Let's compare plans: Energy Independence

[Feanorcurufinwe]

John Kerry's Energy Plan: Harnessing American Technology and Innovation to Make Our Nation Safer, Stronger and More Secure

(1) A NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON MIDDLE EAST OIL THROUGH A NEW ENERGY SECURITY AND CONSERVATION TRUST.

Reducing our dependence on oil and building a future of clean and abundant energy are urgent national priorities. Our political system, however, does not treat them that way. Political support for research, development and deployment is supportive and so is funding through the Congressional appropriations process. John Kerry will assure that the nation is on track to reduce oil dependence by creating an Energy Security and Conservation Trust Fund capitalized by existing oil and gas royalty revenues and dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of technologies that will reduce America’s dangerous dependence on oil.

* Royalties Should Be Used to Improve Public Lands or Energy Independence. Energy companies pay the federal government royalty rents and bonuses for the right to drill for oil and gas on public land, onshore and offshore. A portion of this revenue was intended to fund critical land conservation parks and recreation resources. John Kerry believes that this commitment must be honored and that a portion of these revenues, derived from our ongoing use of public fossil energy resources, should be invested to reduce U.S. dependence on oil. Unfortunately, each year, much of this money goes into general revenue accounts, leaving critical energy projects go unfunded.
* The Trust Fund Would Protect Conservation Priorities. First, the Trust Fund would assure that existing conservation programs – such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund – are fully funded. John Kerry will make good on this long-neglected promise to the American people.
* The Trust Fund Would Guarantee the Nation is Moving Toward Energy Independence. The Trust Fund will allocate $20 billion over the next decade to reduce oil dependence and create a cleaner and more reliable energy future. These resources will help fund the manufacture of more efficient cars and trucks, the development of biofuels, the creation of a hydrogen-based energy economy and other technologies that can reduce America’s dependence on oil.

(2) REDUCE OIL DEPENDENCE BY INCREASING FUEL EFFICIENCY NOW AND NEW INCENTIVES TO MAKE SURE AMERICAN INDUSTRIES LEAD THE WAY.

Nearly 70 percent of the oil America consumes is burned in cars, trucks, trains, planes and automobiles. America must and can develop domestic, clean energy technologies that will enhance efficiency and reduce oil use in the transportation sector. Any energy plan that lacks a strategy to make today’s transportation sector more efficient will fail to reduce our nation’s oil dependence in the coming decades and will leave the American economy more vulnerable to the global oil market. John Kerry believes we can build more efficient cars and trucks in a way that creates jobs and provides American families with the vehicles they demand. He also believes that we must produce reliable, domestic biofuels that will diversify our fuel supply and that we must start today to develop the hydrogen-based energy economy of tomorrow. John Kerry’s strategy for leadership includes both near term progress to reduce our oil dependence and a true national commitment – not just lip service – to build a hydrogen-fueled transportation future.

Setting Goals to Increase Fuel Efficiency and New Investments to Assure American Industry Leads the Way.

Making America’s Cars More Efficient. John Kerry believes that all Americans should drive the cars, SUVs, minivans and trucks of their choice, but that these vehicles can be more efficient, safe and affordable. John Kerry believes that we need a strong and realistic fuel economy standard, coupled with tax incentives for consumers to buy the vehicles they want and incentives for manufacturers to convert factories to build the more efficient vehicles of the future. It will enhance national security, strengthen the American auto industry, and protect and create jobs.

* Saving Two Million Barrels of Oil a Day – As Much As We Currently Import From the Middle East. John Kerry supports updating CAFE standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2015. This proposal will reduce America’s dependence on oil by saving 2 million barrels of oil per day – almost as much as we currently import from the Persian Gulf. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, smog and ozone pollution. The National Academy of Sciences confirmed that fuel efficiency can be significantly improved through better use of technology, without limiting vehicle choice, without harming safety and without injury to the industry.
* New Incentives to Help Convert American Industries to Lead the Way in the New Energy Economy. John Kerry believes that the American auto industry should lead the world in building and selling efficient vehicles. He believes that the nation – drawing on the resources of the Energy Security and Conservation Trust – should provide assistance to American manufacturers for the conversion of existing vehicle and parts plants to build more efficient hybrid and other advanced technology vehicles. This assistance will help manufacturers accelerate the pace of conversion of their factories, make efficient vehicles available sooner, reduce oil dependence faster, and protect jobs in communities across the country.
* Helping Americans Drive More Efficient Cars. John Kerry believes that we must also provide consumers with incentives to purchase advanced technology and alternative fuel vehicles. The key to Kerry’s approach is to make the marketplace friendlier to these cleaner energy vehicles, which will include cars, SUVs, minivans, pickups, buses and trucks. Consumer tax credits will spur demand, stimulate the market, and enable manufacturers to increase production and lower costs. It is a way to help move technologies off the drawing board, into production and onto the road.
* Increasing Renewable Fuels in America’s Gasoline: 5 Billion Gallons in the Next Decade. John Kerry believes that renewable fuels, produced in America, can reduce our oil dependence. Renewable fuel produced from corn and other sources – such as agricultural, forest and food wastes – has a strong foothold in the market and great potential. John Kerry supports a national standard that will ensure that at least 5 billion gallons of renewable fuel is part of America’s energy supply by 2012. A strong renewable fuels standard will reduce our oil dependence, improve the quality of our environment, and strengthen the economy of rural America.

A Plan to Use Hydrogen Throughout the Nation By 2020

While John Kerry believes our nation needs a strategy to reduce dependence on oil today, he knows we can harness technological innovation and ingenuity to develop a hydrogen-based economy for the future. Hydrogen has great promise as a clean, domestic and reliable energy source for the future. It has the potential to power our cars at 100 miles per gallon without pollution and, with the right technology, can be produced efficiently from natural gas and coal. Eventually, John Kerry believes that we can build a truly clean and secure economy based on hydrogen -- a clean fuel that we can eventually get entirely from renewable sources from our farms, the wind, solar energy, hydropower and geothermal sources.

Despite hydrogen’s great potential, we must recognize that we cannot convert to hydrogen overnight. Today, a car fueled by hydrogen costs as much as $500,000 and there are only scattered efforts to develop the infrastructure necessary to make this a reality. So while the Bush Administration calls for every child born today to drive a hydrogen car, it does nothing to improve the quality of the air that child will breathe growing up or make sure that the child grows up in an America less threatened by our dangerous dependence on oil. The Bush Administration’s vision on hydrogen is akin to setting a goal to cure cancer decades from now and doing nothing to treat the millions who will get cancer in the meantime. That is why we need to improve vehicle fuel efficiency in the near term, while we work to develop the hydrogen-based energy economy of tomorrow. John Kerry’s plan includes:

* Uniting Scientists and Researchers to Develop a New Energy Economy by 2020. Today, there are scattered efforts around the country to develop the infrastructure to supply, and systems to utilize, hydrogen as a fuel. Reaching our goal requires additional research, but we also need a new coordinated effort to harness the potential of America’s scientists and researchers in the public and private sectors. The Hydrogen Institute would provide $10 billion to fund research efforts to help solve critical problems, such as infrastructure needs and configuration. It will help address fundamental questions such as whether hydrogen be piped to the filling stations of the future or will it be produced on the spot, or in vehicle on-board systems? The Institute would also support efforts to develop the codes and standards that will ensure the safety of a major hydrogen infrastructure.
* Putting 100,000 Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles on the Road by 2010 and 2.5 Million by 2020. John Kerry will challenge the new Hydrogen Institute to develop a roadmap to get 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road by 2010 and 2.5 million by 2020. He will start by making sure the federal government does its part by committing to getting 20,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles into the federal government fleet by 2010. Kerry will also bring state and local governments to the table to encourage innovation that moves America closer to a hydrogen-based energy economy. For example, Michigan has a program that provides tax credits for companies that come to the state to invest in these technologies.

