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On Labor Day, President Bush again talked about America's dependence
on foreign oil, saying: "Problem is, we get oil from some parts of
the world and they simply don't like us. The more dependent we are
on that type of energy, the less likely it will be that we are able
to compete and so people can have good-paying jobs."
But after six years in the nation's highest office, the president
has yet to introduce a comprehensive plan to wean the United States
from its dependence on foreign oil.
"We face a choice," Blagojevich wrote to Bush. "We can either
replace foreign sources of gas and oil with homegrown alternatives,
or we can remain beholden to oil barons that do not have America's
best interests at heart."
In his letter, the governor suggested steps the federal
government could take to create more energy independence. These
steps include increasing fuel economy standards to 40 miles per
gallon; adopting the 25x'25 coalition's goal of using wind, solar
and biofuel power for 25 percent of U.S. energy by 2025; extending
tax credits for wind power; creating tax credits for coal
gasification projects; expanding national fuel standards to require
greater use of biofuels; and adequately funding the FutureGen coal
gasification demonstration project. Blagojevich believes that these
steps will complement energy-independence efforts in Illinois and
other states and will set America on a more sustainable path toward
greater self-reliance.
http://www.25x25.org/
These recommendations build on the comprehensive energy
independence plan Blagojevich launched last month to replace
Illinois' dependence on foreign oil with homegrown alternatives. The
governor's plan sets a goal of replacing 50 percent of the state's
energy supply with homegrown fuels by 2017. Illinois would be the
first state to reach this level of energy independence. His plan
will help free Illinois consumers from the grip of foreign oil and
gas interests by giving drivers and homeowners alternatives to the
high cost of gasoline, stabilize energy prices, give Illinois
farmers new markets for their crops, and create 30,000 new jobs.
The plan "will give consumers more options, create new markets
for our crops and coal, and create thousands of new jobs while
keeping billions of dollars here at home, in our economy, rather
than going overseas," Blagojevich wrote
On Friday the governor took further steps toward making his plan
a reality by announcing three new task forces that will assist in
implementation of the plan. Each task force has its own focus: coal
gasification and carbon sequestration, biofuel development, and
clean cars and energy efficiency. Members of the task forces include
expert representatives from agriculture, biofuel producers, research
centers, consumer and environmental groups, and organized labor,
among other key interest groups.
Coal gasification and carbon sequestration working group
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Bill Hoback, deputy
director, Office of Coal Development, Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity, chairman
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Jill Rendleman,
interim executive director, Illinois Finance Authority
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Dan LeFevers,
director, Gas Technology Institute
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Cliff Keeler,
director of gasification projects, ConocoPhillips
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David Denton,
director of business development, Eastman Gasification Services,
Eastman Chemical
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Gary Butler,
international representative, District 12, United Mine Workers
of America
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Mike Carrigan,
secretary-treasurer, AFL-CIO Illinois
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John Meade, director
of coal research, SIU Coal Research Center
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James Childress,
executive director, Gasification Technologies Council
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Henry Henderson,
co-founder, Policy Solutions
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John Thompson, Clean
Air Task Force
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Charlie Kubert,
Environmental Law and Policy Center
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Jack Darin, director,
Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter
Biofuels investment and infrastructure working group
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Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn,
chairman
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Rod Weinzierl,
executive director, Illinois Corn Growers Association
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Darryl Brinkmann,
director, District 16, Illinois Farm Bureau
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Rebecca Richardson,
Illinois Soybean Association and Checkoff Board
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Bill Fleischli,
executive vice president, Illinois Petroleum Marketers
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Dave Sykuta,
executive director, Illinois Petroleum Council
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Dr. Tom Binder, vice
president for research, ADM
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Todd Block, general
manager, Adkins Energy
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Jeff Nelson, business
development manager, Stepan Corp.
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Will Duensing,
director of quality assurance and technical services, Bunge
Milling Co.
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Joseph Ciaccio,
president, Illinois Railroad Association
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Dr. Pam Keck, acting
director, National Corn to Ethanol Research Center
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Taylor Davis, manager
of policy development and state affairs, John Deere
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Tom Walters, manager
of Illinois Governmental Affairs, Caterpillar
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Mary Culler, director
of governmental affairs, North Central Region, Ford Motor
Company
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Linda Podeschi,
executive director, Illinois Public Transportation Association
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Mike Carrigan,
secretary-treasurer, AFL-CIO Illinois
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Roger Brown, program
manager, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
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Hans Blaschek,
assistant dean of agriculture, consumer and environmental
sciences, University of Illinois
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William Orrill,
Laborers International Union of North America Midwest Region
Office
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Verena Owen, Clean
Air Campaign chairwoman, Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter
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Becky Stanfield,
state director, Environment Illinois
Clean car and energy efficiency working group
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Howard Learner,
executive director, Environmental Law and Policy Center,
chairman
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Becky Stanfield,
state director, Environment Illinois
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Joel Africk, chief
executive officer, American Lung Association of Metropolitan
Chicago
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Kevin Brubaker,
director of operations, Environmental Law and Policy Center
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Kathy Tholin,
executive director, Center for Neighborhood Technology
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Carol Brown,
chairwoman, Chicago Transit Authority
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Jeff Nelson, general
manager, Metrolink
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Elwood Flowers, vice
president, AFL-CIO of Illinois, Lobbyist Local 308 and Local 241
Amalgamated Transit Union
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Dennis Williams,
director, United Auto Workers
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MarySue Barrett,
president, Metropolitan Planning Council
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William McNary,
co-director, Citizen Action/Illinois
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Lynda DeLaforgue,
co-director, Citizen Action/Illinois
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Dave Kolata,
executive director, Citizens Utility Board
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Mary Culler, director
of governmental affairs, North Central Region, Ford Motor
Company
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Chuck Frank, owner
and president, Z Frank Chevrolet
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Mark Pruitt, senior
program manager, Energy Resources Center, UIC
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Craig Sieben,
president, Sieben Energy Associates
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Jack Darin, director,
Sierra Club, Illinois Chapter
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The broad cross section of stakeholders represented on the task
forces will provide valuable input as the state implements the
comprehensive plan that will provide new incentives to help triple
Illinois' production of ethanol and other biofuels and build up to
10 new coal gasification plants to convert Illinois coal into
natural gas, diesel fuel and electricity. The plan also includes
construction of a pipeline from central to southeastern Illinois to
transport carbon dioxide produced by new energy plants to where it
can be pumped underground to extract more oil and gas that sits
underground in Illinois. Trapping carbon dioxide underground will
permanently prevent this greenhouse gas from being emitted into the
atmosphere. The plan calls for a dramatic expansion of renewable
energy production as well as significant reductions in energy use
through investments in energy efficiency and conservation.
