Thank you Congressman (Jerry Weller) for that kind introduction. I appreciate all you do for this part of the country.

 I also want to thank all of you for taking the time to be here with me for this important dialogue about the future of U.S. energy policy.

I want to say a few words about America’s biodiesel sector.

Illinois’ contribution to this effort… particularly the manufacturing of biodiesel for use in the transportation sector… is a critical part of the effort to diversify our energy supply.

Your hard work is contributing to the effort to enhance America’s energy security by expanding the use and availability of renewable energy.  The facts are clear.  The continued health of the U.S. economy and our ability to remain the world’s economic and scientific leader depends on our ability to meet the increasing demand for energy.

One of the most promising new sources of energy that we are actively pursuing is fuel from plants, or what scientists call “biomass.”  We already produce over 4 billion gallons of ethanol from corn each year, but the real breakthrough America needs is the development of a technology to produce ethanol or other transportation fuels cost-effectively from inedible plant fiber, or cellulose.  A joint study by the Departments of Energy and Agriculture found the United States has the capacity to produce enough biofuel to replace over one-third of our transportation petroleum consumption.

That is why, today, I am announcing that the Department of Energy Office of Science will commit $250 million over five years to establish and operate two new Bioenergy Research Centers in order to accelerate basic research into the development of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels.

The mission of these Centers will be to seek and find the breakthroughs in basic science necessary to make biofuels a truly viable and cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels.

These Centers, which will be operational by 2009, may lead us to an America in which we are actually able to grow and harvest up to a third of the fuel we use in our automobiles and trucks by 2030.  Such a world would not only reduce our dependence on imported oil; it would be a great boon to American agriculture and the American economy, as is the important work that goes on here in Illinois.

Enhancing America’s energy security has been a priority for this President and this Administration since its first day in office and, let me assure you, it will be a priority on its last.  America needed a long term energy strategy and, thanks to the Energy Policy Act, it got one.

It was just about one year ago that the President signed the Energy Policy Act into law.  The Energy Policy Act, which provided incentives for renewable fuels and other alternative energy sources, was an important step forward for the United States.  It took five years and a lot of bi-partisan work to get it through,  but thanks to our friends on Capitol Hill like Congressman (Jerry) Weller, we now have a framework for increasing our energy security.  But we still have further to go.

Increasing energy security means developing a better understanding of the kinds of fuels we will use in the future, where we will get them and, most importantly, how.  The Energy Policy Act provides a pathway for doing that, constructed around three main ideas – the three pillars, if you will, of energy security:

First, we must diversify our energy supplies.

Second, we must increase our domestic production... not just of oil and natural gas but of all our sources of energy… through the development of renewable energy like solar and wind, hydrogen, and biofuels like biodiesel, which is produced here, and cellulosic ethanol.

Third, we must modernize our energy infrastructure.

That world of cost-effective biofuels may not be as far away as it seems.  The biotechnology revolution has given us tremendous insight into the workings of the living cell, including those of both microbes and plants.  The Department of Energy has played a key role in the biotech revolution.  And, for the past several years, we have been supporting research to apply the revolutionary new tools and techniques of systems biology to the energy problem--working with both microbes and plants to learn how to tap nature’s extraordinary power to produce and store energy.

There is, of course, more to it that this one effort.  The Energy Policy Act is allowing us to move forward in other ways as well.  In conjunction with the President’s Advanced Energy Initiative, which he announced in his 2006 State of the Union address, we are moving to diversify the nation’s supply of energy.

The Energy Policy Act has allowed us to push forward with cleaner coal and nuclear technologies and to move closer to bringing reliable, cost-effective renewable energy to market.  And to sponsor cutting-edge research that will produce transformational discoveries in basic science that will help us revolutionize the technology and economies of biofuels production.

And, as the Energy Policy Act intended, we will continue to accelerate our support for research into other forms of biofuels produced from plants, including biodiesel, biofuels for aviation, and biologically produced hydrogen and other fuels derived through artificial photosynthesis.

Through the Energy Policy Act, we are raising energy efficiency standards on appliances and improving the electricity infrastructure by streamlining the permitting process for major energy construction projects and by beginning the process of designating new energy corridors on federal lands.

From the point of construction to the point of delivery and efficient use, the Energy Policy Act has set the stage for a renewed, renewable American energy future.  We have to remember that there is still much to do.  But, now that there is a national strategy firmly in place, we have a roadmap to follow… one that will, hopefully, take America where she needs to go.

I am energized by all that has happened in the year since the passage of the Energy Policy Act …and I plan to continue to challenge my colleagues at the Department and on the Hill to work just as hard in the 2nd year of EPAct to create even greater returns for the American people on the road to energy security.

Location:
Channahon Village Hall - Joliet, Illinois

Media contact(s):
Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940