(3) PRODUCING CLEAN ENERGY AND CREATING JOBS WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY. Just as renewable fuels can help reduce oil dependence, they can create electricity and enhance our electricity markets. Renewable energy will diversify our electricity supply, ease price shocks and help protect our environment. And together these abundant renewable energy sources can build the backbone of a long-term hydrogen economy.

* Assuring 20 Percent of Electricity Comes From Renewable Sources by 2020. John Kerry believes that America needs a national market for electricity produced from renewable energy, such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydrogen. John Kerry supports a national goal of producing 20 percent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2020. States have shown that we can significantly increase renewable energy sources. Texas is on track to reach its renewable target by 2004 instead of the proposed year of 2009 and California derives 13 percent of its electricity from renewable energy. The tremendous disparity in state renewable energy programs, however, illustrates the need for a national renewable electricity standard. This standard will encourage the market to respond by finding the most efficient and effective way of meeting that goal through a credit trading system.

Transitioning to Renewable Energy Creates Jobs While Strengthening National Security. Economists and government experts predict that policies to bolster energy efficiency and renewable energy will create hundreds of thousands of good American jobs throughout the construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation sectors. John Kerry believes that it is time we invest in American workers, American innovation and American energy independence.

* Making Energy a Cash Crop. Clean energy, including biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel, and wind power are cash crops that can create jobs and provide new income streams for farmers, ranchers, rural small businesses and rural communities. Economists estimate that the John Kerry-supported renewable fuels standard will create 214,000 American jobs.
* Helping Small Farmers Who Want to Produce Renewable Energy. John Kerry supports making the Small Ethanol Producer Credit more workable for farmers by applying the 10-cents per gallon production tax credit to small farmer-owned cooperatives. Local co-ops across Iowa and the Midwest are building ethanol plans, cultivating switch grass, and turning soybeans into diesel fuel and industrial lubricants. Cooperatives are one of the keys to the future of rural America and John Kerry believes government has a role to play in keeping them viable.
* Using More Fuels From Crops and Waste. Ethanol production accounts for over $3 billion a year in economic activity and new forms of ethanol from waste biomass (cellulosic ethanol) promises a bright new source of income for America’s farmers and foresters. John Kerry will also use the Energy Security and Conservation Trust to accelerate the research needed to fulfill the great promise of new forms of ethanol from biomass, such as crop and forest waste, that will reduce our oil dependence and provide an entirely new cash crop for America’s farmers and foresters. He will also support bonds and other means to help create biomass factories and refineries.
* Supplying More Electricity with Wind. Wind power was the fastest growing source of electricity generation worldwide over the last decade. Because so much of it may be found in the nation’s heartland, wind power has the added potential to reinvigorate the nation’s farming communities, providing steady income through lease or royalty payments to farmers and to other landowners. Wind power has the added benefit of producing no harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases.
* Good Jobs Manufacturing Clean Energy. Investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy will create hundreds of thousands of quality jobs. Clean energy technology will be designed, developed and built here in America and exported to the world. Investment in more efficient transportation, such as commuter and intercity rail, will create jobs in manufacturing, construction and operations. The development of wind, geothermal, hydrogen, solar power and other renewable energy will create jobs in manufacturing and building. Biomass development will create jobs in construction, refining and distribution. And investment in energy efficient buildings will create jobs in retrofitting existing building stock. The Tellus Institute predicts that federal policies – including many in the Kerry plan – to bolster clean energy will create more than 700,000 jobs by 2010 and 1.3 million jobs by 2020.

Encouraging Technologies and Innovation to Bring a New Energy Future. Whether it is developing renewable fuels or a more efficient way of using electricity, many clean energy projects don’t get built because sponsors don’t have the ability to raise capital, even with projects that demonstrate attractive financial returns and strong credit and security structures. John Kerry believes that we should improve access to financing for clean energy products.

* Encouraging Investment and Exploration in Clean Renewable Energy Project. John Kerry believes we should extend the Production Tax Credit for renewable sources of energy such as wind and biomass. Kerry will also broaden the Production Tax Credit so that a greater range of financial investors in renewable energy projects and wholesale purchasers of renewable energy can make use of the credit. This will help attract the capital necessary to get these projects built.
* Encouraging More Investments in New Technologies and Innovations That Bring a Cleaner Future. Already several large institutional investors have begun exploring major investments in this area and private equity funds are being raised to meet the growing demand. At the same time, the federal government needs to do its part to encourage this investment. Beyond the Production Tax Credit, John Kerry will provide federal regulatory and policy support to stimulate investments in renewable energy, with mechanisms such as loan guarantees for appropriate projects, and federal electricity rules that improve the way intermittent sources like solar and wind are valued by utilities through dispatch mechanisms, net metering, and interconnection standards. He’ll also make sure that clean air regulations take proper account of the environmental benefits of renewable energy, and again, he’ll help level the playing field for renewable energy by adopting a federal renewable portfolio standard.

(4) MAKING OUR HOMES, OFFICES, AND CITIES MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT. John Kerry believes that a unit of energy saved is as important as a unit of energy produced. For example, the American economy is twice as efficient today as it was some 30 years ago. In part, that’s because we accomplish more with less through efficient technologies. But studies by the Department of Energy and other agencies show that we can save significantly more energy through advances in energy efficient technologies – heating, lighting and manufacturing – that only need to be implemented. John Kerry believes that the government should promote the efficient use of energy in the places that we work and live.

The Federal Government Will Lead the Way By Cutting It’s Energy Bill

* Cutting the Government’s Energy Bill 20 percent by 2020. John Kerry believes that the U.S. government – probably the single largest user of energy in the world – should lead by example. In 1999, the Federal Government spent $7.9 billion on energy. Kerry will require that federal agencies submit annual plans to achieve this goal and will develop incentives for agencies and managers to comply. Federal managers across many agencies have already proven they know how to cut energy bills and save precious taxpayer dollars in our government’s 500,000 buildings. When fully implemented, this plan will save at least $1.6 billion and it will save an estimated $8 billion over the next ten years.
* Challenging Municipalities, Corporations, Universities, Small Businesses and Hospitals to Establish the Same 20% Energy Efficiency Goal. A Kerry Administration will establish a task force comprised of representatives from public and private institutions, which are large energy users, to increase energy efficiency. The task force will determine how best to increase efficiency by purchasing and installing more efficient heating and cooling systems, industrial equipment, appliances, and indoor and outdoor lighting, as well as promoting more efficient building, landscaping and transportation designs. Officials in the city of Portland, Oregon estimated that by implementing energy efficiency programs in their public buildings, they were able to save $1.1 million on energy costs annually, for a total savings of $9.46 million since 1991.

Making America’s Communities More Energy Efficient.

* Tax Credits for Energy-Efficient Buildings and Homes. To help families reduce their utility bills, John Kerry will provide consumers with a credit to purchase equipment that meet energy-efficiency standards for heating and cooling in their new homes, and to retrofit existing homes. Kerry will encourage builders to build energy efficient homes with a 20 percent tax credit for the purchase of energy efficient building equipment, including electric heat pumps, hot water heaters, and natural gas heat pumps. This step would also significantly help ease natural gas prices.
* Supporting Smarter Growth and Better Transportation Choices. John Kerry supports directing more of our transportation resources to support smart-growth strategies and more transportation choices. He also encourages Fannie Mae to promote location efficient mortgages that reward building and buying near public transit. This will not only reduce urban sprawl but will reduce our oil dependence.

(5) A NEW NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY PARTNERSHIP TO EXPAND THE SUPPLY OF NATURAL GAS. Natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel, has historically been in abundant supply at a reasonable cost. However, many fear that supply shortages may cause persistently high prices over the next several years. High prices for this fuel hurt lower and middle class families since heat and power are essential services. American families will bear the cost of increased prices for electricity and heating and for goods produced using natural gas. Natural gas, for example, is used in producing fertilizer and other products and as a fuel for industrial processes and producing electricity. These higher costs will hinder economic recovery. John Kerry believes it is imperative that we begin to address not only the supply and demand sides of the equation, but the short-term and long-term challenges for natural gas as well.

