As Congress began debating elements of President Bush’s energy plan last week, some of Rhode Island’s environmental groups, lawmakers and energy-industry officials warned of shortcomings in the proposal.
“The President’s energy plan relies too much on increasing drilling and exploration while not placing a significant amount of effort on conservation and alternative energy sources,” said Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-Rhode Island.
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Kennedy said only 17 percent of the plan’s tax benefits go toward renewable-energy research, while the balance goes to energy companies. That “does nothing to help address the severe air pollution problems Rhode Island experiences thanks to coal-fired plants in the Northeast and Midwest,” Kennedy said.
Bush unveiled his plan for a national energy policy in May. While it includes $5 billion in tax credits for renewable energy and expands tax incentives for alternative fuels, the proposal also heavily emphasizes the need for expanded energy production.
The House of Representatives last week approved Republican-sponsored legislation that bundles several of Bush’s proposals into one bill, dubbed the “Securing America’s Future Energy” act.
Both of Rhode Island’s Congressional House members have said the Bush administration’s plan does not go far enough in offering incentives for the use of alternative energy supplies and renewable sources.
“I want to see us free of dependence on foreign oil, but more drilling is not the answer,” Rep. Jim Langevin, D- Rhode Island, said last week. “I think there needs to be more encouragement of renewables, rather than more tax breaks for oil companies that are already reaping record profits.”
Kennedy agreed, adding that increasing the fuel efficiency standards of automobiles to 40 miles per gallon by 2012 would save Rhode Islanders $31 million a year. But Kennedy also said he agrees with Bush on the need to enhance the country’s energy-delivery infrastructure, including adding to the power transmission grid.
One proposal in the Bush plan would allow federal agencies to use the power of eminent domain to acquire rights-of-way for new power lines. That plan has received widespread support from power companies.
“The (Bush) policy seems to acknowledge the need to reduce congestion and bottlenecks in the transmission system by expediting the siting of new transmission lines and facilities,” said Bob Seega, a spokesman for Narragansett Electric. “We’re absolutely in favor of that.”
But Seega also said he thinks the plan focuses too much on energy supply not enough on demand-side management. Seega said Narragansett Electric during the past decade has “saved our customers a ton of money” through various conservation and energy-efficiency initiatives.
He added that the recent use of conservation measures in California has helped that state avert frequent blackouts this summer, which shows that energy-saving measures can significantly reduce consumption.
“They’ve gotten through this summer with much less trouble than most people anticipated, and a lot of that is due to conservation,” Seega said.
The Bush plan does include a number of conservation measures, including an expansion of the federal Energy Star efficiency-rating program and tax incentives for the purchase of hybrid gas-electric vehicles.
But environmental groups say most of the Republicans’ energy efficiency initiatives are veiled attempts to subsidize energy companies.
“Eighty percent of the subsidies for energy efficiency in (Bush’s) plan would go to the coal and oil industries,” said John Flowers of the National Environmental Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based group.
Flowers is director of NET’s “America’s Energy Future” tour, a cross-country educational tour that stopped in Providence July 27th. The group, which says it is non-partisan, displayed an ethanol-powered minivan, solar appliances and other alternative energy sources in front of the Rhode Island state capitol building.
