Energy

Bunning talks about CTL energy at the Kentucky Energy Summit.

I am proud to come from a coal state. As you know, coal is a major part of Kentucky’s economy, providing cheap electricity and jobs for Kentuckians. The United States has 30 percent of the world’s coal reserves and more than half of our nation’s electricity is generated from this abundant low cost domestic fuel. As the world’s demand for energy continues to increase, our national energy policy needs to embrace our domestic fuels so we can achieve energy independence and keep energy prices down.

To that end, I have worked hard on the Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act. I first introduced this bill with Senator Obama in May of 2006. I reintroduced this bill in 2007 on the first day of the 110th Congress because I believe it is among the most important pieces of legislation Congress should pass. A Coal-to-Liquid facility can gasify coal and refine it into readily-usable fuels, like jet fuel and diesel fuel. But with the heavy expense these plants carry -- along with the uncertainty of oil prices – I decided to include incentives for industry in my legislation to encourage this vital domestic development. Coal-to-Liquid technology provides our nation with an opportunity to use domestic energy sources to break our dangerous addiction to foreign oil.

To support Coal-to-Liquid development and awareness, I founded and will also co-chair the Senate Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Caucus. This group will educate Senators and their staff on Coal-to-Liquid technology and promote policies that will develop the infrastructure needed to make transportation fuel from coal.

In addition, I support limited drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve- Alaska (NPRA) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and expanded drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). I believe developing these extensive oil reserves is an essential part of our energy and national security policy. This year, we were able to allow the Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf to expire. These billions of barrels of domestic oil beneath our waters will give the us an important new source to meet our growing demand for oil and natural gas. I believe we should be doing everything in our power to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and ease the price pressure on oil and gasoline.

As you may know, after years of hard work as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, we finally passed a substantial national energy policy in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

I am particularly proud of the clean coal technology provisions I helped pass into law that will continue to advance America’s most abundant domestic fuel source. These policies will diversify and boost domestic production of fuels to give the consumer more choices. And with more choices, then there will be competition and lower prices. The Department of Energy issued the first round of these clean coal tax credits at the end of 2006.

While I am pleased with the development we have made, there still continues to be policy from Energy Policy Act that needs to be implemented. There are numerous tax credits which encourage new energy technology, expand the use of alternative and renewable energies, and increase our supply of domestic oil. In addition, there are also provisions that will fund energy efficiency programs, expand the Department of Energy’s conservation program, and create tax credits to encourage consumer conservation.

Another important element of our domestic energy policy is renewable fuels. We are still implementing the renewable fuel mandate from the Energy Policy Act that manufacturers use 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol in gasoline by 2012. This will decrease our dependence on foreign oil and increase emissions efficiency, all while expanding investment in important agriculture products. The Energy Policy Act authorized $2.7 billion in production tax credits to encourage the production of clean renewable energies for wind, biomass, geothermal, small irrigation power, landfill gas, and trash combustion. It also authorizes $3.7 billion over 5 years for hydrogen and fuel-cell research as well as infrastructure to support hydrogen-powered cars.

The Energy Policy Act provides a comprehensive national energy policy that will help meet America’s long-term energy demands by encouraging greater domestic production, greater fuel diversity, and improved energy infrastructure. It also provides funds for the research and development of new energy technologies and encourages energy efficiency.

I will continue to work to implement and fully-fund all of these important policies. I will also keep a watchful eye on energy prices in 2009 and continue to work to set in motion policies that will stabilize them for all Americans.