Wicker Lists Wide-Ranging Alternative Fuel Intiatives

REPORT FROM CONGRESS
By Congressman Roger F. Wicker

WICKER LISTS WIDE-RANGING ALTERNATIVE FUEL INTIATIVES
Mississippi can play key role in clean coal development

Last week I wrote about the fundamental supply and demand factors responsible for higher energy prices and the need for increased domestic oil production to meet these challenges. Finding more oil and gas should be pursued with great effort and can be done without harming the environment. The 2005 energy bill also included measures addressing alternative energy, but recent spikes in energy costs have produced a flurry of new and innovative ideas to promote self-sufficiency and lower prices.

Clean coal technology offers the best and quickest source of alternative energy for America. Coal provides more than half of the nation's electricity, and it is estimated that we have enough of this resource to last 200 years. Coal is to America what crude oil is to the Middle East. Mississippi is poised to play a bigger role in clean coal production. There is great potential to use our lignite to enhance economic development and provide energy for America.

BUSH LED EARLY ON HYDROGEN POWER

The House of Representatives approved a measure last week to encourage breakthroughs in the development of hydrogen power. President Bush generated little positive reaction in his 2003 State of the Union address when he spoke of the need to speed hydrogen power research. The current energy situation demonstrates how forward-thinking he was three years ago.

The "H-Prize" bill would provide cash awards of $4 million to entrepreneurs for creating hydrogen-powered vehicle prototypes and four $1 million prizes for technology advancements in production, storage, distribution, and utilization. A $10 million prize would be awarded for groundbreaking transformational technology development. Offering awards to promote innovation is not new. The concept was used effectively in construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s, and NASA continues to award cash prizes for space-related technology creation.

Congress and the private sector are involved in other promising initiatives including:

* Accelerating production of ethanol and other biofuels made from by-products of the timber industry, agricultural crops, and household waste. Mississippi State University is involved in this effort with its work on biomass energy research.

* Promoting more propane use in homes, businesses, and vehicles. I recently met with Mississippi propane gas representatives who see a greater role for propane in our energy future.

* Enhancing hybrid vehicle promotion and production of "flex-fuel" vehicles that can switch back and forth among ethanol, natural gas, or propane.

* Developing new technologies to help extract oil from sands in western Canada and from shale in states in the south and west.

* Continuing to encourage greater nuclear power generation. This has been a major energy source in Europe for many years, and several members of the European Union plan to boost capacity in the future, recognizing that nuclear power is safe and non-polluting.

There was another surprisingly hopeful development on the energy supply front last week when the House Appropriations Committee voted to ease the 25-year moratorium on natural gas exploration along the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The vote was 37-25 with eight Democrats joining the Republican majority in support. The Mineral Management Service estimates untapped natural gas resources along the OCS total more than 400 trillion cubic feet.

http://www.house.gov/wicker/Coal.htm