|
U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar and Purdue University jointly convened a national energy summit last summer to discuss ways to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and to develop new strategies for alternative fuels. The summit attracted nearly 900 participants, including leading oil and auto manufacturing executives, researchers and policymakers.
Excerpts from Sen. Richard Lugar's keynote address:
The United States should adopt a national program that would make virtually every new car sold in America a flexible fuel vehicle. We should ensure that at least one quarter of filling stations in America have E85 pumps. We should expand ethanol production to 100 billion gallons a year by 2025, a figure that could be achieved by doubling output every five years. …
 |
Purdue University President Martin C. Jischke (left) and Sen. Richard Lugar at the Lugar-Purdue Summit on Energy Security |
Long-term advancement of ethanol as a national transportation fuel requires a focused effort to perfect and commercialize cellulosic technology, which will enable us to make ethanol from switch grass, agricultural waste and other inexpensive biomass. The addition of cellulosic ethanol has the potential to substantially reduce the overall production cost of ethanol, while greatly expanding the volume produced. Although scientists and technicians are confident of the possibilities for cellulosic ethanol, efforts at commercialization have lagged behind basic research. The time is long past due for the federal government to step in and prime the pump for commercial production through an aggressive loan program. The experience gained by the first production plants will provide the knowledge we need to rapidly expand the cellulosic industry.
Studies have shown that we will have enough land for energy crops, given the expected increases in yields and improvements in processing efficiency. If we could reach a target of 100 billion gallons of ethanol a year—a 13-fold increase over current capacity in operation or under construction—that would be equivalent to 71 percent of current gasoline consumption by volume. …
Our failure to act will be all the more unconscionable given that success would bring not only relief from the geopolitical threats of energy-rich regimes, but also restorative economic benefits to our farmers, rural areas, automobile manufacturers, high technology industries, and many others.
Editor's note: "Takes on a topic" evolved from our "Viewpoint" column and presents commentary combined with related information.
Sidebar Feature:
Will bioenergy be a boom or bust for Hoosiers?
|
