Washington, D.C. – The funding, research and tax incentives necessary to increase U.S. production of sustainable, low-emissions electricity such as wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear and clean coal production are already in the energy bill currently stalled in the Senate, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici said today at a full committee hearing on low-emission technology. He noted in his opening remarks that, increasingly, America looks to foreign shores for its oil and gas supplies. In recent years, oil and gas supplies have been tight, reliance on imports has climbed and prices have risen steadily – a trend that will likely continue into the future. Domenici said only three energy sources can expand substantially in the next two decades to relieve the demand pressure on gas and oil: renewable energies, nuclear energy and clean coal. The energy bill contains several provisions to sharply increase the production of renewable energy, expand research into ways to reduce the volume and toxicity of nuclear waste and make coal burn much cleaner than it does now, Domenici noted. Experts from the federal government, academia and industry testified before the committee today that more federal money, more research and a greater public sensitivity to airborne emissions is necessary to increase sustained production of electricity from low-emissions sources. In particular, Dr. Earnest J. Moniz, professor of physics at MIT, and Richard E. Smalley, director of the Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory at Rice University, said expanded national research into the physical sciences is critically important to future energy development. Domenici’s statement: “I agree wholeheartedly with Doctors Moniz and Smalley. I have repeatedly urged the Administration to invest more in physical sciences research. Instead, DOE recently proposed making cuts. Given our energy challenges, that’s foolish. I’ll fight those cuts and continue to push for more funding.”