The President's Speech before Congress

Tonight was the equivalent of the State of the Union Message from President Obama, giving us a preview of what we can expect in his major programs over the next year. Energy forms one of the three major thrusts of this initiative, but this is very much a technology oriented Administration,

The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth.

And the most critical problems?

We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before.

Survival is a rather strong word, and yet it is realistically true. And his focus for the application of the money included

More than 90% of these jobs will be in the private sector - jobs rebuilding our roads and bridges; constructing wind turbines and solar panels; laying broadband and expanding mass transit.

Much of this will have an energy impact, and has been addressed in the Stimulus package, and now we will have to wait and see how this will play out. (Judging from one or two phone calls I have had recently I am not the only one trying to work this out).

The segment of the speech that addressed energy in the budget was first of the three priorities (as he ranked it during the debates).

Thanks to our recovery plan, we will double this nation's supply of renewable energy in the next three years. We have also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history - an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in medicine, science, and technology.

We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can carry new energy to cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making our homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bills.

But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America. And to support that innovation, we will invest fifteen billion dollars a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power; advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more fuel-efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.

Towards the end of his speech he drew attention to the presence of the mayor of Greensburg, Kansas

I think about Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was completely destroyed by a tornado, but is being rebuilt by its residents as a global example of how clean energy can power an entire community - how it can bring jobs and businesses to a place where piles of bricks and rubble once lay. "The tragedy was terrible," said one of the men who helped them rebuild. "But the folks here know that it also provided an incredible opportunity."

The website for the town is a blog that shows some of the creative things that they are doing, such as recycling some of the 87,000 truckloads of broken concrete that had to be hauled away after the tornado. It is going for such things as foundation and walls, lowering the carbon footprint since it has already been made. (Cement requires a lot of heat in the manufacture). Though they also have a post on building houses with natural materials that includes straw bales.

In response the Republican Governor Bobby Jindal spoke of lowering taxes as being a better way of stimulating the economy and mentioned some of the waste in the stimulus package including

It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a ‘magnetic levitation’ line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called ‘volcano monitoring.’ Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, DC.

Well as I seem to remember reading that the Maglev train is not a done deal. President Obama wanted that piece in the legislation, and may have other targets for it other than the link (which is favored by Senate Majority Leader Reid).

Also in the running are proposed high-speed corridors in the Northeast, the Northwest, Florida and the South.

In regard to the volcano monitoring, those who remember Mount St Helens, which erupted in May, 1980 may not be aware that the lava dome has rebuilt, and in 2005 threw a plume seven miles into the air. The whole ring of fire that forms the West Coast of the United States is vulnerable, including places such as Yellowstone, and the damage can be much worse than that from an Earthquake. It should also be remembered that President Obama is likely familiar with some of the damage from an erupting volcano, albeit on another island.

Turning to the energy debate Governor Jindal had this to say

To strengthen our economy, we need urgent action to keep energy prices down. All of us remember what it felt like to pay $4 at the pump - and unless we act now, those prices will return. To stop that from happening, we need to increase conservation … increase energy efficiency … increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels … increase our use of nuclear power - and increase drilling for oil and gas here at home. We believe that Americans can do anything - and if we unleash the innovative spirit of our citizens, we can achieve energy independence.

I still remain unconvinced that either of them understand either the scale or the imminence of the problem. In this they are probably totally reliant on their advisors for knowledge, and with all the other financial issues, the energy program may not move forward as fast as it otherwise might. But as one of the commentators said on ABC News after the speech words to the effect: “It will be interesting to see, a year from now, how much has changed.”

On a small personal note, after watching the two speeches, the Actress and I sat and watched the promotional DVD we got from our local Ford dealer on the new Fusion Hybrid. I have been very happy with my Camry Hybrid over the last year, and since it is now the Actress that is seeking a new vehicle, on the advice of Robert Rapier’s blog we are checking this one out. I will keep you updated as the decision approaches, and after we get whatever we do. Somehow I doubt it will be an Aptera but the Fusion Hybrid is quite a possibility.

The White House Plan

After having posted yesterday on the actions in the House to re-start the economy, the White House has a new set of Web pages up, listing the changes that it hopes to implement. Similarly over at the Department of Energy, the front Web page has changed. These tell us the plans for the moment. Obviously they will adjust as circumstances change.

The overall goals set out at the White House include:
* Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
* Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
* Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
* Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
* Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.


These are all ambitious targets. The first is aimed at industrial support to, among other things, move the Clean Coal program forward.

In regard to lowering oil demand, the current import sum of crude oil from the Middle East and Venezuela (from November includes 1.49 mbd from Saudi Arabia, and 1.16 mbd from Venezuela – but if the target is for all petroleum products, and we add Iraq and Kuwait to the list, then the total import from the Middle East and Venezuela becomes 3.44 mbd. With current consumption of around 19.12 mbd – a drop of 2 mbd from this time last year, this gives a target which is a 18% target reduction in consumption. (I suspect that they may have originally been planning 10% but the supply numbers are swinging and the imports from the Middle East have been rising as domestic and Mexican numbers have been falling). (Note that the DOE Web page gives percentage imports not volumes, for 2007).

For the plug-in hybrids, while they may be built in America, I would suspect that the manufacturers will not all be historically domestic.

For 10% of the electric supply – if we, again, look at the October 2008 figures (in million megawatt-hours) Coal provided 153; Petroleum liquids 1.85; Petroleum coke 1.3; Natural gas 72.5; Other gases 0.8; Nuclear 62.8; Hydro-electric 16.4; other renewables 9.75; for a total of 318 million megawatt-hours. So the target of 10% comes to 31.8, and the current production of renewables is 26.15, so the increase is roughly 5 million megawatt-hours, or just over 50% more renewables over today’s production, assuming that hydro stays the same.

So how are these targets to be met – first the White House site, which gives only a little more detail:

Provide Short-term Relief to American Families
Crack Down on Excessive Energy Speculation.
Swap Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Cut Prices.

Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years
Increase Fuel Economy Standards.
Get 1 Million Plug-In Hybrid Cars on the Road by 2015.
Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles.
Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
A “Use it or Lose It” Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases.
Promote the Responsible Domestic Production of Oil and Natural Gas.

Create Millions of New Green Jobs
Ensure 10 percent of Our Electricity Comes from Renewable Sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
Deploy the Cheapest, Cleanest, Fastest Energy Source – Energy Efficiency.
Weatherize One Million Homes Annually.
Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology.
Prioritize the Construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.

Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80 Percent by 2050
Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change.
(I note that Former Vice President Gore will be appearing in the Senate to talk about this - but it is really a Saturday topic.)

Moving on therefore to the Department of Energy we find that the Department is still buying oil for the SPR, starting in February, however given the current price of $43 a barrel this might be the smart time to buy.

The rest of the web site does not appear to have any of the new initiatives in place yet, so perhaps we will leave it there for now, and come back for a more detailed look as the information becomes available.
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