Renewables: A US congressman's view
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Transcript of Renewables: A US congressman's view
Renewables: A US Congressman’s view
Recently, Refocus Magazine spent an afternoon with US
Representative Ma& ~~~~~~, a key U.S. leader in the effort to
expand the adoption and development of renewable ener-
gy- Udall’s role as co-chair of the U.S. House of
Representatives’ Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
Caucus has placed him in a central position in terms of
influencing U.S. federal government renewable energy pol-
icy. Udall’s enthusiastic involvement on renewable energy
matters may portend a brighter future for U.S. policy as he
brings his high-profile leadership to the issue. Not to be
overlooked in this regard is the fact that Udall, who repre-
sents a Colorado congressional district, is a member of an
influential American political family, one that has been
described as the ‘Kennedys of the American West.’
The aggressive pursuit of renewable
energy development and implemen-
tation represents an “enormous
opportunity ” for the United States,
one that has significant political and
economic benefits according to U.S.
Repre-sentative Mark Udall . Specifically, the U.S. should move
aggressively in the direction of more
renewable energy, says Udall, because
it will be better for the environment
on the one hand while creating many
new jobs on the other. Moreover, the
second term U.S. Congressman sug-
gests that less reliance on oil will like-
ly mean a safer world. “Conflict in
the world, if you look
around, is often tied to
oil,” he says. “We can
increase our national
security as well as the
potential for peace
around the world if we
use more renewables
and rely less on oil.” A
world that is sustain-
able in terms of energy
usage would in fact be
safer world, the 5 l-
year-old Udall believes.
“In my mind, a world
that is sustainable is a
world that uses resources in a way
that makes them available for the
next generation. Finding energy
sources that are clean, affordable, and
predictably stable combined with sta-
bilizing the world’s population are the
biggest challenges we face,” Udall
says. “If we could do those things,
we’d have a world that is happier and
more peaceful and one that we could
hand over to our children. In so
doing, we would have kept faith with
the old adage that you don’t inherit
the earth from your parents, you bor-
row it from your children.”
A three-pronged approach Udall believes the U.S. federal govern-
ment should be taking action to pro-
mote renewable energy and energy
efficiency in three specific areas. First,
the amount of money spent on
research and development of renew-
able energy and energy efficiency
should be significantly increased.
“Under the Bush energy proposal, we
will spend about $5 billion over the
next 10 years on research and market
penetration for renewables and energy
efficiency and about $28 billion on
conventional sources for the same
activities. I think the $33 billion
package should be split about 50-50
between renewables and convention-
al.” Udall points out that I50 years
ago, at the beginning of the petroleum
era, the federal government invested
considerable monies researching
petroleum uses. Second, the federal
government should become more sig-
ni&antly involved in helping develop
renewable energy markets. He cites
several examples; purchasing and leas-
ing hybrid cars; making more use of
aggressive portfolio standards; and
buying more wind power. Finally, the
tax code should be amended to pro-
vide further incentives for renewables.
“Some people say subsidies are bad,
but I don’t think subsidies are good or
bad. I think they are neutral. Besides,
transport, agriculture and energy are
the three most subsidised industries in
the U.S. We subsidize lots of fossil
fuel production.”
Udall was an early and determined
critic of the Bush Administration’s
energy plan, which was released in
mid-200 1. “We are not going to be
able to dig and drill our way out of our
energy problem,” Udall has said. “We
need a balanced approach. We should
focus oil and gas exploration where
there are proven reserves and on feder-
al lands already open to development,
not in sensitive areas, like the Arctic
National Wildlife Relirge or on our
national monuments or national
parks. At the same time, we should
focus more attention and funding on
developing alternative, renewable
sources, like wind, solar and biomass.”
Energy efficiency = more jobs An example of Udall’s renewable ener-
gy legislative activity is a bill he intro-
duced to couple better school facilities
with protection for the environment.
48 March/April 2002 REFOCUS www.re-focus.net
RE caucuses in the US The cause of renewable energy in Washington, D.C., is
actively pursued by two U.S. Congressional caucuses, one
made up of members of the U.S. House of Representatives
and the other consisting of members of the U.S. Senate.
The aim of the caucuses is to provide a bipartisan forum
for disseminating information about energy efficiency and
renewable energy technologies. While not actively advo-
cating or sponsoring specific pieces of legislation, the cau-
cuses tend to support a larger federal effort in terms of
research and development funding for renewable energy.
Historically, the caucuses have sponsored an annual
Renewable Energy Expo, held every spring since 1996.
Nearly 3,000 people attended the 2001 Expo, which high-
lighted cutting-edge technologies. The House caucus,
which is co chaired by U.S. Reps. Mark Udall of Colorado
and Zach Wamp of Tennessee, was founded on Feb. 6,
1996, by seven members of the House. Today it has
grown to nearly 200 members representing 41 states.