Assuring a Fair Marketplace

* Providing Effective Market Monitoring and Enforcement. While much of the expected pressure on the natural gas market is due to supply shortages, there have been abuses in the market for natural gas – such as alleged manipulation of capacity in the western markets, inaccurate filing of trade data – that ultimately have an adverse effect on the prices consumers pay. John Kerry will make sure that any abuses are dealt with effectively and prevented from reoccurring. This will require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to be more diligent and aggressive in pursuing anti-competitiveness practices.

Pursuing Opportunities to Tap Natural Gas in Environmentally Safe Ways

* North American Energy Initiative. John Kerry believes that the United States should reach out and develop a long-term partnership with our immediate neighbors and friends Canada and Mexico to develop and expand North America's robust energy supplies. By looking beyond our borders, as well as to our nation's huge stranded gas supplies on the North Slope of Alaska, we have the potential to secure long-term energy supplies that help meet our demand for energy. For example, Canada has huge stranded natural gas capacity that has no way to reach major markets, and Mexico likewise lacks an adequate energy infrastructure to allow it to tie into major North American energy markets. Presidential leadership must be interjected into this equation, and John Kerry would make this a priority issue with our North American neighbors.
* Developing Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline. There are 35 trillion cubic feet of known natural gas reserves on the North Slope of Alaska that have no way to get to markets in the lower 48 states. John Kerry believes that we must build the Alaska pipeline to expand natural gas as a resource and provide important jobs for American workers. As President, John Kerry would bring together the States, Native Americans, producers, pipeline companies, Canada and other interested parties to make this a domestic priority, including providing appropriate regulatory streamlining to get this project built.
* Encouraging Development in the Gulf of Mexico. John Kerry supports developing natural gas sources in the Gulf of Mexico on areas already open for drilling. He supports temporary incentives that encourage development in this area.

Assuring Natural Gas Can Be Delivered – Safely and Reliably

* Enhancing Infrastructure to Help Supply Natural Gas More Effectively. We need a domestic pipeline infrastructure that is capable of delivering natural gas where it is needed, when it is needed, in a safe and reliable manner. For example, the lack of pipeline infrastructure may be impeding development of natural gas on public and private lands on the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains, which are believed to hold very significant reserves of natural gas. Over 60 percent of the natural gas reserves in this region are available for lease under standard lease terms, according to a recent government report. John Kerry’s plan would ensure that we develop needed pipeline infrastructure and supplies in appropriate areas in an environmentally sound and safe manner.
* Improving Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Transportation Systems. There are ways in which we can improve our ability to import natural gas from reliable foreign sources. The current infrastructure for importing natural gas from overseas is limited as the natural gas must be liquefied at super cold temperatures for shipping overseas and returned to gas form before it can be put in the domestic pipeline system. There are currently only four terminals in the U.S. where liquefied natural gas is delivered and these facilities often raise challenging local issues. John Kerry would support new technologies under development to address some of the local concerns about this transportation system, including development of ship-based regasification systems that would allow the LNG to be regasified offshore and moved to shore by connecting to underwater pipelines.
* Increase the Efficiency of Natural Gas Use. Advanced technologies, commercially available today, can dramatically increase the efficiency of natural gas use for power generation and end use applications, including heating and cooling. For example, combined heat and power systems which provide both electric and thermal energy to commercial and industrial users can achieve efficiencies greater than 70%, compared with power plants that operate often at half that level. And gas-fired appliances available today can substantially cut homeowners natural gas bills which may hit record levels this winter.

(6) MAKING COAL PART OF THE 21ST CENTURY ENERGY SOLUTION
For too long there has been a deadlock between those who support using coal and those who support improving the environment. George Bush tells coal producing regions to fight environmental protections because they will hurt the industry. Others believe there is no future for coal. The reality, however, is that coal is an abundant domestic fuel that is used to produce more than one-half of our electric power. John Kerry believes that coal should be part of the solution to our energy and environmental challenges and that we need to forge a new way to harness technology to develop and deploy clean electric power from coal. At the same time, John Kerry believes that we need clear benchmarks and a flexible framework by which to measure the emissions performance of existing and new uses of coal.

* Making Coal Part of the Clean Energy Solution and Strengthen the Economy in States and Regions Engaged in Coal Production and Use. John Kerry believes that we need leadership to lower the four leading power plant emissions – nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide. He also is committed to helping the coal industry and the communities that support it be part of America’s energy future. He wants to make the coal industry part of the effort in developing and implementing new cleaner coal technology. John Kerry believes we must invest $10 billion over the next decade – a five-fold increase – to help transition from the current generation of older and dirtier coal plants to cleaner and more advanced coal-fired power plants Kerry believes we must also invest in new research that can make sure clean coal is a major contributor in meeting future energy needs, including playing an important part in the production of hydrogen. This approach will be good for the environment and public health and will assure coal workers and their families are an important part of the next generation of energy technology for our nation.

(7) REDIRECTING UNWARRANTED SUBSIDIES TO INVEST IN THE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES OF THE FUTURE. John Kerry’s plan does not necessarily spend more than the Republican energy bill, he just has different priorities. While John Kerry wants to invest in renewable energy that can reduce our dependence on foreign oil, the Republican bills advocate big subsidies for large, well-financed energy companies. The House Republican energy bill authorizes billions in new spending and tax cuts for the industry. The Senate bill also has subsidies for the industry. John Kerry believes we need an energy policy that puts federal resources into creating the technologies that will create energy security, create jobs and protect the environment. At the same time, John Kerry believes that the nation can save money through targeted policies to improve the management of energy and public resources. For example, we can modernize the sale of mineral rights on public land by ending the sale of public land rights at $5 per acre and save $519 million over five years. John Kerry’s plan to cut electricity in the Federal government would save $8 billion over the next ten years. And John Kerry would close a loophole that allows small-business owners to deduct $100,000 for luxury sport-utility vehicles through a law meant to benefit farmers and others from being penalized by the luxury tax when they purchase pickup trucks and tractors.
http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/energy_security.html

What are the other candidates' plans for energy independence?

[quinnox]

1. Very good

But wait, Kerry isn't the angry candidate that makes me feel furious and energized, how can I support him? <sarcasm>

This is a post about substance, not sure the Dean folks want to go there.

[LuminousX]

2. Interesting you take a substantive thread and turn it into an attack, why?

Fean is doing us a service here, bringing us back to discussing the things that are important. Why pollute the waters with an attack on another group of supporters? How did that enrich the debate?

[quinnox]

3. It's not an attack, its just satire

Can't a guy have some fun?

[LuminousX]

4. In an environment where a Mod asked a return to civility?

No. Not that type of fun.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[killbotfactory]

5. Dean's plan is part of his environmental policy

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_speech_environment_thenexthundredyears

(snip)

The first element, my energy agenda, includes an ambitious commitment to developing renewable energy sources and fostering energy efficiency. Instead of giving Americans incentives to conserve fuel, the Bush-Cheney Administration seeks unlimited supplies of oil. All we need to do, they say, is drill for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. But according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, building fuel-efficient cars would save more oil by 2012 than the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge could ever produce.

Conservation principally through efficiency improvements has to be a centerpiece of our national energy policy. All it takes is ingenuity, and Americans have that in abundance.

For instance, today, technology helps us keep cooler while consuming less energy. American businesses should be world leaders in building highly efficient air conditioners, refrigerators, light bulbs, industrial motors and other appliances used in homes and businesses. Unfortunately, the Bush-Cheney Administration delayed and then weakened efficiency standards for air-conditioners. We can do better.

Energy efficiency is a centerpiece of my environmental plan because I know it works.

During my tenure as Governor of Vermont, we created the nation’s first state-wide energy efficiency utility. So far, our Efficiency Vermont program has prevented one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions while generating $66.8 million in energy savings for customers. Businesses have seen an average return of 65 percent on their energy-efficiency investments.

