The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved bipartisan legislation that improves efficiency, promotes renewable fuels diversity and invests in research on carbon sequestration.
In a 20-3 vote, the Committee approved a Bingaman-Domenici joint mark that combines measures introduced over the past month. The legislation now goes to the Senate.
“This legislation is a big step forward in three areas key to America’s energy future. It will help dramatically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by requiring the more efficient use of energy and by putting a much greater emphasis on the use of renewable, homegrown fuels.
“In particular, this bill sets the stage for biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol to greatly expand in our fuel supply, and will also save consumers money by improving efficiency standards,” Sen. Jeff Bingaman said.
The legislation establishes an escalating requirement to reduce America’s gasoline consumption, beginning with a 20 percent savings target in 10 years — equivalent to more than 32 billion gallons per year — and enough to reduce world oil prices by more than $2.50/barrel under current EIA assumptions. The bill places a particular focus on the development of advanced biofuels by requiring an increasing portion of renewable fuels to be from unconventional biomass feedstocks beginning in 2016.
It would also promote biofuels infrastructure development in more diverse regions of the country. By increasing funding for bioenergy research and development by 50 percent, it invests in the critical science programs that can propel America to the forefront of global research on bioenergy resources.
In addition, new efficiency benchmarks for appliances included in the bill — which contribute as much as two-thirds of an average American household’s electricity costs–would bring consumers more than $12 billion in benefits, according to an American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy analysis. These standards would save more than 50 billion kilowatt-hours per year in electricity, or enough to power 4.8 million typical American households. It would also save 17 trillion BTUs of natural gas per year, and more than 560 million gallons of water per day.
Since the federal government itself spends more than $14 billion a year on energy costs, the bill strengthens federal efficiency requirements – the government alone is poised to save another 220 trillion BTUs of energy and 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Among the other efficiency provisions of note are programs that $2.3 billion for research related to automotive batteries; $60 million for DOE to research and develop light-weight materials for vehicle construction; $15 million for advanced lighting technology, and reauthorize the Weatherization Assistance Program at $750 million.
Finally, the bill authorizes research and development spending of up to $120 million on carbon sequestration.
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