Thursday, July 10, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Reid touts solar, wind and geothermal power
Nevada senator says U.S. should put pedal to metal in developing energy independence
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- Congress should demand at least one-tenth of the nation's energy come from renewable sources by 2020 so U.S. foreign policy can be driven by U.S. interests, "not where oil reserves happen to lie," Sen. Harry Reid said Wednesday.
The Nevada Democrat also urged tougher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, and warned against robbing renewable research funds to finance fuel cell technology President Bush wants for hydrogen-powered vehicles.
"We must achieve energy independence," Reid said in a speech to the annual conference of the American Council for Renewable Energy.
"We must do it so we can pursue a foreign policy based on our ideals and interests as a nation, not where oil reserves happen to lie," he said.
Reid, the second ranking Democrat in the Senate, is a leading critic of proposals to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a key backer of increased development of solar, wind and geothermal power.
"Our course, we will continue to explore and extract our own petroleum resources in ways that don't damage our environment," he said.
"But no matter what anybody says and no matter how efficiently we extract our own oil, the United States cannot drill its way to energy independence," he said.
President Bush's $1.2 billion proposal to put hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road within 20 years "is an intriguing proposal, but renewable energy has to be part of the equation," Reid said.
"The bill as currently written would fund research and development of fuel cell technology but it would also slash funds for renewable energy research," he said.
"That's like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Instead of pitting hydrogen against renewable energy, we should see them both as part of a unified solution that will allow us to achieve energy independence, stimulate our economy and protect our environment," he said.
Reid said sport utility vehicles and trucks especially should be held to higher fuel efficiency standards.
"If all cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles had a ... standard of 27.5 miles per gallon, the country would save more oil in three years than could be recovered economically from the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," he said.
Most passenger cars already are required to meet that level, but most SUVs, pickups and minivans currently are required to maintain an average of 20.7 mpg.
Reid said he was hopeful the energy bill currently before the Senate will set a national goal for deploying clean renewable energy.
He said Nevada has one of the most aggressive renewable portfolio standards.
It requires Nevada to produce 5 percent of its electricity with renewable resources, not counting hydropower. In 10 years, the goal jumps to 15 percent.
"I think a reasonable goal (nationally) would be at least 10 percent by 2020. Of course, it would be even better if we could match our friends in the European community and achieve 20 percent," Reid said.