Today, Efficiency Vermont meets 2 percent of Vermont’s electricity needs. It’s on track to meet 10 percent in the next eight years. If we could match that nationally and we can, with help from the federal government we’d need 200 fewer new power plants over the next decade. We could help with federal matching funds for state energy-efficiency programs or by creating a national Energy Efficiency Performance Standard to be met at the state level.

As key as power-generation is, it’s not the largest component of our oil use transportation is, burning two-thirds of the oil we consume in this country.

In 1975 in the midst of the energy crisis our government decided that automobiles should get better gas mileage. President Carter set a standard of 27.5 miles per gallon by 1985. And it worked. Without that standard, fuel consumption would be approximately 50% higher than it is today.

Unfortunately, there was a loophole in the law, exempting “light trucks” a loophole big enough to drive a gas-guzzling SUV through. And now, with millions of SUVs on the road, fuel economy is lower than it’s been in decades.

We need to give the world’s automakers an incentive to manufacture more energy-efficient SUVs. And to do that, we should close the loophole that exempts SUVs from gas mileage standards.

A Dean Administration will also direct the auto industry to work toward a fuel-efficiency standard of approximately 40 miles per gallon by 2015. Forty miles per gallon is doable in fact, it has been doable for a long time. And it will create a brand new market for our automakers.

Japanese automakers understand the opportunity that opens up as consumers become more energy-conscious. Instead of opposing California’s strict emissions requirements, they built and marketed the hybrid gas-electric cars that are on the road today.

American engineers can lead us even further, to the next generation of hydrogen-powered vehicles. A Colorado-based company has already designed a fuel cell-powered vehicle. It’s about the size of a Lexus RX 300, and will achieve the equivalent of 99 miles per gallon.

Another key element of an environmentally sound energy policy is investing in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Solar-power systems are dropping in price and new technologies are emerging. And California led the way in wind power in the early 1980s, California had more than 80% of the world’s wind-power capacity. But without a national policy to support alternative energy generation, the U.S. has fallen behind other nations. Today, Europe generates nearly 75% of the wind-power used in the world.

We can do better and you’re working on it. California has taken the lead with a standard that calls for 20% of your electricity to be renewable by 2017. The rest of the country will need time to catch up to you, so my energy policy calls for 20% renewable electricity by 2020.

And we should increase our use of ethanol, a renewable fuel that can be produced from agricultural and forest waste, grasses, and other feedstocks. Ethanol can also replace MTBE, a fuel additive which has caused water contamination problems.
(snip)

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_policy_economy_energy_summary

Abundant energy at fair prices was at the core of American prosperity throughout the 20th century and remains of central importance to our quality of life in the 21st. But the US is at a crossroads; the path we decide upon now will determine what kind of energy future the 21st century will hold. Unfortunately, the possibilities for a clean, affordable and sustainable energy future are being undermined by the Bush-Cheney policy of import, drill and burn. Their plan has been written behind closed doors with input coming only from special interests and lobbyists. Governor Dean believes we need to replace this approach with a policy that harnesses the powers of American innovation. The comprehensive energy plan that Dean will release later this fall stresses five main goals:

Ensure reliable, diverse, and low cost energy supplies at stable prices to all Americans
Strengthen our national security
Create jobs and stimulate economic growth
Spur innovation and make America the world’s energy technology leader in the 21st century
Protect our environment
Central to Governor Dean’s approach will be a commitment to renewable energy.

Invest in Renewable Energy Sources

Replacing dirty, inefficient power production with clean, renewable energy sources has several economic and non-economic benefits which are not captured in the current pricing regime. As a result, renewable resources often do not look cost competitive, even when they are the best investment we can make in our future. To help overcome these marketplace distortions, Governor Dean’s proposes to:

Create a Renewable Portfolio Standard — 20% by 2020. Despite a bipartisan plea from 53 Senators, the GOP leadership in Congress buckled under to oil and gas interests and rejected calls to require that our nation generate 10% of its electricity from renewable sources. Governor Dean will put the interests of Americans ahead of special interests and require that our nation generate 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. To ensure efficient and flexible implementation, Dean will create a renewable energy credit trading system.

Require More American Biofuels. Governor Dean will require that every gallon of the motor fuel in the US, on average, contain 10% American biofuels like ethanol and soy-diesel. As with the renewable energy requirement, Dean will implement a biofuels credit trading system to allow the market to determine where biofuels can be most efficiently used.

Boost Wind Energy Transmission. To tap the massive wind energy potential of the Plains, Governor Dean will work with state and local governments, renewable generators and transmission utilities to breakdown regulatory barriers, eliminate transmission capacity deficiencies and identify possible transmission investments that could jumpstart new renewable generation

Create a Solar Power Tax Credit. Governor Dean will boost demand for solar technology in the near-and long-terms by implementing a consumer tax credit for residential solar power and increasing federal support for R&D into solar technologies to reduce the cost of solar cells.

Extend the Production Tax Credit for More Renwables. Governor Dean will extend the wind Production Tax Credit, which expires at the end of the year. Dean will also expand the tax credit to cover more types of renewable power generation including geothermal, solar and biomass.

Invest in Renewable Energy and Efficiency as Part of the Fund to Restore America. Governor Dean’s economic plan calls for a $100 billion investment in America over two years: the Fund to Restore America. Dean will encourage states to dedicate a portion of the Fund to investments in renewable generation and in supplemental transmission capability needed to spark new renewable generation.

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_record_economy_energy

Governor Howard Dean, MD
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www.deanforamerica.com

Paid for and produced in-house by Dean for America.
A Progressive Record of Promoting Clean Energy
LEADING THE WAY IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
�� The Vermont Energy Initiative — Dean’s comprehensive energy program focused on helping citizens and businesses
help themselves by advocating Combined Heat and Power and distributed generation, exempting newly constructed
renewable facilities from property taxes, and offering “green pricing” of power.
�� Net Metering — Dean initiated required net metering, allowing private, commercial, and farming consumers to offset
energy bills by generating their own power from renewable resources and selling it back to the grid.
�� Biomass Energy — Dean created the Biomass Energy Resource Center in 2000 to aggressively promote biomass heating
systems in public schools, state and commercial buildings. Dean also supported use of an existing wood-fired power plant
to develop new clean-burning biomass gasification technology.
�� Harnessing the Wind — Under Dean, the Searsburg Wind Farm Project was initiated with a 6MW farm to demonstrate
the feasibility of wind energy production in the mountainous state.

THE POWER TO SAVE: ENERGY EFFICIENCY
�� Efficiency Vermont — Vermont became the first state to implement a statewide efficiency utility. The utility, known as
Efficiency Vermont, helps Vermonters invest in the most efficient technologies to meet their energy needs. During Dean’s
tenure as governor, Vermont lowered its energy needs by 5.5%.
�� Affordable Efficiency — Thanks to Efficiency Vermont, 1 in 7 customers upgraded their electrical systems to run with
higher efficiency, achieving energy savings at one half the cost of purchasing wholesale electricity.
�� Savings in Energy Costs — Efficiency Vermont programs enabled households and businesses to save $3.5 million in
2001, and to save 60 MWh annually — the equivalent of Vermont’s three hydroelectric dams.
�� Power Plant Emissions Reductions — Through efficiency programs Vermont was able cut annual emissions in all
areas — 632,000 tons less CO2, 2578 tons less SO2, and 973 tons less NOX.
�� Award Winning Innovation — This year, Efficiency Vermont received Harvard’s Kennedy School’s Innovations in
American Government Award. Some states are now using it as a model for their own programs.

TAKING ACTION ON GREENHOUSE GASES
�� Ensuring Clean Air — Dean created the Committee to Ensure Clean Air which recommended revenue-neutral “green
taxes” to curb emissions and fund tax incentives for citizens to purchase clean technologies.
�� Committing to Climate Change Action — Dean signed the New England Governors' Conference resolution to
improve efficiency in energy use and transportation in northeast. The regional plan calls for reducing GHG emissions
25% by 2012, and 50% by 2028. Dean’s Vermont Greenhouse Gas Action Plan identified policy options to reduce already
low Vermont GHG emissions by 21%, increase employment by 1%, reduce energy costs by $6.2 billion, and energy use
16% by 2020.
�� Encouraging the Use of Cleaner Fuels — Dean actively promoted the use of natural gas over other fossil fuels,
wherever cost-effective and environmentally practical, to lower emissions.

