will benefit North Dakota
and the nation.
- The bill expresses the sense of Congress
that “it
is the goal of the United States that no later than January 1,
2025, the agricultural, forestry and working land of the United
States should provide from renewable resources not less than 25
percent of the total energy consumed in the United States and continue
to produce safe, abundant and affordable food, feed and fiber.” North
Dakota’s rural electric cooperatives were early supporters
of the national 25 x ’25 Alliance that worked with ag
and energy interests to include this language in the bill.
- The bill increases to 36 billion gallons
the amount of renewable fuel, like ethanol, to be used by the
nation’s
automobile fleets by 2020. That’s almost a five-fold increase
over the 7.5 billion gallons level established by the 2005 energy
bill.
- The bill increases fuel efficiency standards
for the nation’s car and truck fleets from a fleet-wide
average of 25 miles per gallon to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
This change, which is the first in fuel efficiency standards
in 30 years, will save 1.1 million barrels of oil per day.
- The bill also requires greater energy efficiency
for appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and dishwashers,
and a 70 percent increase in the efficiency of light bulbs. And
it calls for energy efficiency improvements in federal building
and new efficiency standards for construction of new commercial
buildings.
- In addition, the bill authorizes more funding
to improve carbon capture and storage technology to allow continued
use of North Dakota’s and the nation’s abundant coal
resources.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, who co-authored the increases
in both the renewable fuels and fuel efficiency standards, said
this bill is a “significant
breakthrough toward greater energy independence” for our
country. Several electric co-op leaders and I were pleased to visit
Bismarck State College to hear Sen. Dorgan speak about these great
new energy strides. Sen. Dorgan also spoke of increased support
for the National Power Plant Operations Technology and Education
Center under development at BSC. With the new energy bill, it’s
estimated that the U.S. could save more than 4 million barrels
of oil per day by 2030, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by about
25 percent when all provisions are fully implemented.
From a renewable energy perspective, some believe the bill could
have done even more. To overcome opposition from some lawmakers
and the White House, Senate leaders stripped out a provision
requiring utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable
resources. Also dropped was a tax package which would have eliminated
a number of oil and gas subsidies and tax credits, and used these
new sources of revenue to fund renewable energy incentives. Lost
in this compromise were extensions of production tax credits
for wind energy and solar power development. Sen. Dorgan, who
is a member of the Senate Energy Committee, said he expects those
tax credits will be included in separate legislation considered
early in the 2008 session of the Congress.
But overall, this is a good bill—another positive step
forward for energy development here in North Dakota and across
the nation.
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