Solar Technology Roadmap Act

Floor Speech

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this amendment.

I would first like to commend Representative Giffords and the Science and Technology Committee for proposing this great piece of legislation. I would also like to thank Representatives Titus and Teague for their work on this very important amendment.

The economic competitiveness and security of the United States depend upon our ability to develop clean, affordable alternatives to oil. But this will not be cheap and it will not be easy, so I commend this legislation's promise for significant investment in the research and development of solar technology. Solar technology holds tremendous promise and has the potential to put the United States on a path to energy independence and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For in just 1 hour, enough sunlight hits the Earth's surface to supply the entire world's energy demands for 1 full year.

With significant investment in the research, development, and implementation of solar technology, we will be well on our way to energy independence. However, one obstacle to solar technology exists that is currently not being discussed--the immense water usage of many leading solar technologies. Currently, plans exist for solar plants that consume 705 million gallons of water a year and are located in the heart of desert regions which receive scant rainfall and have little groundwater reserves.

As the American population continues to grow and water demands continue to rise with our population, our water supply will be in even shorter supply. Thus, we cannot afford to use hundreds of millions of gallons of water a year to operate and maintain one solar site. It is imperative that we invest in research and development of solar technologies that are water efficient.

While our Nation needs clean, affordable energy, we cannot produce it at the expense of our future water supplies. For these reasons, I strongly urge the passage of our amendment to the Solar Technology Roadmap Act.

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