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June 28, 2001

Woolsey Reacts to Bush Energy Bill, Announces Her Own Initiative on Renewables and Efficiency

Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Energy Subcommittee, reacted to the President's remarks sending his Energy bill to Congress:

"The President and I agree that we have to be wiser about how we produce and conserve energy. However, his energy strategy reflects stale thinking that focuses on producing more energy the same old way. I don't believe we need to build up to 92 power plants a year for the next twenty years, as his strategy would claim. I am convinced that if we take smart steps to improve our ability to use renewable energy and build more efficiency into every aspect of our daily lives we can do far better than the Bush administration's narrow vision would have us believe."

Woolsey continued,

"On Tuesday, I introduced a bill that would begin to build a more environmentally sustainable path towards a reliable energy future, H.R. 2324, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Act of 2001 ("REEA"). This bill would boost research, development and demonstration programs with the goal of providing 20% of the nation's stationary sources of energy from non-hydropower renewable sources. This goal compares to just 2.8% for non-hydropower renewable sources in the fossil-fuel-production-oriented Bush energy plan. I hope my colleagues across the aisle will begin to see the wisdom of a policy path that relies more on clean, renewable energy sources and enhanced efficiency programs."

Key goals of the Woolsey bill, cosponsored by all the Democratic Members of the Science Committee, include:

  • reducing the cost of wind power by 50% by 2006 through concentration on turbine technology development and demonstration;
  • reducing the cost of photovoltaics to $3000/KW by 2006 and $1,500/KW by 2010;
  • make solar more competitive with fossil fuel by 2015 through combining high-temperature receivers with thermal storage and power cyclers;
  • conducting Research, Development and Demonstration on hydrothermal technology focusing on high grade dry-rock geothermal energy;
  • conducting RD&D in hydrogen-using and -producing technologies;
  • develop high-capacity transmission lines and generators;
  • develop enhanced turbine technology for deployment to hydropower plants.

The bill as introduced authorizes $420 million for these programs in FY2002 and $470 million, $525 million, $585 million and $655 million in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively.

This bill also establishes very aggressive goals, and reasonable program authorization levels, for residential, industrial and transportation energy efficiency.

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