IMPROVING TRANSPORTATION EFFICIENCY AND REDUCING VMT
�� Advancing Electric and Hybrid Development — Dean’s EVermont program made VT the premier cold weather
testing site for electric vehicles and fostered Compressed Natural Gas cars and filling station trials.
�� Investing in Mass Transit — Dean bolstered mass transit in Vermont by expanding commuter rail service, providing
funds and incentives to restore bus routes, encouraging businesses of 50 or more to establish “trip reduction plans”, and
constructing more park-and-rides.
�� Fostering Smart Growth — Under Dean, Vermont’s progressive land-use policies were protected and continue to
encourage forward-thinking growth planning and development.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

6. Dean's plan seem short on a lot of details.

In fact, the only thing in your post that actually looks like a plan is the part about alternative energy:

Invest in Renewable Energy Sources

Replacing dirty, inefficient power production with clean, renewable energy sources has several economic and non-economic benefits which are not captured in the current pricing regime. As a result, renewable resources often do not look cost competitive, even when they are the best investment we can make in our future. To help overcome these marketplace distortions, Governor Dean’s proposes to:

Create a Renewable Portfolio Standard — 20% by 2020. Despite a bipartisan plea from 53 Senators, the GOP leadership in Congress buckled under to oil and gas interests and rejected calls to require that our nation generate 10% of its electricity from renewable sources. Governor Dean will put the interests of Americans ahead of special interests and require that our nation generate 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. To ensure efficient and flexible implementation, Dean will create a renewable energy credit trading system.

Require More American Biofuels. Governor Dean will require that every gallon of the motor fuel in the US, on average, contain 10% American biofuels like ethanol and soy-diesel. As with the renewable energy requirement, Dean will implement a biofuels credit trading system to allow the market to determine where biofuels can be most efficiently used.

Boost Wind Energy Transmission. To tap the massive wind energy potential of the Plains, Governor Dean will work with state and local governments, renewable generators and transmission utilities to breakdown regulatory barriers, eliminate transmission capacity deficiencies and identify possible transmission investments that could jumpstart new renewable generation

Create a Solar Power Tax Credit. Governor Dean will boost demand for solar technology in the near-and long-terms by implementing a consumer tax credit for residential solar power and increasing federal support for R&D into solar technologies to reduce the cost of solar cells.

Extend the Production Tax Credit for More Renwables. Governor Dean will extend the wind Production Tax Credit, which expires at the end of the year. Dean will also expand the tax credit to cover more types of renewable power generation including geothermal, solar and biomass.

Invest in Renewable Energy and Efficiency as Part of the Fund to Restore America. Governor Dean’s economic plan calls for a $100 billion investment in America over two years: the Fund to Restore America. Dean will encourage states to dedicate a portion of the Fund to investments in renewable generation and in supplemental transmission capability needed to spark new renewable generation.
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_policy_economy_energy_summary

Those ideas, which seem like they may have been lifted from Kerry's plan, are good as far as they go, but other than saying everything get's a 'tax credit', skips the specific. I like the way Kerry's plan lays out so many specific, realizable goals: updating CAFE standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2015, at least 5 billion gallons of renewable fuel as part of America’s energy supply by 2012, putting 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road by 2010 and 2.5 Million by 2020, assuring 20 Percent of electricity comes from renewable Sources by 2020 (Dean does say that as well), applying the 10-cents per gallon production tax credit to small farmer-owned cooperatives, cutting the government’s energy bill 20 percent by 2020, challenging municipalities, corporations, universities, small businesses and hospitals to establish the same 20% energy efficiency goal.

I also like Kerry's idea of creating an Energy Security and Conservation Trust Fund. It's great to say you are for this or that green-sounding alternative energy proposal, but where is the money going to come from to develop the actual technology? That's the difference between a plan and a wish-list.

[Nazgul35]

7. lifted from Kerry's plan?

you should back that up....considering that Dean's plan has been up on his web site for well over a month....how about Kerry? (I dont know as I dont go there)....

It is also rather foolish to suggest that candidates are bad because some of their policies overlap...they're all Dems after all listening to the same group of economists......

This isn't a race about being original (good thing for some candidates...>:>) it's about being the nominee for the Party and how well they can win the general election (spare me the national polls....its too early to know anything for sure...the Dems are unfocused and name recognition is driving the polls now)....

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. Well, Kerry unveiled this plan in June.

Make America More Secure by Reducing Dependence on Foreign Oil Says Kerry
Plan Would Create 500,000 Jobs, Protect Environment
June 19, 2003

Cedar Rapids, IA -

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry today unveiled a plan to increase America’s national security by ending our dependence on foreign oil within 10 years.

Kerry unveiled his plan at VFW Post 788 in Cedar Rapids. “Our national security is at stake and we have to act today, not wait for decades while new crises threaten or strike,” said Kerry. “Setting a national goal of ending our reliance on Middle East oil within this next decade is critical to the long-term national security of the United States. No foreign government can embargo clean, domestic, renewable sources of energy -- and no terrorist can seize control of them.”

“Instead of indefinitely sending that money to the Mideast, we should launch an energy strategy to invest in the Midwest and in the rest of America, generating new jobs and new technologies here at home.”

The plan’s highlights include:

* Reducing dependence on foreign oil through new Energy Security Trust Fund. The Fund would use oil and gas royalty revenues to invest in technologies that reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
* Increasing fuel efficiency and speeding transition to renewable fuels for transportation.
* Increasing the use of renewable fuels to produce 20% of our electricity by 2020 and creating 500,000 new jobs.
* Making our government, our homes and our communities more energy efficient.
* Expanding the supply of natural gas.
* Making coal part of our 21st Century energy solution.
* Redirecting unwarranted subsidies to invest in the energy technology of the future.

“Today we have an energy policy of big oil, by big oil and for big oil. It may work for their profits, but it will never work for America,” said Kerry. “And yet George Bush persists in pursuing a course that can only be described as energy dependence – an approach, that despite all his boasts about a stronger America, will actually risk our hopes, make us weaker, and make both our economy and our country more vulnerable to blackmail by hostile powers.”
http://www.johnkerry.com/news/releases/pr_2003_0619.html

But you are right. I don't think candidates should be precluded from using a good idea just because another candidate said it first.

Still, it seems like Dean has had plenty of time to flesh out his plan with more details... more specifics. Where are they?

[blm]

9. Kerry's been working on the issue actively for 30+ years.

And Dean's longtime record shows a very thorny relationship with progressive Democrats and environmentalists in his state.

So...it's not hard to figure out who actually did the heavy lifting on the issue.

[Tinoire]

10. Kucinich on Energy

Energy

Gasoline Prices
Deregulation of the Electric Industry
Letters of the 107th Congress, 1st Session
Letters
Bills Cosponsored in the 107th Congress, 1st Session
Bills Cosponsored

Gasoline Prices


Representative Kucinich believes that the recent rise of gas prices is a result of oil company profiteering and price gouging. The price of gasoline rose to $2 per gallon in Cleveland without a reasonable explanation and then decreased only after regulators began to question the high prices. To reduce fluctuations in price that harm consumers, Kucinich introduced the Gas Price Spike Act of 2000, which:

· institutes a windfall profit tax on industries who manage gasoline, diesel, crude oil, and home heating oil;

· acts as a disincentive for oil companies to take excessive profits, but would not raise gas prices for the consumers;

· provides tax credits to consumers who purchase highly efficient union-made cars, SUVs, and light trucks;

· provides local funding for reduced mass transit fares.

These benefits to consumers will help reduce our dependency on oil, while the windfall profits tax keeps gas prices in check.

