Although the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) applauded the Administration’s recognition of our oil-dependence problem and the need for new clean energy research in the President’s State of the Union address, it noted that it contrasted sharply with the administration’s funding record on energy efficiency technology and its policy inaction on clean energy solutions.
"The President’s call for reduced oil dependence and new energy technologies is laudable, but to be credible, the Administration must reverse its record of cutting overall funding for energy efficiency and other clean energy technologies," said ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel. "Next week’s budget must show major increases in total funding for clean energy, not just more of the program reshufflings we’ve seen for the last five years."
Two of the leading examples of the administration’s shrinking commitment to energy efficiency are:
A 14% inflation-adjusted decline in energy efficiency RD&D funding since FY 2002. This funding decline includes the president’s Freedom Car hydrogen vehicle program. What this means is that the Freedom Car and other administration priorities are being funded at the expense of other clean energy programs. So while the administration talks glowingly about these priority initiatives, the overall funding picture for equally important technologies has remained negative.
A $3 billion, 60% drop in clean energy tax incentives in the final Energy Policy Act of 2005. While the Senate bill would have spent $5.5 billion on efficiency and other clean energy technology incentives, the White House insisted during conference that these tax incentives be cut. The final bill spends $2.1 billion, largely due to administration pressure. This loss of funding will require the building of the equivalent of 27 additional 300-Megawatt power plants by 2020.
The President also talked about developing alternative motor fuels to combat America’s addiction to oil. While alternative fuels are an important element of our energy future, the President is ignoring near-term solutions?especially vehicle fuel efficiency?that can give consumers relief at the pump while building a bridge to hydrogen and biofuels. The President could, for example, issue a strong new fuel economy standard this spring for SUVs, pickups, and other light trucks, which would cut consumer fuel bills while buying time for his longer-term solutions. Congress passed 16 new appliance efficiency standards in 2005, which will begin saving energy in the next few years; the Administration should follow suit by issuing strong new fuel economy standards for light trucks.
ACEEE’s fact sheet on the benefits of energy efficiency research and development programs can be downloaded at http://www.aceee.org/energy/rdd.pdf
The Alliance to Save Energy also commented that President Bush missed a golden opportunity to enlist the American public in adopting energy-efficiency measures that could immediately reduce energy consumption and costs.
"Addressing the demand side of the energy equation is crucial for dealing with current and future energy supply and price problems," said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. "For example, more accurate fuel economy testing could increase real average fuel economy by 4-5 mpg when phased in and save more than 20 billion gallons of gasoline a year by 2020. And classifying SUVs and minivans as passenger vehicles could increase overall fuel economy by 1 mpg, and save five billion gallons of gasoline a year. These measures would save consumers billions of dollars each year, while also easing our oil dependence."
The Solar Energy Industries Association lauded the President for proposing the largest funding increase for solar energy research in US budget history.
The Solar America Initiative will add $65 million to the solar program at the Department of Energy a 78% budget increase to foster R&D for rapid commercialization of new technology. The Solar Energy Industries Association hailed this initiative as a key victory for the next great high-tech growth industry in the US: solar energy.
"The Germans and Japanese have been outspending the US on solar research for the last decade by orders of magnitude," said Rhone Resch, president of SEIA. "This program reverses that trend. It will improve our competitiveness in a global solar market that is growing at 40% per year and will help bring high quality solar jobs back to the US. We applaud the President for his vision of an economy based on clean, reliable solar power."
The funding boost will accelerate the progress of several different public-private sector solar research partnerships, including the Thin Film Partnership and the Crystalline Silicon Initiative. These initiatives seek to reduce costs, increase system efficiency, and improve the manufacturing of solar power.
More details on the funding increase will be available this Monday, February 6th, when the DOE unveils its budget request. The solar industry will urge Congress to fully appropriate the requested solar budget increase, and to expand the research budget for vital solar technologies such as solar water heating and concentrating solar power.
The American Wind Energy Association called on the President to:
* remove current barriers to wind energy development in electric market rules;
* support a long-term extension of the wind energy production tax credit to encourage investment in the industry; and
* fully tap wind energy’s potential for domestic electricity production through improved access and upgrades to existing transmission lines and creation of new ones."
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