Energy Independence

Our energy policies play a key role in the health of our economy and the quality of life in our nation, and should be formed through an open, deliberative process. To this end, I have taken an active role in establishing the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) in the House of Representatives. SEEC is working to ensure that the House considers legislation that will address our energy needs while also creating millions of new, clean energy jobs, makes America more energy independent and secure, and addresses global climate change.

With only 3% of the known oil reserves in the world, the United States cannot become energy independent or measurably affect the world price of oil simply by drilling more within our borders. We can do so, however, by calling upon the same sense of destiny and confidence in our technological talent upon which President Kennedy relied upon to take us to the Moon and develop alternative energy sources.

Comprehensive reform of our energy polices is needed, and during my time in Congress I have pursued a legislative agenda that bolsters federal efforts to encourage energy conservation, as well as research and development of renewable energy sources. I believe that we need a bold new vision for our energy policies, one which unleashes American ingenuity and talent to create a new clean energy economy in which the United States will regain its rightful place as a world leader; moves us toward energy independence; addresses our global warming challenges; and equips President Obama with the tools he needs to negotiate an effective international greenhouse gas emissions agreement that includes the developing economies of such countries as China and India.

American Clean Energy and Security Act

On June 26, 2009, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454). This comprehensive energy and climate bill will create millions of new clean energy jobs, enhance America’s energy independence, and protect the environment.

To fight global warming and achieve energy independence, dramatic changes will be needed in transportation, energy production, and public policy, and human behavior. This legislation takes the important step of establishing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions that decreases over time. By limiting the level of greenhouse gas emissions released by the United States, we can take a leadership role in international efforts to curb emissions that will be essential to avoid reaching certain “tipping points” that will bring about catastrophic changes that will impact people and the environment around the world.

The bill also takes the important step of providing incentives for the development of a green energy economy. I often hear from innovative Silicon Valley firms about their work in this area. They want to take the international lead in the development of “cleantech” but are frustrated by the lack of incentives, and even disincentives, in our country to develop renewable energy. H.R. 2454 would put in place a framework that recognizes and puts a value on the damage that fossil fuel emissions are doing to our planet, which will put clean, renewable energy sources on an equal playing field and usher in a new era for a green economy in the United States.

It will not be easy to make the dramatic changes we need, especially changes in human behavior. As a former teacher, I feel education will be essential to allowing those changes to happen, which is why I introduced the Global Warming Education Act (H.R. 1926). I am gratified that the American Clean Energy and Security Act includes several provisions to help teach the public and re-train workers. It will:

• develop an information and resources clearinghouse for vocational education and job training in renewable energy sectors;
• provide funding for worker training;
• enable the Department of Energy to award grants to increase public awareness of Federal climate adaptation and mitigation programs and the potential for alternations in consumer behavior to further American energy independence;
• establish an industrial energy efficiency education and training initiative;
• promote a public outreach efforts to increase awareness about the importance of building energy efficiency; and
• authorize the Secretary of Education to award clean energy curriculum development grants focused on emerging careers and jobs in the fields of clean energy, renewable energy ,energy efficiency, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation.

During committee consideration of H.R. 2454, I joined a number of other members of SEEC in sending a letter to Chairman Waxman and Chairman Markey recommending that this energy package direct investments to wide range of solutions to provide for our energy needs and protect our environment. Development of improved solar, wind, biomass, and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) from fossil fuel generation technologies will help to provide solutions for a twenty-first century American economy, and I am pleased that the bill includes a number of our recommendations.

I do have some concerns about aspects of the bill that I feel were weakened in the course of negotiations within the Energy and Commerce Committee and with other House committees, such as the renewable energy standard and the maintenance of Clean Air Act regulatory authority, which you can read more about in this op-ed I wrote that was published in the San Francisco Chronicle. But overall, I am pleased that by passing H.R. 2454, the House finally acknowledged the impact our use of fossil fuels has had on our environment and took steps to reduce that impact. In doing so, we are ushering in a new era of clean, green energy that will spur a new energy economy that Silicon Valley is poised to lead.

Field Hearing on Renewable Energy

On August 2, 2006, I held an Energy Subcommittee Field Hearing with Chairwoman Judy Biggert at the San Jose, CA City Hall Council Chambers. The hearing addressed the potential of renewable energy technologies to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources, lower the cost of energy to consumers and boost American international competitiveness. Five experts in the field testified at the hearing:

• Dr. Steven Chu , the current Secretary of Energy. At the time of the hearing, Dr. Chu served as Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is the 1997 Nobel Prize winner in Physics.
• Dr. Arno Penzias , Venture Partner with New Enterprise Associates in Palo Alto, CA While at Bell Laboratories he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1978. Today he is a venture capitalist with interests in renewable energy technologies.
• Christian Larsen , Vice President for Generation for the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, CA. His division provides data on cost and performance analyses and for renewable, distributed, and hydropower energy generation technologies to the electricity industry.
• David Pearce , President and CEO of Miasolé, a Santa Clara, CA based company that manufactures industrial-scale solar products using thin film solar cell technology developed in Department of Energy national laboratories.
• Ron Swenson , cofounder of ElectroRoof, a solar equipment installation company, and EcoSage, an educational services company developing a program to build solar-powered satellite teaching centers in remote areas of the world in conjunction with solar education programs in schools.

You can view the webcast of the hearing.  To read the hearing charter and complete texts of witness testimony, please visit the U.S. House Committee on Science.

California: A leader in energy conservation

I also believe that the rest of the nation must follow California’s lead in the area of energy conservation. These efforts must be replicated and supported at the federal level by giving more grants and incentives to state and local governments and schools who undertake energy efficiency, conservation and alternative fuels programs. We must also strive to make our vehicles more fuel efficient, which will help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. I am encouraged that President Obama has moved to increase fuel economy standards for vehicles and supported efforts to make homes, businesses, and government more energy efficient.

Democratization of Energy

I believe that the promotion of renewable energy and energy conservation can be good not only for the United States, but also for poor people in developing countries. For the poorest countries, energy is a source of their poverty. 38 of the poorest countries are net importers of oil, and 25 of them import all of their oil. The top recipients under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative are spending the money saved from debt relief on the increasing price of oil rather than on educating their kids, fighting HIV/AIDS, providing clean water, or increasing access to health care. Approximately 2 billion people worldwide are left without reliable energy sources, without refrigeration, without basic communication, heat, or even light because of the high cost and inaccessibility of fossil fuels.

I believe in the concept of “Democratization of Energy” through which we can use renewable energy to put control in the in the hands of the people, not in the hands of multinational corporations or dictators, which will help to realize revolutions in political systems, standards of living, and environmental protection.

Read my remarks from the International Conference on Renewable Energy for Developing Countries.