WisBusiness - Rep. Baldwin boosts wind power, raps Bush Administration over energy policy

WisBusiness: Rep. Baldwin boosts wind power, raps Bush Administration over energy policy
10/4/2006

By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com

MADISON - Wind and other forms of renewable energy hold great potential for Wisconsin and the country, but they lack meaningful support from the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress, Rep. Tammy Baldwin said Tuesday.

But Baldwin, speaking at a Customers First! Coalition conference at Monona Terrace, said she does not expect major energy policy changes - even if Democrats take over the House or Senate after the November elections.

"The changes in the next two years will be modest at best," said Baldwin, who recently gained a seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "There won't be any 180-degree pivot. It might be 90 degrees at best and then perhaps further after the next presidential election."

Baldwin ripped the administration's energy bill, which she said was drafted in secret by vice president Dick Cheney with the aid of corporate lobbyists and does little to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

And she drew a few chuckles when she said "As far as I can tell, this administration ran out of gas a long time ago."

Baldwin was introduced by Gary Wolter, president and CEO of Madison Gas & Electric, who praised what he called her new "passion" for energy issues. (She has long been known as an advocate for health-care reform.)

Wolter lauded her efforts to pass legislation that would remove the exemption from anti-trust law that has permitted a handful of railroads to control most of the nation's tracks. Because of this consolidation, rail companies have little competition and have nearly doubled freight rates for coal deliveries to Wisconsin power plants.

In a decidedly partisan speech, Baldwin said that instead of investing more in renewable energy sources, current Bush administration policy increases oil imports.

"Rather than insisting on cleaner air and water, it gives energy producers license, even funding, to further pollute the environment," she said.

Unfortunately, she said, a phased-in requirement that 10 percent of all electricity be produced from renewable resources was cut from the energy bill, as was a strengthening of auto fuel efficiency standards.

"The real story of the Energy Policy Act is what was deleted from it," she charged.

She called the legislation "fatally flawed" because it "values revenue over resources" and "favors consumption over conservation." Equally striking, she said, was any lack of planning for a post-petroleum future.

Soon, she said, "there will be a headline that Saudi Arabian oil reserves have peaked. Getting this right is essential - to our economy, our national security and our environment."

Recalling the space program that put the first man on the moon, Baldwin said the United States needs an "Apollo-scale energy program to end our reliance on finite and polluting fuels and set a timeline for doing so."

Referring to herself as a do-gooder, she described a recent energy committee trip to Denmark, considered a leader in wind energy development. Though she was impressed, she said majority party members of her group were openly skeptical.

She said she was equally dismayed when recent hearings on global warming were used - she charged - to attempt to discredit scientists' research.

But she applauded plans in Wisconsin to make four UW campuses (Green Bay, Oshkosh, River Falls and Stevens Point) energy independent by 2012. She said the effort, if successful, would save 260,000 tons of coal over the next decade and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 67,000 tons.

She also praised MG&E, Alliant Energy, SC Johnson and other businesses for conservation efforts.

"One of the many ways that you all have supported increasing America's energy independence is through renewables," she told the group. "Whether through co-generation, solar power, or wind, you are making solid advances in efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly energy sources."

She said she had pushed the Department of Defense to consider mitigation measures for wind projects that might interfere with military radar.

"Wind power, like other renewables, can play an important role in reducing our dependence on foreign energy," she said. "But, it only can continue to do so through your diligence, your investments, and your commitment. I look forward to continuing to work with you as we increase our nation's energy security."

In a later speech at the conference, John Dunlop of the American Wind Energy Association, said he expects $4 billion to be invested in wind energy this year and perhaps as much as $5 billion next year.

He said he is particularly encouraged because utilities - including some in Wisconsin - are investing in wind turbines.

"It is becoming mainstream, though there is some tension because of national security concerns over radar," he said.

Still, he said, of the 4,225 wind turbines the Federal Aviation Administration has considered, only four received a hazardous determination rating. Even though he said he was disappointed with the DOD wind energy report because it said the only mitigation for turbine conflicts was to not build them, he predicted developers would push ahead.

And, seemingly at odds with Baldwin, he cited a February speech in which President Bush said wind could supply up to 20 percent of U.S. energy needs. Currently, Dunlop said the country gets less than 1 percent of its energy from wind.

"It might take an Apollo project," he said. "But if we invest $500 billion in wind over the next 25 years, we might be able to do it."

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