I am very pleased to be with you today.  I would like to say a few words about a subject I hope may be of some interest to you, namely ethanol.  Judging from the name of this Coalition, I suspect that I may not be too far off the mark. 

 

In fact, the topic of ethanol is something I have been talking about quite a bit lately.  It also a subject that interests the President personally.  As you know, he has been speaking about it frequently as well.  

 

In his State of the Union Address, in his remarks in Milwaukee last Monday, and again when he visited our Department’s National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado last Tuesday.  President Bush has repeatedly reaffirmed his commitment to investing in ethanol as a clean, home-grown fuel to help power our cars and trucks. 

 

In fact, ethanol is a key element of the President’s new Advanced Energy Initiative, which is proposing a 22 percent increase in funding at our Department to pursue clean energy technologies. 

 

While the President’s other major announcement, the American Competitiveness Initiative, seeks to strengthen the economy by maintaining our technological and scientific edge in the world, the Advanced Energy Initiative will enhance our economic security by expanding the use of reliable alternative energy sources like hydrogen, solar, and of course ethanol.

           

Now, I hardly need to tell this audience that we grow a lot of corn in this country… and using it to produce ethanol for our transportation sector can help make us less dependent on foreign sources of oil.  But we also know that there will be a natural ceiling on cornstarch-based ethanol.  So our Administration is aggressively pursuing the technology to develop commercially viable biofuels from a variety of other plant sources, including agricultural waste products. 

           

Our goal is to make this “cellulosic ethanol,” as it’s called, practical and competitive by 2012.  And to help us get there, I announced a new DOE solicitation last week at the Archer Daniels Midland Plant in Decatur, Illinois.  This is a $160 million solicitation in cost-shared federal funds over three years to construct up to three biorefinery production facilities. These biorefineries will convert agricultural feedstock into fuels, chemicals for consumer goods, heat and power.  Our aim is to assist industry in demonstrating a commercial biorefinery that will operate profitably once construction is completed in three to four years.

           

We are quite excited about the impact that biofuels can have for our future energy needs.  America produced 3.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2005.  By developing the technology for cellulosic ethanol we can significantly increase this production.  If we succeed--and I believe we will--then, as the President noted, “the whole equation about energy production begins to shift dramatically.”

           

While emphasizing these new efforts, I don’t mean to give the impression that ethanol has become a priority for us only recently.  In fact, last year’s Energy Policy Act --which President Bush had been urging Congress to pass for five years--there are significant provisions for encouraging the greater use of ethanol.

           

For instance, it provides a tax credit to blenders, retailers, and producers of ethanol and biodiesel of 51 cents per gallon.  It also provides a 10 cents per gallon production income tax credit for small ethanol producers.  It provides a tax credit for refueling station infrastructure so station owners who install equipment to dispense renewable fuels, including ethanol, may receive a tax credit of up to 30% of the cost.  And it provides incentives for producing1 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels annually by 2015.

           

All these provisions will go a long way toward increasing our nation’s energy diversity.  And if we significantly expand the use of ethanol so that substantial numbers of flexible fuel vehicles can run on 85 percent ethanol, we will genuinely transform the way we power our transportation sector.

           

The investment we are making in renewable energy from biomass is not limited to the Department of Energy.  At the same time I announced our biorefineries solicitation last week, Secretary of Agriculture Johanns announced the availability of almost $188 million in loan guarantees and grants to support investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements by agricultural producers and small businesses. 

           

The USDA is making these investments for the same reason our Department is: because developing commercially viable biofuels can truly realign the energy picture in the United States.

           

The final thought I want to leave you with is to express my thanks to all of you for your efforts to develop the great potential of ethanol.  In particular, let me thank and congratulate Larry Pearce, who not only serves in Nebraska Governor’s Energy Office, but recently joined the Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee, which provides recommendations to our Department and the Department of Agriculture on the Biomass Research Initiative, as well as other biomass-related programs and activities.

           

The Coalition’s collaborative approach--which brings together industry, farmers, and federal agencies--is essential to our success.  And I particularly commend those of you who are laying the groundwork in your own states for expanded ethanol use--by supporting E85 infrastructure, and encouraging automakers to produce greater numbers of flex-fuel capable vehicles.

           

Our Department is pleased to work in partnership with the Coalition to achieve our shared goal of greater energy security through domestically produced ethanol.

           

Thank you.