Diversify U.S. Energy Supply, Lower Prices at the Pump | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Diversify U.S. Energy Supply, Lower Prices at the Pump April 15, 2008 WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield stood up for Kentucky drivers paying exorbitant prices at the pump today by co-sponsoring legislation which would decrease U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle-East and encourage the exploration of alternative fuels.

Whitfield co-sponsored a bill that would strike Section 526 from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which was signed into law last December. This little known provision was buried into the Energy Act and poses a serious threat to increasing the supply, security, and diversity of American energy.

"During a time when soaring gasoline and energy costs have hit American families hard, leaders in Congress should be pursuing a comprehensive energy plan that puts real alternative and renewable fuels in the hands of consumers to lower costs," Whitfield said. "Instead, the Majority party in Congress has enacted legislation which actually promotes our dependency on oil from the Middle East and discourages the exploration of alternative fuels. Kentuckians simply cannot fill their gas tanks on empty rhetoric and irresponsible policy."

Section 526 bars the government from purchasing alternative fuels for vehicles and planes if those fuels have higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels. Many of these fuels prohibited under the provision have the potential to cheapen and diversify our nation's energy supply, such as those produced by clean-coal processes.

The United States possesses enough coal to power the country for the next 250 years and much of this supply lies in Kentucky's own backyard. With this massive resource at the U.S.'s fingertips, Whitfield says it is irresponsible not to support the careful development of clean coal technologies such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, coal-to-liquid, and coal-to-gas. The provision included in the Energy Act, however, will make pursuing these technologies much more difficult and send a message internationally that the United States is not interested in promoting its most abundant energy source.

Additionally, the U.S. government buys petroleum and other fuel from many refiners that use a combination of technologies that may not all meet the emissions standard outlined in Section 526. One such supplier is Canada, who produces fuel from tar sands. Canada's tar sands, which are a naturally occurring mixture of sand or clay, water and extra heavy crude oil, are the second largest oil reserve in the world behind Saudi Arabia. They release more carbon emission when refining into fuels that can be used here in the U.S. than crude oil coming from the Middle East. Therefore, processing this fuel from Canada may produce more carbon emissions than oil coming from the Middle East.

However, tar sand is a valuable source of energy which will inevitably be bought and used by another country or business. A major consequence of Section 526 is that the U.S. can no longer buy Canada's tar sand oil and, as a result, is forced to become more dependent on oil from the Middle East, a much more hostile area of the world. Additionally, from a global emissions standpoint, the U.S. would be doing nothing to reduce global carbon emissions as Canada's tar sands will inevitably be utilized elsewhere in the world.

"Like most Kentuckians, I have concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, but Americans expect and deserve a comprehensive energy policy which strengthens our nation's energy security and reduces prices over the long-term," Whitfield said. "A law that increases our dependency on oil from the Middle East and, in turn, discourages the development of alternative fuels serves neither of these goals."

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