Rep. Kucinich also introduced the “Lower Gasoline Prices through Technology Access Act of 2000” which addressed one of the reasons the oil industry has blamed for the high price of gasoline, especially reformulated gasoline (RFG) in the mid-west. Several recently issued patents for reformulated gasoline are deterring the industry from making RFG, and are making RFG more expensive for consumers. The legislation ensures that all oil companies have fair access to these patents by preventing monopolistic control of this important clean air technology. This will lead to lower gasoline prices because it will make the process for manufacturing RFG available to all oil companies.

Representative Kucinich also supported an amendment to the agriculture spending bill to increase the funding available for the Meals on Wheels program to offset higher gasoline prices. The Meals on Wheels program delivers food to our senior citizens, but when gas prices escalate, so do the costs of delivering these meals.

This serious issue was brought to the congressman’s attention by Joyce Able Scroth, the director for Department of Senior and Community Services of the City of Westlake. Her letter stated, "As you know, many of the volunteers for Meals on Wheels are, themselves, older adults on fixed incomes. One such couple travels almost 100 miles in a rural area to deliver meals; they are considering resigning because they cannot afford to volunteer."

To resolve this issue, Kucinich joined a bipartisan group of Members of Congress that successfully offered an amendment to increase funding for programs like Meals on Wheels by $20 million. This money will offset the increasingly high fuel costs by providing more food purchasing power and mileage reimbursement funds.

In the 107th Congress, Kucinich reintroduced the Gas Price Spike Act. The new bill, H.R. 1967, doubled the ultra-efficient vehicle tax credit to a maximum of $6000. This legislation benefits consumers by keeping a check on gas prices, bringing more efficient vehicles to the market, and lowering America’s dependence of foreign oil.

Deregulation of the Electric Industry


Congressman Dennis Kucinich has fought vigorously to place his constituents’ interests first every time they flip on a light. In Washington, D.C. and many states, including Ohio, policy makers are deregulating the electricity industry. The debate has focused on benefitting the electricity companies and large energy users, while residential consumers have been ignored.

More than half the states have deregulated, and they all lacked the consumer protections, fair markets and environmental protections necessary. This has led to a general failure of deregulated electricity markets. Wholesale electricity prices have increased nationwide. The extensive failure of deregulation in California has left many consumers with massive electricity bills while the power generation companies reaped record profits. The Progressive Caucus, chaired by Kucinich, released THE PROGRESSIVE PRO-CONSUMER SOLUTION TO TODAY'S ELECTRICITY CRISIS: Just and Reasonable Rates, a Tellus Institute report that detailed this failure and provided a pro-consumer solution.

Congressman Kucinich has also cosponsored an innovative new bill that provides incentives for expanding public power systems. This legislation, authored by Congressman Nadler (D-NY) and Congressman Hinchey (D-NY) provides for a Community Power Investment Revolving Loan Fund to provide for low-interest funds, blocks private power companies from interfering in the expansion of public power systems and reforms the tax system to ensure tax-exempt bonds can be used for public power systems.

Rep. Kucinich’s activities build upon past actions. Kucinich introduced H.R. 2645, the “Electricity Consumer, Worker and Environmental Protection Act of 1999.” The bill, which would significantly restructure the electric power industry, was introduced to protect the interests of consumers and the environment. Until this legislation was introduced, most legislative proposals for utility deregulation increase rates and increase the amount of pollution emitted into the environment, because they were written to benefit large industrial consumers and the utilities serving them.

HR 2645 will likely result in almost $500 billion in savings for residential consumers. The bill protects consumers and makes the electricity industry more worker friendly and more environmentally safe.

The bill:

· would set universal standards of service for residential customers;

· more of a choice among electricity providers;

· allows consumers to unite as townships and as buying clubs to save money;

· includes provisions for environmental protection of air quality;

· raises the bar on the pollution emission standards for global warming gases and heavy metals;

· creates affordable electric service for low- and moderate-income residential customers;

· supports renewable energy and energy efficiency;

· ensures consumer privacy is protected;

· protects consumer from market power abuses and

· anti-competitive mergers;

· and provides protection for workers in a deregulated industry.

Summary of H.R. 2645, The Electricity Consumer, Worker, and Environmental Protection Act of 1999


This bill impacts both states that have chosen to deregulate and those that haven't. Title I contains several consumer protections for all states. Title II contains important additional protections just for the states that have chosen to deregulate. It is important to note that this bill does not mandate that any state deregulate the electricity industry. Instead, this bill includes provisions to protect consumers, workers, and the environment regardless of whether a state chooses to deregulate or not.

The following are Title I changes that will impact everyone


Pollution standards.
This bill requires that all power plants should meet the same standards for pollution regardless of power plant age or fuel type. The following pollution standards are to be established starting in 2005:

· nitrogen oxides, a 79 percent decrease from 1990 emissions. This is intended to result in an emission rate of 0.15 pounds of nitrogen oxides per million BTUs;

· sulfur dioxide, a 77 percent decrease from 1990 emissions. This is intended to result in an emission rate of 0.30 pounds of sulfur dioxide per million BTUs;

· carbon dioxide, a 10 percent decrease from 1990 emissions by 2005, a 25 percent decrease by 2010, and a 80 percent decrease by 2030;

· mercury emissions are to be eliminated by 2010;

· high-level nuclear waste, a reduction of the production of radiation (in curies) by 5 percent by 2000, and 2 percent for each year after 2005;

· low-level nuclear waste, a reduction of the production of radiation (in curies) by 25 percent by 2000, and 5 percent for each year after 2005;

Public Benefit Funds
National electric public benefit board will oversee the collection and distribution of a 0.7 cents/kWh fund, which one third will be used to support affordable electric service for low- and moderate-income people. The remaining funds will used for protecting workers affected by electricity deregulation and to support renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

Renewable energy portfolio standards.
Total generation from renewable resources, including biomass, landfill gas, geothermal, solar, or wind resources, must equal 5% of all sales by 2005 and 10% by 2010, not including hydroelectric sources. Tradable renewable credits can be used by electricity suppliers to meet their RPS obligations.

Net-metering & interconnection standards.
Allows the owner of a renewable energy source of 2 megawatts or less to reduce their electricity bill by the amount of electricity produced.

Consumer privacy.
A distributor or supplier of electricity must obtain the written permission of a customer before it can release customer-specific information.

Payment plans.
All electricity distributors and suppliers must offer their customers deferred payment plans and equal-monthly-budget billing plans.

Electricity Bills.
All electricity distributors and suppliers must issue bills that disclose:

· understandable descriptions of all services and charges;

· a percentage breakdown of the sources of electricity (specifically biomass, coal, hydro, natural gas, nuclear, oil, solar, wind, power from municipal waste incinerators, other resources), a pie-chart showing these percentage breakdowns;

· a table showing actual pollutant emissions (specifically particulate matter, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, high-level nuclear waste, and low-level nuclear waste);

·
Office of consumer counsel.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must create an office of consumer counsel to represent the interests of consumers in matters before FERC.

Prohibition of power plant bailouts.
It shall be unlawful for any federal or state authority to require consumers to subsidize, directly or indirectly, the costs of owning or operating any power plant owned by an investor-owned company.

Distribution service and supply service quality standards.
Distributors and suppliers of electricity will be benchmarked and ranked by a nation-wide, publicly-available index that measures consumer concerns in multiple areas.

Prohibition of affiliate abuses and cross-subsidies.
Investor-owned utilities or their holding companies cannot be involved in any non-regulated business and cannot provide any non-regulated services.

Mergers
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cannot approve a merger if the merger would violate antitrust law, if it would reduce the number of suppliers in any geographic market, or if probable efficiencies could be achieved by other means.

Worker Protections
Power plant owners must ensure that workers have the necessary skills to safely perform their jobs. This bill requires all power plants to comply with standards established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This bill requires new owners of power plants to offer to rehire the current power plant workers at similar wage rates and benefits.

