Energy Bill Signed, Little Impact Seen on Oil and Gas Use

By Anonymous

After several years of impasse in Congress, President Bush on August 8 signed into law a bill that includes a broad range of energy-related activities and R&D. However, according to most analysts, the new law is unlikely to have a significant near-term impact on the nation’s use of fossil fuels.

The new law seeks to achieve its goals of diversified energy production and conservation mainly through the use of tax credits: $2.8 billion for investment in clean coal technology, $3.2 billion for renewable energy production, $2.6 billion for oil and gas production, and $2.7 billion for conservation and energy efficiency.

The law also requires the annual use of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol, a corn derivative, by 2012. The production of ethanol, an additive that helps gasoline burn more completely and thus helps reduce air pollution, is controversial because it largely benefits one producer, Archer Daniels Midland.

The law also authorizes more than $31 billion for basic science and applied energy technology research over three years-more than double what is currently authorized. However, it is far from clear that this amount would actually be appropriated. Energy research was funded at $3.6 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2005 budget. President Bush proposed $3.46 billion for FY 2006.

In recognition of the fundamental role that science plays in fulfilling the missions of the Department of Energy, the bill creates an undersecretary of science in the department.

Two provisions that have sidetracked energy legislation in the past-energy production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the elimination of liability for manufacturers of MTBE, a gasoline additive that has caused groundwater contamination-were deleted from the bill.

In addition, in the conference committee that negotiated the final bill, several Senate-passed provisions-a mandatory climate change strategy, a requirement that utilities use a certain amount of renewable energy, and a direction to the president to find ways to cut the nation’s oil use by one million barrels a day-were eliminated. The new law does, however, include language that encourages voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The new law arguably weakens nuclear nonproliferation controls by allowing operators of nuclear reactors in other countries to continue to receive U.S. supplies of highly enriched uranium if they produce medical isotopes. The major beneficiary would be Nordion, a Canadian company that supplies most of the medical isotopes used in the United States. A provision in a 1992 law had required that all recipients of uranium supplied by the United States convert to low- enriched uranium as soon as is technically feasible.

Copyright Issues in Science and Technology Fall 2005