EnergyBiz - September/October 2007 - (Page 51) In a major speech last year at the National Press Club, Hillary Clinton outlined her strategy for reducing dependence on imported oil by 50 percent by 2025. Along with biomass fuels and increased efficiency, she called for a switch from high-carbon electricity sources to low-carbon electricity sources through innovations in renewables such as solar and wind, as well as carbon dioxide sequestration. She cited scientific estimates that the wind potential of just three states — Texas, Kansas and North Dakota — is equal to more than half of the electricity we consume today. California could meet half of its power needs from solar alone, she said. As part of her comprehensive legislation to overhaul energy taxes, Clinton’s first suggestion was to extend the renewable electricity production tax credit for 10 years, along with incentives for improving fuel efficiency in vehicles, installing ethanol pumps, and promoting energy efficiency in businesses and homes. “We need a renewable portfolio standard to require 20 percent of electricity produced from wind, solar and other renewables by 2020,” Clinton said in her speech. She also advocated a cap-and-trade system for emissions, and emphasized the need to come to terms with coal by investing in clean coal technology. She urged five large-scale tests of carbon sequestration in a variety of settings to investigate the viability of this technology. She also recommended providing tax credits for using carbon sequestration to recover additional oil from existing U.S. fields. Clean coal technology is one of the investment objectives for her proposed Strategic Energy Fund. Funding for clean coal technology and addressing global warming are two of the main issues for the Edison Electric Institute, says spokesman Jim Owen. While the institute isn’t likely to contribute to a presidential candidate, it wants clean coal technology to become deployable as quickly as possible. Also, the group, which in the past has supported voluntary cap-and-trade programs, now believes that a government-mandated program is desirable if it achieves the goal of reducing carbon emissions. The other central issue for the industry group — minimizing regulatory uncertainty as the industry begins a huge capital investment campaign — is less of a federal issue, Owen says. Clinton also gave a cautious nod to nuclear power, though she expressed concerns about the oversight provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “If you look at nuclear energy, which currently provides 20 percent of our energy with virtually no emission of greenhouse gases, we do have to take a serious look,” Clinton said, noting that “there remain very serious questions about nuclear power and our ability to manage it in a world with suicidal terrorists.” These questions have to be resolved, she said, before going forward with nuclear power. John Edwards has similar proposals. He advocates a New Energy Economy Fund and wants electrical utilities to generate 25 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025. He also supports development of clean coal technologies. Republican candidates differ more in emphasis than in content. In an energy policy briefing released last March, Mitt Romney said that he believes coal is an important part of the country’s Sen. John McCain, R-ariz., poses in the underground passage under the Capitol in Washington. sourCE: ap phoTo / ChrisTophEr morris/Vii Republican presidential hopeful, former new York Mayor Rudy giuliani, talks about his health care plan during a campaign speech in Rochester, n.h. sourCE: ap phoTo/Jim CoLE energy mix, though we must become cleaner and more efficient in how we use it to power the country. The United States must invest more research dollars in power generation, fuel technology and materials science, the briefing said. It specifically mentioned fluidized-bed combustion and integrated gasification combined cycle as promising technologies, citing American Electric Power’s plans for IGCC projects in West Virginia. The briefing looked forward to hybrid concepts such as combining combustion and gasification for even cleaner and more efficient power generation. At a campaign stop at GT Solar Inc., a maker of solar power panels, in Merrimack, N.H., Romney said the United States should become self-sufficient in energy within 20 or 30 years, largely through increased use of alternative energy sources. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney proposed creating new electricity energy efficiency programs for homes and businesses as well as implementing new electricity rates that encourage energy efficiency at peak times. John McCain voted against the Energy Policy Act of 2005 on the grounds that it would mean higher energy prices for Arizonans. Also in 2005, he co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) for a cap-and-trade emissions system, and reintroduced that bill this year. McCain supports homegrown sources like corn and switchgrass to make fuel to replace foreign supplies, but also wants to drop tariffs and subsidies that keep imports in check. Giuliani has been more nuanced in his rhetoric, suggesting that diversifying energy sources is the road toward independence, while questioning that independence can be reached. He generally has been supportive of ethanol and biodiesel, though fairly silent on renewable energy. His consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, last year supported client Entergy Nuclear Northeast in seeking a renewal of its license for the Indian Point nuclear plant in Westchester County, and Giuliani has advocated expanded use of nuclear power. Energy is not at the top of the agenda for any of the candidates, but it is an issue they cannot avoid as the campaign progresses. Given the length of the campaign, it seems certain the individual candidates’ energy policies will become more detailed and more nuanced as the primaries draw near. 52 E n E rgyB i z September/October 2007
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