The Advanced Energy Initiative: Ensuring a Clean, Secure Energy Future

To Continue Economic Growth In A Competitive World, America Must Find Solutions To Its Energy Needs.
Over the past 30 years, our economy has grown three times faster than our energy consumption.  During that period, we created more than 55 million jobs, while cutting air pollution by 50 percent.  But America ’s dynamic economy is also creating a growing demand for electricity; electricity demand is projected to increase nearly 50 percent over the next 25 years. 

As The Global Economy Becomes More Competitive, America Must Find New Alternatives To Oil, Pursue Promising New Technologies, And Find Better Ways To Generate More Electricity.
America faces new energy challenges as countries like China and India consume more energy – especially oil.  Global demand for oil is rising faster than global supply.  As a result, oil prices are rising around the world, which leads to higher gas prices in America .
 
The President Is Working To Meet America’s Energy Demands And The Challenges Of The Global Economy By Developing Clean, Domestic, Affordable Supplies Of Energy. 
We must safeguard the environment, reduce our dependence on energy from abroad, and help keep prices reasonable for consumers.

The President's Advanced Energy Initiative promotes America's four main sources of electricity: coal, nuclear, natural gas, and renewable sources.


Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power Is Abundant And Affordable.
Nuclear power is America ’s second-leading source of electricity.  Today, more than 100 nuclear plants operate in 31 states.  Once a nuclear plant is constructed, its fuel and operating costs are among the cheapest forms of energy available today.

Nuclear Power Is Clean.
Nuclear power produces no air pollution or greenhouse gases, and there is a growing consensus that it is an environmentally responsible choice.  Without nuclear energy, carbon dioxide emissions would have been 28 percent greater in the electricity industry in 2004, America would have an additional 700 million tons a year of carbon dioxide, and nitrogen-oxide emissions would rise by the equivalent of 58 million passenger cars.

Nuclear Power Is Safe.
Advances in science, engineering, and plant design have made nuclear power plants far safer than ever before – plant workers and managers focus on security above all else.


Coal

President Bush Is Encouraging The Research And Development Of Clean-Coal Technologies. 
Coal is by far America ’s most abundant and affordable energy resource.  America has enough coal to last about 240 years at current rates of consumption.  In 2000, President Bush Promised To Invest $2 Billion Over Ten Years To Promote Clean Coal. The Administration is several years ahead of schedule in keeping that promise.  By 2012, Under The FutureGen Initiative, America Will Build The World’s First Power Plant To Run On Coal And Remove Virtually All Pollutants.
 

Natural Gas

The Energy Bill President Bush Signed In 2005 Addressed The Increasing Demand For Natural Gas. 
Natural gas is the most versatile fuel, but demand for it has increased, and the price has more than doubled between 2001 to 2005.  The Energy Bill President Bush signed last year expands our ability to receive liquefied natural gas – a super-cooled form of natural gas that can be transported from overseas on tankers.  The bill clarifies Federal authority to license new sites, reduces bureaucratic obstacles to open new terminals, and streamlines the permitting process for onshore development.


Alternative And Renewables

President Bush's FY2007 Budget Proposes $44 Million In Funding For Wind Energy Research. 
About Six Percent Of The Continental United States Has Been Identified As Highly Suitable For Construction Of Wind Turbines.  This area alone has the potential to supply up to 20 percent of our Nation’s electricity.  Our goal is to expand the use and lower the cost of wind turbine technology – so that our country can get more electricity from clean, renewable wind power. The President Has Proposed A New Solar America Initiative To Accelerate Research And Development In Solar Technology.  Solar technology has the potential to change the way all Americans live and work.  President Bush's FY2007 budget proposes nearly $150 million in funding for government and private research into solar technology – an increase of more than 75 percent over current levels.  This support can help make solar power competitive by 2015.

Gas Price Relief

The President Is Working To Boost Oil And Gas Supplies To Relieve High Gas Prices.
In April, President Bush Directed The Strategic Petroleum Reserve To Defer Filling The Reserve This Summer.  In addition, he has directed EPA Administrator Steve Johnson to use all his available authority to grant waivers that would relieve the restrictions on getting fuel delivered to the pump.  The President has also called on Congress to simplify the process for building new refineries and to make it easier for refiners to make modifications to increase production.

We Need More Access To The Domestic Resources On The Outer Continental Shelf, While Respecting The Concerns Of Nearby States. 
In the long term, America must find alternatives to oil and the way we power our cars.  It will take time for America to move from a hydrocarbon economy to a hydrogen economy.  In the meantime, there are billions of barrels of oil and enormous amounts of natural gas off the Alaskan Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico .