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Woolsey Amendment Included in Energy Bill: Will Help Make Buildings "Greener"

2/10/05
 


WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House Science Committee passed the energy bill, H.R. 610, including U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey’s (D-Petaluma) amendment to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to bring renewable energy technology into public buildings owned or operated by state and local governments.

The program established by the Woolsey amendment would bring technologies that utilize solar, wind, geothermal, and other energy sources into public buildings. Said Woolsey, “this program is based on a city in my district, Sebastopol, which has begun an amazing project of retrofitting many of its public buildings to utilize solar energy sources.”

“The public sector must lead by example in demonstrating the value of innovative new energy technologies,” said Rep. Woolsey. “Increasing the use of renewable energy and efficient energy sources would help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and would help curb pollution and protect our environment.

As a Senior Democrat on the House Science Subcommittee on Energy, Representative Woolsey has been a leader in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. The passage of today’s amendment comes on the heels of Rep. Woolsey’s reintroduction of “The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Act” (REEA) to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.

REEA outlines a national goal that 20% of the energy produced in the U.S. by 2020 is to come from non-hydropower renewable energy sources. The bill, as introduced, authorizes $12.3 billion over five years for R&D and commercial applications of renewable energy. Her efforts, during the Science Committee consideration of the Energy Bill in the 108th Congress, resulted in an increase of $177 million to support research and development authorization levels for hydrogen, geothermal, wind, solar, biomass and small hydro-power.