Washington, D.C. – Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici today outlined some of the tangible results already seen from the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Chairman Domenici’s statement:

“This year, Congress passed the first comprehensive energy bill in 12 years. The bill has been a law for only a few short months, but already the legislation is spurring the development of new technologies, doing more for our environment and increasing the supply of energy from wind, nuclear power, clean coal, our own farm crops and our existing U.S. oil fields.

“When we passed the energy bill, we warned that it wouldn’t make an immediate difference in energy prices or supply, but we believed the bill would improve supply and stabilize prices in the next few years.

“That’s beginning to happen. In the last several months, eight utilities have announced plans to construct 13 new nuclear power plants that could bring 15 gigawatts of power to consumers in the next several years. A record 2,500 megawatts of new wind power are coming online this year. Coal companies are seeking to partner with the federal government on clean coal projects while innovative strategies are already producing more oil from our own mature oil fields and sequestering carbon at the same time. Ethanol plants are being built around the country – 24 are under construction – while the agriculture community prepares for bumper crop of corn and soy that is expected to replace 2 billion barrels of oil over the next decade. Ethanol production is already replacing 400,000 barrels of oil annually.

“The energy bill is making a difference. It’s already evident in the energy production sector. In the next year or two, I hope that difference will be evident at the gas pump and in our electric bills.”

Some of the Impacts of the Energy Policy Act of 2005:

NATURAL GAS

• A new pilot program at the Department of the Interior established through the energy bill to help resolve a backlog of drilling permits could free up nearly 7 trillion cubic feet of new gas production over the next 15 years, with over 200 billion cubic feet in the first year alone. The gas produced as a result of the program could generate $20.4 billion in revenue.

OIL SHALE

• A new energy bill program designed to encourage research and development of technology to produce oil from oil shale, has resulted in 19 proposals for leases on public land in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The program will advance efforts to boost domestic oil production and respond to growing interest in America’s vast oil shale resource.

WIND

• 2,500 megawatts (MW) of new wind power will be installed this year due in part to the extension of production tax credits in the energy bill. This new power alone will offset the emission of approximately 7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to keeping nearly 500,000 SUVs off the road, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

• A total of more  than 14,000 MW of wind energy could be online by the end of 2007, when the tax credits expire.
  

ETHANOL

 • Farmers across the country are investing in corn, soybeans and other crops that can produce billions of gallons of ethanol thanks to the ethanol mandate in the energy bill. Over the next decade, ethanol fuels are expected to replace 2 billion barrels of foreign oil and create 234,840 new jobs.

 • Because of the ethanol mandate, 24 new ethanol plants are under construction and 7 existing plants are being expanded. Each plant employs between 40 and 50 people. These new plants will add nearly 2 billion gallons of ethanol to the nation’s fuel supply in 2006 -- a 50 percent growth in ethanol production capacity. 

R&D

 • The Department of Energy this month began work on a new program that allows the federal government partner with small, innovative companies to bring new energy ideas to the market place faster while protecting the private companies’ ownership of their ideas. Such partnerships in the past have given us energy-saving technology like LED lighting, an innovative lighting that uses 90 percent less energy than traditional lighting.

NUCLEAR

 • Because of loan guarantees and nuclear production tax credits, eight utility companies across the United States have announced plans to take the first step in the process to build 13 new nuclear power plants that combined will produce at least 15 gigawatts of new power in the next 15 years. If all 13 plants are built, the construction and operation of the plants would create approximately 18,000 construction jobs and 6,000 high-paying, high-tech jobs.

OIL

• The energy bill encourages investment in innovative oil development techniques that   produce more oil from mature U.S. oil fields. One such innovation involves forcing carbon dioxide into the wells, driving oil to the surface while, at the same time, sequestering carbons that may affect our climate. This technology is being tested at DOE’s Weyburn oil development site and has already doubled the oil production at this mature field.  Carbon sequestration at this one site alone could produce an additional 130 million barrels of oil and sequester as much 30 million tons of C02.

 
COAL

 • Due to clean coal provisions in the energy bill, several coal companies have filed applications to partner with the government in building innovative clean coal plants across the country. These plants will allow the United States to one of use our most abundant fuels to meet our growing electricity needs while keeping our environment clean.

• The energy bill is also encouraging the refinement of emerging technologies that can help the U.S. create gas and liquid fuels from coal. These technologies will help us use our 250-year supply of coal to reduce our dependence on imported gas and crude oil. For example, technology is being refined that can convert U.S. coal into clean, zero sulfur synthetic oil at a cost of $35 to $40 per barrel – compared to the current $62 a barrel for traditional oil on the world market.