TAMPA, FLA. – In a speech today before the Tampa, Fla. Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell highlighted the need for national economic and energy policies that will continue America’s strong track record of economic growth and job creation.

 

“Our economy is the strongest in the world; more Americans are working today than ever before; and our economy continues on a path of strong, sustained growth,” Deputy Secretary Sell said.  “One of the biggest stories of 2005 was the cost of energy following the hurricanes, and its impact on businesses and consumers.  We witnessed firsthand the relationship between energy prices and the economy, and it became clearer than ever that reliable energy supplies are directly connected to our economic health and security.”

 

“To meet the challenges of the future, and keep our economy growing, America must continue to have an affordable, reliable energy supply.  We must, just as we have in the past, continue to innovate and develop advanced energy technologies,” said Sell.  

 

Deputy Secretary Sell highlighted several innovative, technology based initiatives currently being undertaken by the Department of Energy including:

• The development of clean, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that hold the promise of reducing America’s dependence on foreign sources of energy;
• The development of a “FutureGen” power plant which will be able to burn coal – America’s most abundant energy resource - with zero emissions; and,
• The need to expand the use of clean, safe nuclear power.

The American economy grew 4.1 percent in the third quarter of 2005 -- above the average in the 70s, 80s and 90s.  Over the past two years, almost four-and-a-half million jobs have been added to the economy, bringing employment near an all-time high.

 

Earlier in the day, Deputy Secretary Sell toured the Polk Power Station in Polk County, Fla.  Part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Technology Program, the Polk Power Station was awarded approximately $150 million in funding to demonstrate advanced power generation technologies that provide clean, coal-fueled power, with significantly fewer emissions than traditional coal-fired plants. 

 

More information regarding the Department of Energy’s various technology programs is available at http://www.energy.gov/.