Energy independence a hard goal

The Energy Daily and Covanta Energy hosted a media breakfast with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) to discuss the congressional outlook on energy. At the forefront of discussions was the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Moratorium. The OCS Moratorium was put in place by Congress in 1981 to protect America's coasts from threats of oil and gas developments as well as to prevent leasing of coastal waters for fossil fuel development.

According to Bingaman, any ideas of changing the Moratorium would run into significant opposition and pointed out that President George Bush has not asked for a change either. When asked if the OCS Moratorium is shaping up to be an election issues, Bingaman said that the longer the topic was debated, the better it would be understood. Bingaman also noted that both presidential candidates Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have "kept the issue boiling" and not voted on it. Bingaman also said he was against the federal government ceding authority of the OCS to coastal states. He said that around $100 billion of the OCS revenue would go to coastal states and this in unfavorable in a time when the federal government needs its reserves. According to Bingaman, the OCS has always been a federal resource. Bingaman was quick to admit that leaders of coastal states would not agree with his stand.

Bingaman commended Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens for taking on the issue of energy and developing an alternative energy plan. According to Pickens' testimony before Congress last week, America needs to switch to local energy resources within the next 10 years to stop foreign oil dependence. Using Department of Energy estimates, Pickens said the U.S. should be capable of producing 22 percent of its electrical energy needs using wind-powered electricity. Bingaman said that he was in favor of using wind energy, as Pickens has been advocating. However, Bingaman admitted that, "100 percent energy independence is a hard goal."

Breezing ahead to 2030: A wind energy plan that could save billions

Wind energy could increase to 20 percent of the total electricity supply by 2030, according to a report conducted by the Department of Energy (DOE), which would create 500,000 jobs. A panel of energy experts in conjunction with the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus held a briefing on the finds of the report.

The plan, "20% Wind Energy by 2030," has a variety of possible outcomes: by 2030, $98 billion would be spared in carbon dioxide regulation, water consumption for hydroelectric energy would drop 17 percent, and $1.5 billion in revenue would be gained for communities across the country.

Jim Walker, Vice Chairman of the Board at enXco, referred to the United States as the "Saudi Arabia of wind" because the United States has one of the most abundant supplies of wind available for energy conversion. Walker said areas such as Oklahoma and the Dakotas are ideal for wind energy. Other states, such as a California, have specialized areas of ideal wind capacity, so certain regions do not have strong enough wind for conversion.

Construction of new transmission infrastructure could fix this problem. A network of new power lines from coast to coast could transfer energy from places of high wind capacity to those of low capacity.

Greg Wetstone, Senior Director of Governmental and Public Affairs for the American Wind Energy Association, said solving the energy problem is a bipartisan agenda. From Green Peace and the Sierra Club on the left to the Edison Electrical Institute and National Association of Rural Electric on the right, there are allies on both sides, Wetstone said.