Lawmakers set goal for renewable energy use
Farm, auto groups endorse initiative
WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan group of lawmakers launched a new effort yesterday to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign energy sources, in an initiative bringing together farmers, environmentalists, and leading US automakers.
The initiative, known as ``25 by '25," aims to have 25 percent of the US energy supply provided via renewable sources by 2025. That share is now between 5 and 6 percent, according to Department of Energy estimates.
``It's going to take bold ideas and workable solutions," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley , an Iowa Republican who is leading the Senate effort on behalf of the initiative. ``This is something we all can support. It's in our economic and national-security interest to do so."
Grassley filed a resolution in support of the proposal's goals yesterday in the Senate, and a similar resolution was introduced in the House. The lawmakers have not yet endorsed specific ways to achieve their goal, but said they will work during the next six months to identify means to encourage production of renewable fuels such as wind, solar energy, ethanol, and biodiesel.
The breadth of the coalition -- and the way it has united industry and environmental leaders -- suggests that it can become a powerful incubator for ways to wean the nation off foreign sources of oil, said Representative Collin Peterson , a Minnesota Democrat.
``We've got the public behind us," said Peterson, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. ``We bring together some real force to try to focus on some of these specific issues."
The effort comes amid growing concern about US reliance on oil from foreign countries, and about the environmental impact of fossil-fuel burning. It could dovetail with efforts in Massachusetts and elsewhere to promote wind energy at offshore and land-based sites.
A political cross-section of more than 30 lawmakers, many of them from farm states, are supporting the effort, as are Newt Gingrich, a Republican and former House speaker, and John Podesta, a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.
Though several prominent environmental groups have also signed on, others are skeptical of the involvement of the agricultural and auto industries. While working toward energy independence is a laudable goal, it can't come at the expense of encouraging farming techniques that hurt the environment, or allowing cars to emit harmful pollutants, said Kevin S. Curtis , energy director for the National Environmental Trust.
``I like the notion of setting the goal -- that makes eminent good sense," Curtis said. ``But the devil's in the details, and they have absolutely no details."
The auto industry has for years been a chief obstacle to efforts to reduce energy demand and emissions by boosting the fuel economy of vehicles. But this initiative is aimed primarily at increasing energy supply, not energy efficiency, and it is being supported by
Coalition members said the White House has encouraged their broad goals, though President Bush has not explicitly endorsed the ``25 by '25" effort. Bush said in his State of the Union address in January that the nation is ``addicted to oil" and called for new investments in renewable energy technologies.
Gingrich said it's possible to please industry leaders and environmentalists if the ideas embraced represent a middle-of-the-road approach. If extreme measures that disregard the environment or that impose unnecessary burdens on businesses are avoided, the nation can coalesce around new technologies, he said.
``My sense is we can build a big suburban interest in this," Gingrich said. ``You can in fact get a bipartisan majority in the House and the Senate if you're disciplined, and if you don't go off in a way that you know will cause this coalition to collapse."
The driving forces behind the effort are mainly agricultural interests, who are anxious to promote emerging crop-based fuels and new wind and solar processes that could generate energy on farm land.
``This seems like a dream come true for American agriculture," said Bill Richards, co chairman of the ``25 by '25" steering committee.
