American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009
As the second-ranking majority member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Senator Dorgan is playing a key role in shaping our nation's energy policy. When the committee put together a comprehensive bill in the spring and summer of 2009, he made sure it included provisions that would develop our domestic energy supply, use it more efficiently and move us toward energy independence.
By the time the committee approved the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, it included a number of provisions from Senator Dorgan's National Energy Security Act of 2009.
Improving our Electrical Grid
One critical component in the effort to expand our domestic energy supply is improving our national transmission system. That will allow states like North Dakota, which has a surplus of energy resources, to produce more electricity and send it to places like Minneapolis and Chicago, where demand is higher and energy resources are fewer.
For years, developers of electrical transmission lines that cross state lines have been stymied by the mish-mash of regulations they encounter along the way. Since 2000, only 668 miles of interstate transmission lines have been built, compared to almost 11,000 miles of natural gas pipelines over the same time period. The Senate's energy bill will help clear away those bureaucratic hurdles by giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission more influence in the process.
This will bring the process of building power lines more in line with the process of building a natural gas pipeline. More importantly, it will clear the way for construction of new "energy superhighways" that will transport North Dakota energy to the big markets.
Developing Domestic Oil and Gas Resources
The bill also includes Senator Dorgan's provision to open a new area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas leasing. The region, referred to by the oil and gas industry as the Eastern Planning Area, is estimated to hold billions of barrels of untapped oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and is close to established infrastructure.
Senator Dorgan believes this provision will help expand the domestic supply of oil and natural gas and give a boost to America's energy security.
Investing in America's Clean Coal Industry
Coal is America's most abundant fossil energy resource, and Senator Dorgan believes it will continue to play a leading role in our energy picture for decades to come. He also believes that, as the nation attempts to address climate change, we need to invest in the technologies that will maximize our ability to use coal in a way that protects our environment.
Another provision Senator Dorgan included in the energy bill will establish a program to spur the development of carbon capture and sequestration technologies by addressing the technical and regulatory issues on 10 new commercial-scale carbon capture and storage projects. North Dakota is leading the way in carbon capture and storage activities, and Senator Dorgan is convinced that our nation has the technological know-how to develop new, better ways to use coal.
Boosting America's Renewable Energy Industry
Senator Dorgan has pushed to strengthen provisions in the bill that require energy companies to produce more electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and more. The United States - and especially North Dakota - has a vast supply of untapped renewable resources, and this provision will help spur development of those resources and move us toward energy independence.
