08/05/08

Alternative energy solutions for the nation’s future

Congressman Niki Tsongas

Whether I’m in Washington, DC, or at home in Massachusetts, I hear about and see the challenges that we are all facing as a result of the skyrocketing cost of gas every single day. This should not be an issue used to score political points - we need solutions. For some, high gas prices mean postponing a planned vacation or changing the way they commute to work. For many others, it means making unacceptable decisions between paying for gas or having to forgo basic necessities such as food or medicine.

The escalation of gas prices also threatens our national security as we continue to rely on many of the least politically stable regions of the world to supply our energy.

We face a serious and lasting challenge: the world’s demand for energy will increase at a greater rate than what oil can supply. We must address current high prices, mitigate the costs that are inevitable as we transition to alternative energy sources, and provide a long term, comprehensive solution for American energy independence that relies upon America’s ingenuity and resources.

Some of the components of this comprehensive energy strategy can be found in our backyard. Local employers are developing alternative energy technologies reliant upon the hydrogen fuel cell or solar power. Fuel cell technology being advanced in the Merrimack Valley has the potential to power everything from home appliances to cars with far greater efficiency than traditional power sources, while simultaneously creating jobs.

Other technologies such as plug-in hybrids vehicles, which will soon be coming to the market, can help ease the pain at the pump. Due to the tremendous benefits these technologies hold and how close they are to fruition, we should help these emerging industries bridge the final hurdles to being competitive so that their products can become broadly available.

I was proud to cosponsor legislation passed by the House earlier this year that will greatly expand tax incentives for renewable electricity, energy and fuel, as well as for plug-in hybrid vehicles. Unfortunately, the President has threatened to veto these commonsense measures. Research and development incentives are critical to helping alternative technologies grow and allowing the American consumer to access them. They should be made available immediately.

It is also important that we advance measures that encourage greater fuel efficacy and conservation. Last year, the Congress passed and the President signed into law the first increase in the miles per gallon standard for automobiles in 32 years. While increased fuel efficiency standards are a good start they won’t help Americans at the pump for many years.

In the short term there are several steps that should be taken to help families bear high fuel costs. The first involves curtailing excessive speculation on oil futures which has increased the cost of oil by as much as $20 - $60 per barrel. Since 2003, this practice has increased 425 percent and prevents millions of barrels of oil from coming to market.

Congress recently approved legislation that was signed into law to temporarily suspend purchases for our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Such a move will allow more than 70,000 barrels of oil to remain on the world market each day, helping decrease the cost of gasoline by up to .25 cents per gallon.

Urgent effort is also needed to construct effective safety nets for those who are truly put in danger by the high cost of fuel. Last week, I joined with the majority of my colleagues from the New England Delegation in requesting that Congress triple the amount of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a program which helps low-income families pay to heat their homes in winter.

Eligibility for the LIHEAP program should also be expanded, as increasing numbers of families will need assistance this winter.

One thing we should not do is assume that we can end our foreign oil dependence by simply increasing domestic oil drilling. The President has recently proposed lifting the moratorium on oil drilling off our coasts, claiming that it will allow us to achieve energy independence. The unfortunate reality is that we can’t drill our way to lower gas prices when we use a quarter of the world’s oil, but sit atop less than 2% of the world’s supply.

Additionally, it would take more than a decade to bring oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and on our coasts to market. Even then it would not reduce the cost of gas by more than a few pennies according to Energy Information Administration at the Department of Energy.

Those who advocate for more drilling should know that it is not Congress or the President who has the power to increase domestic production. Oil companies currently lease more than 68 million acres of public lands. Another 20 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska are ready for development now, and contain more oil than ANWR.

Oil companies have thus far been unwilling to drill on this leased land and will give no assurances that they will do so on the additional federal land if it is opened to them. With oil trading at more than $130 per barrel and oil companies setting record profits, there is little incentive for them to take on the financial risks of increased drilling. Our energy policy must include more solutions than simply drilling for a limited supply of oil that will have a small impact on price for a short period of time.

Our current and future demand for energy will increase at a greater rate than what fossil fuels can supply. We need a comprehensive solution to overcome this challenge that includes a broad portfolio of energy options.

The development of alternative energy technologies, relying on clean, renewable sources here in the United States and on American ingenuity, is the long term solution we need. Unlike increased dependence on oil, this strategy has the benefit of being sustainable, enhancing national security, and producing American jobs and growing the American economy.

Niki Tsongas is in her first term in the United States Congress. She was elected to fill the term of Congressman Marty Meehan who resigned between terms. Tsongas is seeking reelection in November. E-mail Congressman Tsongas’ offfice at: tsongas.house.gov

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