The following are Title II changes that will impact deregulated states


Aggregation of Consumers
Nonprofit public aggregation. States must permit consumers to establish options for nonprofit public aggregation in the form of new municipal electric systems; franchise contracts; community choice aggregation; or cooperative buying clubs in unincorporated areas. These nonprofit aggregators may control funds collected for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

Consumer Protections
Prohibition of cost-shifting. No class of consumers can be charged rates for transmission or distribution service in excess of the class' proportional responsibility for the costs of providing these services. State regulatory commissions must adjust access charges if the rate differential between residential and industrial customers exceeds three percent.

Basic service.
Distributors must arrange for the provision of basic electricity service for consumers who do not select a supplier, or when suppliers are not able to provide service. Basic service will be provided by suppliers chosen through competitive bids. Consumers have the right to receive basic electricity service at prices that do not vary by time of day or season.

Change of supplier.
A customer may change his electric supplier at any time.

Distribution service disconnections and supply terminations.
All customers must be protected from unreasonable service disconnections and unreasonable supply terminations. A seller may not disconnect or terminate the customer's electric service for failure to pay for products or services other than electricity, or without providing adequate notice to the customer, or when a tenant's landlord fails to pay for service, or when a physician declares a medical emergency in a household.

Credit and collection practices.
Distributors that bill for suppliers must allocate a customer's partial payment first to services regulated by the state regulatory authority, and then to the unregulated portion of the bill. A retail supplier may not refuse to grant credit to any applicant, as stipulated by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Deposits required by retail suppliers may not exceed the applicant's estimated bill for a two-month period.

Unfair trade practices.
The following practices must be prohibited: cramming; slamming; the provision by suppliers to consumers of gifts of more than $50 in value; and misleading advertising.

Prohibition of affiliate abuses and cross-subsidies. Investor-owned utilities must transfer transmission and distribution assets to a regulated transmission company and a regulated distribution company. These transmission and distribution companies:

· cannot have any affiliation whatsoever, or use the name, logo, or trademark, of any company that owns, operates, or leases generation facilities, or that sells electricity in wholesale or retail markets;

· cannot own any security of any other company; and must provide all goods and services on reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms.

·
Prohibition of excessive generation market power.
Investor-owned generation companies and their affiliates cannot own more than 20% of a state's baseload power plants, peaking power plants, and power plants that primarily provide ancillary services.

Worker protections.
Electric utilities can recover the costs of programs that provide for voluntary severance, job retraining, early retirement, continued health care, outplacement and related benefits. States should consider extended unemployment benefits to utility employees terminated due to electricity deregulation. Utilities must prepare plans through which the utility intends to mitigate the impacts of workforce reduction on employees.

Letters of the 107th Congress, 1st Session


October 5, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to Speaker Hastert and Democratic Leader Gephart requesting that language requiring a total of $3.4 billion in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding for FY 2002 be included in any final economic stimulus package.

May 15, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to Chairman and Ranking Member of the subcommittee on Appropriations requesting an increase in funding to assist in the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles on America’s roads and highways.

May 5, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to the subcommittee on interior appropriations supporting the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program which promotes alternative fuel vehicles.

May 3, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich signed on to a letter to Chairman Sonny Callahan, Ranking Member Peter Visclosky of the Subcommittee on Energy & Water Development, and to Chairman Joe Skeen and Norman Dicks of the Subcommittee on the Interior. This letter requested sustained support for the energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development programs.

March 13, 2001 - Congressman Kucinich and the Progressive Caucus sent a letter to Minority Leader Richard Gephardt requesting a meeting to discuss an appropriate response to high energy prices around the country.

February 26, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham Congratulating him on his appointment and requesting the Secretary’s support concerning the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

February 23, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to President George W. Bush requesting an increase in Budget Submittal for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program with respect to Fiscal Year 2002.

February 12, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich signed on to a letter to Vice President Dick Cheney expressing his enthusiasm for working with the Vice President on the newly formed committee on Energy Policy.

February 9, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to President George W. Bush requesting an increase in appropriations for LIHEAP, and an emergency supplemental appropriation of $150 million for the Weatherizing Assistance Program.

January 24, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to President George W. Bush requesting the President’s support for LIHEAP.

January 24, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich signed on to a letter to President George W. Bush requesting funds for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

January 23, 2001 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham acknowledging Ohio’s qualification for an Industry of the Future grant.

January 8, 2001. Congressman Dennis Kucinich cosigned a letter to President George W. Bush requesting $1.8 billion For LIHEAP in Fiscal Year 2002.

January 8, 2001 - Congressman Kucinich rejoined the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus.

Letters


November 2, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to the Secretary of Energy requesting that the Department of Energy take immediate steps to investigate the health and environmental legacy of more than one hundred and fifty former nuclear weapons related sites nationwide to protect the former workers and local communities that may have been harmed by these facilities.

October 12, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission requesting that the Federal Trade Commission investigate whether producers and utility companies deliberately lowered production of natural gas last year in order to drive up prices for the winter in the Greater Cleveland area.

April 14, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to the Chairman of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee requesting funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), State Energy Programs, DOE efficiency Programs, Federal energy management, and better oil forecasting.

April 12, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Interior House Committee on Appropriations supporting money for increased grants of alternative fuel vehicles. Cleveland is a member of the Clean Cities Program which coordinates this program.

April 11, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies requesting for the President’s request of the Energy Star Program.

March 30, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee urging increases in funding for solar and renewable energy research and development in the FY2001 Energy and Water Appropriations bill.

March 30, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to Chairman Packard and Ranking Member Visclosky asking for support of increased funding for renewable energy- solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen, geothermal, hydropower- research and development programs.

March 14, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to President Clinton asking for a home heating oil reserve to protect low income people from high heating oil prices. Spikes in the price of heating oil disproportionately harm the poor. The use of a government-owned reserve would benefit consumers both in the Northeast and throughout the country.

February 8, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to President Clinton requesting the release of additional Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds, as well as the release of oil from strategic petroleum reserves. The letter also asks the President to pressure OPEC to increase production and lower prices of oil; to investigate potential price gouging by the oil industry; and to convene and emergency meeting with the oil industry to demand an increase in home heating oil supplies.

February 7, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to Vice President Gore and Administrator Carol Browner of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requesting that the EPA create regulation for solid power plant wastes, which are high toxic and contaminate groundwater supplies.

January 26, 2000 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to President Clinton requesting the release of additional Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds due to rising heating costs and the bitterly cold winter.

October 14, 1999 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to Alan Schriber, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to express his concern about the possible blocking of public participation in the transition plans of the Ohio electric utilities if proposed rules were adopted. By making modifications to the rules in extending the comment period, expanding original objections and other provisions, the public would have sufficient time to scrutinize the transition plans of all Ohio electric utilities.
September 29, 1999 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to President Clinton urging a veto on any legislation with anti-environmental oil royalty riders attached. The rider blocks a new regulation that forces accurate estimates on the value of oil from federal lands. The estimates are then used to calculate royalties paid to the federal government.

July 15, 1999 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to Chairman Packard and Ranking Member Visclosky urging their support of increases in funding for renewable energy research and development programs. Investment in these energy programs enhances field diversity, helps insulate the United States from future oil price fluctuations, create high-tech jobs and increase the U.S. market share for energy-supply products.

May 28, 1999 - Congressman Kucinich co-signed a letter to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education in the House Committee on Appropriations. In support of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Bill, he requests secured funding to insure that millions of low-income families do not have to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table.

Bills Cosponsored in the 107th Congress, 1st Session

H.R. 459 - Pipeline Safety Enhancement Act.
A bill to strengthen pipeline safety by enhancing training and evaluation of pipeline employees, creating pipeline inspection programs, improving state oversight, and enacting citizen participation and review.

H.R. 1275 - Fuel Cell Tax Credit Act.
A bill to provide a $1,000 per kilowatt tax credit for fuel cells to encourage their commercialization.

H. R. 2039 - Wholesale Motor Fuel Fairness and Competition Restoration Act.
A bill to require the oil companies to report wholesale gas prices, prohibit price discrimination at wholesale level, and require FTC study of gasoline service stations and pricing practices.

