So what exactly was in that energy bill passed by the House and Senate in the twilight of the congressional session? The bill – titled “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007” was a hodgepodge of mostly good ideas which needed doing but did not do all that is needed. The media has pelted us with the highlights of the Act – the change in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and occasional mention of the bio-fuel requirements.
While, the new Act does increase CAFÉ standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020; it also establishes interim standards, allows credits from one class of vehicles to be applied to other classes, and, significantly provides for loan guarantees for advanced battery development and grant programs for plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The Act contains what can only be considered a controversial increase in the amount of renewable fuels, such as ethanol E85, produced from biomass and used for vehicles to substitute for liquid fossil fuels, used in the US. The previous standard was 5.4 billion gallons with increases over time to 7.5 billion in 2012. The new standard requires the use of 9.0 billion gallons in 2008 with increases over time and requires the use of cellulosic ethanol, a technology which is currently very expensive and not proven for large quantity production. Considering that in 2006 we added almost 5 billion gallons of ethanol to our vehicle fuel and consumed 20% of the corn crop to do so...well, you do the math. For a more in depth look of renewable fuels as public policy, review the CRS Report for Congress, RL34265, titled “Selected Issues Related to an Expansion of the Renewable Fuel Standard.”
Aside from addressing this country’s liquid fuels issue for our vehicles, the Energy Act of 2007 also addresses appliance and lighting efficiencies, energy use requirements for Federal buildings, and strengthens the use of Guaranteed Energy Savings Performance Contracts in Federal buildings. Ultimately, new Federal buildings are required to become carbon neutral by 2030. The Act also contains job training provisions, accelerated research and development in solar and geothermal energy, energy storage for transportation, and electric power, and a variety of awards, grants and funding is authorized.
This Act also established an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. These grants would automatically be awarded to cities with populations over 100,000 and could be used for a wide variety of purposes such as strategic planning, energy audits and energy efficiency programs. Fort Wayne will receive some of this funding, provided the funding is appropriated.
Much remains to be seen about the implementation of this Act and whether these provisions will move America away from dependence on fossil fuels and towards energy efficient living, but one thing we know for sure; unless the programs contained in this Act are funded in the budget and aggressively implemented – this country will not move away from its reliance on fossil fuels.
As you may have seen during the Super Bowl, our local Fox station is going green for 2008. The City of Fort Wayne is sponsoring and creating messages to be displayed throughout the day on Fox. Topics will include: r iver water quality, activities at Camp Scott, Great American Clean-Up, rain gardens, storm drain marking program, recycling, energy saving tips, air quality action days, waste tire recycling, and more. We will be creating some of the messages ourselves with the help of the Allen County Library’s camera equipment, and our own creative juices. If you see them on TV, let us know what you think!
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