President Outlines Strategic?Energy Initiative

Breaking the national addiction to oil requires leadership, the will to do what it takes to get there and a federal commitment of funding for research. "In my federal State of the Union [address], I called on Congress to double the research in basic sciences at the federal level," the president told his audience. He emphasized that this investment will continue the tradition of the federal government working with the private sector to spend valuable research money in order to make sure America develops needed technologies.

The president noted that while the government plans to double research funding over the next decade, historically, two-thirds of the money spent on research in the United States comes from the private sector. He added, "And one thing that seems like a smart thing to do for me is to make the tax rules clear." He said that the research and development tax credit expires on an annual basis and to entice the private sector to make long-term commitments, the year-to-year uncertainty needs to be removed. He acknowledged that to spur private sector commitment, it was important to amend the tax code to make the tax credit permanent.

President Bush also spoke about the ways we use oil - in particular, in transportation. "If we can change the way we drive our cars and our trucks, we can change our addiction to oil," he said. Laboratories such as NREL are doing unbelievably interesting work on helping us change the way we drive our automobiles, he added. "You're going to hear some interesting discussion with people on the front lines of these technological changes.

The president outlined his several elements of his Advanced Energy Initiative strategy, which includes specific examples of how he believes the nation can achieve energy independence:

Hybrid vehicles - Bush noted that Congress increased the tax credit available to those who purchase hybrid vehicles to a maximum of $3,400. "In other words, we're trying to increase demand for hybrid vehicles." 

Advanced battery technologies - The next technological breakthrough, Bush stated, will be the development of advanced batteries that enable an automobile to drive the first 40 miles on electricity alone. "Those are what we call plug-in hybrid vehicles," the president said. 

Bush cited the work on lithium batteries at Johnson Controls Inc. as an example that could result in many Americans driving to and from work on battery power alone, eliminating a large amount of oil dependency and offering relief for the consumer's pocketbook. Bush pointed out, however, that, "The budget I submitted to the Congress does have money in it for this type of research for new types of batteries." 

Cellulostic ethanol - The president touched on the rising role of ethanol and E85. E85 has only 15 percent gasoline by volume, the balance coming from corn, switchgrass, wood or some other renewable biosource. "Using corn for fuel helps our farmers and helps our foreign policy at the same time. It's a good deal."

Natural gas - Taking pressure off of current natural gas demand is another important objective, the president stated. Used to generate electricity, heat homes, make fertilizers and more, the current demand outweighs current supply. Congress recently passed new legislation for liquefied natural gas terminals in the Energy Act that enable more terminals to be built. These terminals can receive liquified natural gas from parts of the world that can produce it and ship it more economically in its liquefied form to the United States. As well Bush said that another way to take the price pressures off of natural gas is to make better use of coal, nuclear power, solar and wind energy.

Clean coal - Technology that burns coal cleanly is worth pursuing, he said, "because we've got 250 years worth of coal reserves. "We believe by 2015 we'll have developed the first zero emission coal-fire electricity plant."

Nuclear energy - The president discussed how further development of nuclear power would provide for electricity needs, adding that plants can and are being built in the world that are effective, efficient and safe. Noting that there hasn't been a nuclear plant built in the United States since the 1970s, Bush said, "You're seeing now, France has built a lot of plants since the 1970s. They get about 85 percent of their electricity from nuclear power. And technology has changed dramatically, and I believe we can build plants in a safe way and, at the same time, generate cost-effective electricity that does not pollute."

Solar and wind technologies - Bush explained that his vision for solar power technology sees each home becoming a little power unit unto itself, in which if one generated more power than used, it could be sold back into the grid. 

In regards to developing wind turbine energy, President Bush said that about 6 percent of the country is perfectly suited for wind energy. Importantly, if that small area was developed, Bush noted, "We could generate up to 20 percent of our electricity needs through wind and turbine."

Hydrogen - Bush explained that hydrogen was the long-term solution to reducing the country's dependence on oil and the production of automobiles that have zero emissions that could harm our air. Hybrid, advanced batteries and ethanol are interim measures. 

Nonetheless, the federal government has committed $1.2 billion for hydrogen research over the next decade, as hydrogen vehicles and a supply infrastructure are developed. He asked GM's Larry Burns, a member of the panel, for a hydrogen update. Burns said there was synergy between the various technologies on the road to hydrogen. For example, Burns noted that some advanced battery and hybrid technology would extend into hydrogen applications "They all come together - the ethanol, the batteries and the fuel cells are really one and the same road map to get to the future that offers a lot of alternatives for our nation." 

President Bush reiterated that the Advanced Energy Initiative is a comprehensive strategy. "In other words, we're not relying upon one aspect of renewable energy to help this country become less dependent. We're talking about a variety of fronts. We're close to changing the way we live in an incredibly positive way."

(Source: White House Press Office, NREL)