According to co chairs Udall and Wamp, the immediate
goal of the House caucus is to attract 2 18 members, which
would represent a majority of the 435 members of the
U.S. House. The long-term goal, according to Udall, is to
have every member of the House in the caucus. “In every
one of the 435 districts, there is private sector activity
going on in terms of renewables and energy efficiency.
Emphasizing private economic development is how you
catch members’ attention,” he says. Wamp says that
increasing production of renewable energy is necessary “to
preserve and expand our economy and protect the envi-
ronment.” The Senate caucus includes more than 30 sen-
ators representing 27 states. U.S. Senators Wayne Allard
of Colorado and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota serve as
co chairs. The full list of U.S. Senators belonging to the
caucus can be found at: www.sustainableenergy.org/
caucuses/senate_re_ee_caucus.htm.
Udall’s bill would help schools save
money by promoting the construction
of facilities that would use advanced
energy conservation technologies, day-
lighting, and renewable energy. “Fully
25 percent of the energy used in
today’s schools is wasted, costing
schools some $1.5 billion every year.
Ending this waste could pay for the
entire careers of 70 additional teachers
in each of the nation’s [435] congres-
sional districts,” he says. Moreover,
Udall has publicly urged the Public
Utilities Commission in Colorado to
require local power producer, Xcel, to
buy more wind power. “We must
diversie our energy mix to include
clean energy sources in order to plan
for the future,” Udall told the
Commission. “I urge [the
Commission] to do all you can to
ensure Xcel takes the necessary steps to
protect consumers, our economy, and
environment.”
INTERVIEW
Despite the fact that Udall agrees
that his view of the importance of
renewable energy is not necessarily one
that is shared by all of his colleagues in
the U.S. Congress, the road ahead
doesn’t discourage him. “1 see one of
my missions is to create more converts
and make the case that renewables are
good for business, good for the envi-
ronment, and can help with stability
in the world,” Udali says. “You can
trace a lot of conflicts in the world
back to low standards of living and
people feeling like their dreams and
hopes will never be realised. If you
had more abundant energ available,
you would go a long way towards
addressing this. Renewables can play a
big part.”
EU: please keep the pressure on Udall is well aware of the impression
in the European Union char renew-
ables and energy efficiency policies are
not top priorities in the U.S., but he
suggests a response to Europeans that
is not often heard from American
politicians. “I think the E.U. should
keep doing what they are doing
because they are providing leadership
both politically and economically. In
this regard, as the world becomes more
interdependent, if you have portfolio
standards, if you are trying to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, if you are
promoting renewables, it’s not going
to go unnoticed in the U.S. The E.U.,
in this manner, will force the U.S. to
adapt and adopt.”
Notwithstanding the current U.S.
unwillingness to sign on to the Kyoto
Protocol, Rep. Udall suggests that the
efforts of the E.U., Japan, and other
signatories of the protocol may have
more leverage vis-a-vis American busi-
nesses than one might expect since
American firms will not likely want to
operate under one set of standards in
the U.S. and another in Japan or the
E.U. “There is more leverage there
than you might think,” he says.
Moreover, Udall also sees some
changes in domestic political positions
as elected officials conclude that
renewable energy may be an economic
benefit to their states. He points to
senators from the American midwest.
“Most farm state senators resisted
Kyoto because they thought it would
hurt their farm constituents compete
March/April 2002 RE :’ www.re-fbcus.nct
with agricultural products from over-
seas. However, most of these senators
are supportive of the wind production
tax credit because they see this as a
new ‘cash crop’ for farmers in their
states,” he says adding that many
officials are not as opposed to efforts to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions as
their rhetoric might suggest.
Hands on experience In addition to serving in the U.S.
House of Representatives, where he is
a member of the Committees on
Resources, Science, and Small
Business, Udall recently joined the
Global Legislators’ Organisation for a
Balanced Environment (GLOBE).
Many observers believe that the
renewables policy debate in the U.S. is
helped in a significant way
bY having someone as
visible and well respected as Udall at
the helm of the debate. In the minds
of some, the push for renewable ener-
gy is perhaps at the core of Udall’s per-
sonal and political philosophy. And it
may be this core belief, coupled with
his own leadership abilities, that will
lead Udall to seek higher political
office in Colorado or perhaps nation-
ally. At this time, Udall is careful to
note that he is honoured to be serving
the constituents of his congressional
district.
Notwithstanding the historical
reluctance of the U.S. Congress to take
action on difficult and controversial
energy issues, Udall is thoughtful
about the challenges that lie ahead for
renewable energy policy. “We have an
opportunity to be proactive and to
make these changes in logical,
thoughtful steps that don’t cause a lot
of disruption,” Udall says. “If we
don’t, however, we are going to be
forced in 50 years to take steps which
will be much more painful, and
because we didn’t act, we may have
damaged the world’s climate and creat-
ed significant disruptions in human
society and economic activity and, in
the process, created more political
instability.”
Contact: U.S. Representative Mark
Udall, 115 Cannon House Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 205 15
USA. Tel: +l 202 225 2161;
Fax: + 1 202 226 7840; www.house.govl
markudall.
49