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U.S.
Senator Member of the Agriculture, Energy and Veterans Affairs
Committees |
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For Immediate
Release February 16, 2006 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-7600 Andrew Nannis – Press Secretary 202-224-5852 |
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WASHINGTON—Senator Ken Salazar today released the findings and recommendations from the 2006 Colorado Renewable Energy Summit he hosted last month in Denver and sent a letter to President Bush with a copy of the report along with his own ten top recommendations to achieving America’s energy independence. Tuesday, Sen. Salazar met with President Bush and other Senators to discuss America’s energy independence. “In my meeting with the President he asked for ideas as to how America can achieve energy independence and today I provided him with my recommendations,” Salazar said. “The Renewable Energy Summit provided representatives from the entire energy community an opportunity to come together and share their varied thoughts and ideas. This report and the recommendations that accompany it represent the type of bipartisan collaboration necessary to break America’s addiction on foreign oil.” The 2006 Colorado Renewable Energy Summit report spells out the potential of renewable energy in Colorado and the nation as well as the challenges that exist to increase its development. In addition, the report includes recommendations from participants for the State and Federal Governments to consider as ways to move the renewable energy effort forward. Senator Salazar also sent a letter to President George W. Bush with the following ten recommendations to achieving America’s energy independence: 1. Renewable Energy Target 25 x 25: Set the ambitious goal of producing 25% of the total energy consumed in the United States from renewable resources (solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, new hydropower) by 2025. Your State of the Union Address outlined some of the essential elements for achieving this goal, especially your solar and bio-fuels initiatives. And your experts at the Department of Energy assure me that this goal is achievable. Specifically, I propose that you adopt a Renewable Energy Target of “25x25” for the domestic production and use of renewable energy, to be implemented by each state under a Department of Energy program that reflects the needs and realities of each region of the nation. This Renewable Energy Target will advance the dual goals of American energy independence and the revitalization of our rural economies and communities. 2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Restore, increase and protect funding for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the nation’s leading renewable energy research institution. 3. Renewable Energy Production Tax Credits: Extend existing Production Tax Credits through 2012 for electric power and liquid fuels produced from renewable resources to provide predictability for manufacturers and purchasers. 4. Flexible Fuel Vehicles: Increase the manufacture and use of advanced technology vehicles, including flex-fuel vehicles able to run on either petroleum or renewable fuels. In this regard, it would be helpful for you to endorse and work with us to pass S. 2025, the Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act. The Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act is strong bi-partisan legislation that will accomplish this goal by (1) providing retooling tax credits for manufacturers and suppliers of advanced flex-fuel vehicles; (2) lifting the per-manufacturer cap on consumer tax credits for the purchase of hybrids and advanced diesels; and (3) creating an R&D program for electric drive transportation and light-weight materials. 5. Electric Transmission Capacity: Expand access to existing and new transmission for renewable energy through federal legislation and incentives. And consider possible amendments to the Pole Attachment Act to facilitate the transmission of wind power and the provision of broadband internet service to rural areas. 6. Hydrogen: Support accelerated research and development to produce hydrogen with renewable energy, including utility scale storage and electric generating technologies. 7. Small Business and Community Owned Renewable Energy Projects: Provide federal grant funding for small, locally and community owned renewable energy projects, so that small businesses enjoy the benefit of a robust renewable energy economy. 8. Rural Electric Associations: Review federal statutory and regulatory requirements to determine whether changes can be made so Rural Electric Associations may buy and produce more electricity from renewable resources. 9. Clean Coal Technologies: Increase funding (to the levels authorized in the bipartisan Energy Policy Act of 2005) for new clean coal power technologies, including alternative methods of capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide from the existing fleet of coal fired power plants, to ensure the continued viability of coal as a domestic fuel source. And invest in new coal-to-liquids technologies, which offer a promising new domestic source of transportation fuels. 10. Nuclear Power: Promote responsible energy technologies that do not contribute to global warming and that do so without compromising safety or security. Nuclear power plants provide roughly 20% of America’s electricity. As our country moves forward with nuclear power, we must ensure that these plants have the ability to withstand acts of terrorism, and we must ensure that nuclear power technologies do not make it easier for terrorists or nations to acquire material needed to make nuclear weapons. Finally, we must continue to work on providing safe, permanent storage for the resulting radioactive waste. The complete letter Salazar
sent to the White House can be accessed by
clicking here. The full Colorado Renewable Energy Summit report
can be accessed by
clicking here. ###
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