Bush: US needs alternative energy sources
Regional-USA, Economics, 2/23/2006

US President George W. Bush said the United States must commit more resources for research on alternative energy sources to become less dependent on foreign sources of oil.

"We're not relying upon one aspect of renewable energy to help this country become less dependent," Bush said in a February 21 speech at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. "We're talking about a variety of fronts."

In his speech, the president discussed strategies for his Advanced Energy Initiative, unveiled during his 2006 State of the Union address, which set a national goal of replacing more than 75 percent of US oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.

The United States, the president said, plans to "work with both the public sector and private sector to make sure that we achieve breakthroughs... We can change our addiction to oil."

The president reiterated his call for rapid development of technology for cutting reliance on oil to fuel automobiles.

Bush also cited the need for development of hybrid vehicles that use electricity to supplement gasoline. He said the United States is spending $1.2 billion for hydrogen-fuel research. "Hydrogen is a longer-term opportunity," he said.

Additionally, he cited the potential of alternative fuels like ethanol, produced from corn, and fuels from materials like wood chips and switch grass.

"Imagine people in the desert being able to grow switch grasses that they can then convert into energy for ethanol for the cars that they're driving there in Arizona," he said.

In addition, the United States needs to become less dependent on natural gas as an energy source for electricity generated to supply heat for buildings, Bush said.

"Natural gas is important for manufacturing, it's important for fertilizers," he said, "But to use it for electricity is causing enormous pressure, because we're not getting enough natural gas produced."

Bush also backed additional research on ways to improve efficiency of coal, nuclear, solar and wind energy.

Previous Stories:
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