While the Senate continued its heated debate over the energy bill this week, another part of the Capitol was occupied by a raft of experts whose products offer a solution to America's dependence on fossil fuels.
The Eighth Annual Congressional Expo featured an array of alternative energy sources, many of them vying for a piece of the $11 billion in clean alternatives and conservation subsidies included in the Senate bill (another $12 billion would go to the usual suspects--oil, coal, and gas, but also including $6 billion for the nuclear power industry).
Among the renewables are everything from the newest advances in wind generators to fuel cells, solar panels, biodiesel, ethanol, biomass, ocean wave generators, energy efficient lighting, appliances and housing, hybrid vehicles, geothermal energy, solar heating and hydropower.
According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), one of the many alternatives represented at the expo, wind currently produces approximately 1% of America’s electricity. However, AWEA believes that by 2020, with appropriate policy support, wind could provide at least 6% of U.S. electricity, or about the same amount that hydropower provides today. [1] As a renewable, pollution-free, sustainable form of energy that does not contribute to global warming, wind energy clearly offers environmental benefits.
Ballard Power, a producer of hydrogen fuel cells, also showed its wares. While there is some debate as to whether hydrogen fuel cells are worth the amount of power they produce, advocates assert that the cells are two to three times more efficient than gasoline-powered internal combustion engines and emit far less pollution. The U.S. hydrogen industry currently produces enough hydrogen to power approximately 20 to 30 cars or five to eight million homes per year. [2]
Sharp Solar, manufacturer of residential solar panels, described several environmental and economic benefits, such as electricity bill savings, state and federal rebates for the purchase of solar panels, and of course energy independence and environmental protection.
How much funding will finally emerge for all these forms of renewable energy is still uncertain. While the Senate bill may offer up to $5.5 billion in subsidies for alternative energy sources, the House bill only includes $500 million. The two will have to be reconciled in a House-Senate conference committee.
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SOURCES:
[1] American Wind Energy Association website.
[2] "Hydrogen: The fuel for the 21st Century," Vancouver Sun, Jun. 7, 2005.