H.R. 876 - Wind Energy Production Tax Credit Act.
A bill to extend the current 1.5 cents/kilowatt-hour tax credit for electricity produced by wind.

H.R. 1459 - Electric Power Industry Tax Modernization Act.
A compromise bill to settle tax related issues between public power and private utilities.

H.R 954 - Home Energy Generation Act.
A bill to promote renewable energy generation in homes by requiring net metering and removing regulatory barriers.

H.R. 245 - Natural Gas Reserve Act.
A bill to create a natural gas reserve modeled after the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.

H.R. 660 - Ban Alaskan Oil Export Act.
A bill to ban Alaskan oil exports to ensure American oil goes to American consumers since current Alaskan oil sales to Asia reduce the supply of West Coast oil and keep prices high.

H.R. 268 - California Electricity Consumers Relief Act
A bill to establish cost based rates for wholesale electricity sales in the western United States now and retroactively last June and to order retroactive refunds for changes above the cost-based rate.

H.R. 4969 - KI Stockpile for Nuclear Accidents.
A bill to require FEMA and NRC to develop a plan to stockpile Potassium Iodine (KI) within a 50 mile radius of a nuclear power plant since taking KI during a radiation release helps prevent thyroid cancer since it blocks radioactive iodine.

H.R. 2174- The Robert S. Walker and George E. Brown Jr. Hydrogen Act of 2001
. A bill to reauthorize and amend the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1990.

Bills Cosponsored


HR 5479 - Wholesale Motor Fuel Fairness and Competition Act:
A bill to deter oil companies from engaging in un-fair and anti-competitive practices such as price zoning, redlining, discriminatory wholesale fuel pricing, and a complex and complicated system of cost allocation the companies use that hide the factors on which wholesale costs are based and published.

HR 5345 - Energy Efficient Buildings Incentives Act:
A bill to provide tax deductions for new residential buildings for: efficient heating, cooling, and water heating systems; solar hot water and photovoltaic systems in homes; commercial building with 50% energy savings.

HR 5339 - Fuel Cell Tax Credits:
A bill to provide a $500/kilowatt tax credit for stationary fuel cells going to the purchaser of the fuel cell.

HR 5415 - Public Oversight of Wholesale Electric Rates:
A bill to provide a wind fall profits tax on wholesale electric rates in the Western System Power Grid.

HR 4792 - Comprehensive Pipeline Safety Improvement Act:
A bill to increase pipeline safety requirements via: standardized safety practices; public access to inspection reports; increasing fines for pipeline safety violation; requires certification procedures for increased safety.

HR 4969 - Potassium Iodine Stockpiling for Nuclear Power Plant Accident:
A bill requiring Potassium Iodine (KI) to be stockpiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in case of a nuclear power plant releases radiation.

HR 4977 - Resource Efficient Appliance Incentives Act:
A bill to provide a tax credit for energy efficient close washers and refrigerators that goes to the manufacturer.

HR 3608 - Home Heating Oil Prices Stability Act:
A bill to provide the Secretary of Energy with authority to create a Fuel Oil Product Reserve to be available for use when fuel oil prices in the United States rise sharply because of anti-competitive activity, during a fuel oil shortage, or during periods of extreme winter weather.

HR 1705 - A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to waive the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline and to phase-out the use of MTBE, and for other purposes.

H.R. 3558 - Safe pipelines Act of 2000:
A bill to improve the safety of pipelines by requiring Federal certification, corrosion testing, notice of spills, hydrostatic testing, pipeline maps, studies on external leak detection, double walled pipelines, minimum burial depth and cost/benefit analysis by the National Transportation Safety Board.

HR 721 - Bond Fairness and Protection Act of 1999:
A bill which provides for tax-exempt bond financing of certain electric facilities.

HR 750 - A bill to provide a 5-year extension of the credit for producing electricity from wind.

HR 1358 - Energy Efficient Affordable Home Act of 1999:
A bill to provide tax credits for making energy efficiency improvements to existing homes and for constructing new energy efficient homes.

HR 2900 - Clean Smokestacks Act of 1999:
A bill to reduce emissions from electric powerplants.

HR 2980 - Clean Power Plant Act of 1999:
A bill to reduce emissions of mercury, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide from fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units operating in the United States.

HR 2947 - Home Energy Generation Act:
A bill to providing for the use of net metering by certain small electric energy generation systems.

HR 2569 - Fair Energy Competition Act of 1999:
A bill to support State programs for renewable energy sources, universal electric service, affordable electric service, and energy conservation and efficiency.

HR 2380 - Energy Efficient Technology Tax Act:
A bill to provide incentives to reduce energy consumption.

http://www.house.gov/kucinich/issues/energy.htm



For more on Kucinich please see: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=108&topic_id=10913">Dennis Kucinich: Bio, Issues, Vision

[sandnsea]

11. He's sure no do-nothing Cockroach!

Thanks. I'll read it in detail later. Looks very interesting and Kucinich would seem to be most likely to be trusted on deregulation.

[blm]

14. Another lawmaker worth trusting on this issue.

Dennis and Kerry are the real deal here.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. Of course, this is only part of Kerry's Environmental Plan

Here is the full plan in pdf format: http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/long_enviro.pdf

[Kolesar]

13. Using more coal is the worst idea; the coal should stay in the ground

That $10 Billion sounds like more tax cuts and subsidies for the coal industry who is powerful in WV and OH. This plan calls for consuming more coal. Coal is the primary cause of global warming. We need to be consuming less of it. I'd like to talk to his energy advisor.

----
(6) MAKING COAL PART OF THE 21ST CENTURY ENERGY SOLUTION
For too long there has been a deadlock between those who support using coal and those who support improving the environment. George Bush tells coal producing regions to fight environmental protections because they will hurt the industry. Others believe there is no future for coal. The reality, however, is that coal is an abundant domestic fuel that is used to produce more than one-half of our electric power. John Kerry believes that coal should be part of the solution to our energy and environmental challenges and that we need to forge a new way to harness technology to develop and deploy clean electric power from coal. At the same time, John Kerry believes that we need clear benchmarks and a flexible framework by which to measure the emissions performance of existing and new uses of coal.

* Making Coal Part of the Clean Energy Solution and Strengthen the Economy in States and Regions Engaged in Coal Production and Use. John Kerry believes that we need leadership to lower the four leading power plant emissions – nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide. He also is committed to helping the coal industry and the communities that support it be part of America’s energy future. He wants to make the coal industry part of the effort in developing and implementing new cleaner coal technology. John Kerry believes we must invest $10 billion over the next decade – a five-fold increase – to help transition from the current generation of older and dirtier coal plants to cleaner and more advanced coal-fired power plants Kerry believes we must also invest in new research that can make sure clean coal is a major contributor in meeting future energy needs, including playing an important part in the production of hydrogen. This approach will be good for the environment and public health and will assure coal workers and their families are an important part of the next generation of energy technology for our nation.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

18. The plan does not encourage coal production

all the money goes towards making the existing coal plants cleaner. The fact is almost 52% of US electricity is generated by burning coal. Are you saying we shouldn't try to make those plants as non-polluting as possible? I think that something worth spending money on.

[blm]

15. bump

.

[helleborient]

16. Is it possible...

That anyone would like to propose how Kerry, Dean, and Kucinich would boil the policies down to about a page or so for those who seriously want to compare plans but whose eyes start to glaze over wading through lots of policy?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

17. Well what I was hoping

was that each plan could get posted, and then we'd discuss relative merits... and those who didn't have the patience for reading the actual plans could get the gist from the discussions.... I mean look at Kerry's plan here, it's pretty detailed -- I don't see how you could 'boil it down' without leaving something out. And this isn't even his full environmental plan -- just a piece of it...

[DrFunkenstein]

20. Isn't That Scary?

This is just a piece of Kerry's plan - the actual stuff is a thousand times more complicated, with political details thrown into the mix. Let me be the first one to say that it has to be a pain in the ass to be a progressive Senator.