Specifically, the governor's plan will:
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Invest in
renewable biofuels by providing financial incentives to build up
to 20 new ethanol plants and five new biodiesel plants. These
increases in ethanol and biofuels production would allow
Illinois to replace 50 percent of its current supply of imported
oil with renewable homegrown biofuels.
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Increase the
number of gas stations that sell biofuels, so that all gas
stations offer 85 percent ethanol fuel, E-85, by 2017. Help the
auto industry to produce more and better flexible-fuel vehicles
that can run on either E-85 or regular gasoline.
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Invest $775
million to help build up to 10 new coal gasification plants that
use Illinois coal to meet 25 percent of Illinois' diesel fuel
needs, 25 percent of natural gas needs and 10 percent of
electricity needs by 2017.
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Build a pipeline
to move carbon dioxide captured from coal gasification plants to
oil fields in southeastern Illinois to extract more oil and
natural gas and permanently store the carbon dioxide, a
greenhouse gas, underground.
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Meet 10 percent of
the state's electricity needs from renewable energy sources by
2015 and greatly boost investment in energy efficiency, while
finding ways to cut emissions and reduce motor fuel consumption
by 10 percent in 2017.
A copy of Blagojevich's letter to the president follows:
Office of the Governor
Rod R. Blagojevich
JRTC, 100 West Randolph, Suite 16-100
Chicago, Illinois 60601
September 8, 2006
Dear President Bush:
In the State of the Union speech this
year you rightly focused attention on our nation's addiction to
foreign oil. That addiction, as well as our increasing reliance on
imported sources of natural gas, has worsened in recent years and is
among the most pressing challenges facing our nation.
I am writing to update you on my
recent initiatives that will move Illinois -- and our nation --
towards greater energy independence. Here in Illinois, we are
blessed with a unique combination of natural resources. We're the
nation's leading producer of soybeans, we're the number two producer
of corn and we have the nation's third largest reserves of coal. We
also have significant wind energy resources and geological features
that allow for the permanent sequestration of carbon dioxide. These
resources position Illinois to lead the nation toward greater energy
independence and sustainability.
That is why I recently announced an
Energy Independence plan to reduce Illinois' dependence on foreign
fuels by half -- replacing 50 percent of our current supply of
imported oil with renewable homegrown biofuels like ethanol and
biodiesel by 2017. My plan would also meet 25 percent of our diesel
fuel needs, 25 percent of our natural gas needs and 10 percent of
our electricity needs using coal gasification technology, an
environmentally sound way to use Illinois coal. My plan also calls
for aggressive investment in the electric sector in renewable energy
and energy efficiency.
My plan will give consumers more
options, create new markets for our crops and coal, and create
thousands of new jobs while keeping billions of dollars here at
home, in our economy, rather than going overseas.
You have repeatedly stated that our
nation's addiction to imported oil is detrimental to our economy and
to our national security. Yet the Administration is not taking the
aggressive steps needed to boost our self-reliance so we can end
this addiction once and for all. While the federal energy bill
enacted last year was a step in the right direction in some regards,
it provided too little support for new homegrown energy alternatives
and provided billions in unnecessary subsidies for oil companies.
There are several steps you could take
to help put our nation on a path to greater energy independence,
including: increasing fuel economy standards that require vehicles
to achieve 40 miles per gallon, adopting the 25x'25 Coalition's goal
of deriving 25 percent of America's energy from renewable resources
like wind, solar and biofuels by 2025, extend the sunset of the
federal tax credit now available for wind power and apply it to coal
gasification projects where carbon dioxide emissions are
sequestered, expanding the national renewable fuels standard to
require greater use of biofuels, and securing adequate funding for
the federal FutureGen coal gasification demonstration project.
We face a choice. We can either
replace foreign sources of gas and oil with homegrown alternatives
or we can remain beholden to oil barons that do not have America's
best interests at heart.
Right now, we're held hostage to the
whims of OPEC and to unstable leadership in places like Iran and
Venezuela. It's time that we stand up for the American people and
create a plan to solve this problem. I urge you to use more than
rhetoric to solve our energy crisis and to instead make meaningful
investments in homegrown resources and energy conservation -- like
those I've proposed in Illinois.
As countries like China and India
continue to develop, the global demand for oil and gas will continue
to grow. As a nation, we represent only 4 percent of the world's
population. But we consume 25 percent of its annual energy use.
Staying the course is not an option.
Sincerely,
Rod Blagojevich
Governor
[News release from the governor's
office] |
