Senate
Republicans unveil strategic energy plan for Washington
"Package encourages investment in
state's economy, environmental protection and national
security."
September 19,
2005
OLYMPIA
- Senate Republicans today unveiled
an energy plan aimed at reducing fuel and heating costs,
creating jobs, protecting the environment and boosting
national security. Among other proposals, the package offers
incentives for making and using environmentally friendly
“green” fuels and increasing the use of “smart” energy
technologies in Washington state.
“This
package moves our state’s energy production into a more
self-reliant direction, and in a way that benefits people all
across Washington, from a farmer in Eastern Washington to
someone filling up their tank with biodiesel in Bothell,”
said Senate Republican Leader Bill Finkbeiner, R-Kirkland.
“While developing these ideas, we envisioned what we wanted
our state’s energy infrastructure and power consumption
habits to look like in the future. This package moves us in
that direction.”
The
plan targets the following ways to increase energy production
and the production and use of environmentally friendly fuels
in Washington state:
Encourages
production and use of green fuels through a public information
campaign, incentives for consumers to use such fuels and
rewards for farmers who grow products needed for green fuels;
Encourages
expansion of refinery capacity through, among other things, a
more reasonable permitting process;
Saves
consumers money on their natural gas and electric bills
through a cap on the public utility tax;
Gives
renewable electricity developers and investors more certainty
by extending and expanding current renewable electricity
exemptions; and
Rewards
consumers and utilities for using “smart” technologies and
provides incentives for makers of these products to locate in
Washington.
“Increasing
the supply of energy is the only real long-term solution to
the soaring energy prices,” said Sen. Bob Morton,
ranking member of the Senate Water, Energy and Environment
Committee. “For years, I have worked to increase
traditional energy generation in our state and have studied
and advocated various alternative forms of energy generation. While
we have made progress, energy production in Washington has not
kept pace with our needs. It is unfortunate that it has taken
an event like Hurricane Katrina 3,000 miles away to provide a
political climate ripe for speeding up our state’s efforts
to increase energy production.”
“Palouse
farmers are paying more for a gallon of fuel than they’re
receiving for a bushel of grain,” said Sen. Mark Schoesler,
R-Ritzville. “Our plan will increase our fuel supply and
help to stabilize prices, while helping our farmers in a
significant way by giving them incentives to grow the crops
needed to make clean, green fuels. Today, most of these crops
are coming from the Midwest, but I think it’s time for us
here in Washington to ‘grow our own.’”
“As
a senator who lives in the heart of farm country, I cannot
overstate how important the Senate Republican energy package
is to Eastern Washington and the state as a whole,” said
Sen. Joyce Mulliken, R-Ephrata. “It will create jobs not
just for farmers, but also at ethanol and other green fuel
plants, like the one we have in Moses Lake.”
“Encouraging
more widespread production and use of these ‘green’ fuels
will give our state greater energy capacity with less
pollution and associated health problems,” said Sen. Luke
Esser, R-Bellevue. “In addition, using ‘smart grid’
technologies can be a much more cost-effective way to expand
energy transmission without the risks of brownouts and
blackouts like those that befell the eastern U.S. two years
ago.”
“Becoming
self-reliant on energy could become Washington’s biggest
asset in our continuing efforts for increased national
security,” said Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Mill Creek and a member
of the Washington National Guard. “Reducing or eliminating
our need for foreign sources of fuel by producing our own
fuel-related products and improving our overall energy
infrastructure is a win-win situation.”
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