Building Management and control

. White House sees compromise with Republicans on some energy issues
May 26, 2011 Platts
The White House believes an energy package that supports development of electric vehicles, energy efficiency and energy research and development could attract the bipartisan support needed to pass in the current Congress, a presidential adviser said Wednesday.
"We have a tremendous opportunity with electrification of the fleet and energy efficiency at large," said Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change. "There is bipartisan support."

Speaking at an energy event moderated by National Journal, Zichal said provisions supporting EVs and efficiency could serve as the base for additional bipartisan provisions approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to advance domestic energy production and research and development.

"We've been focused on finding those areas where there is a history of bipartisan support," Zichal said. "The administration has been working very closely with both sides of the aisle [in] both the House and Senate to answer that question -- what is doable -- because it is an imperative."

Rather than the large comprehensive energy bills of the past, lawmakers focused on high gasoline prices appear to be "coalescing around a smaller package" that includes research and development, efficiency and can attract the bipartisan support necessary to get through Congress, she said.

A bill (S. 948) by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander to advance electric vehicle deployment "has a lot of great ideas" and the White House has included components from the bill its in budget proposal, Zichal said.

"We are hopeful it can serve as the unpinning for [moving] a broader package through Congress," she said.

A bill in the House of Representatives to expand the use of natural gas vehicles through tax breaks has not been "specifically embraced" by the White House, but the administration is "open to working with Congress" on the legislation, she said.

That Republican bill (H.R. 1380) has some Democrats among its 188 cosponsors and is expected to pass the House. But whether legislation from the Senate geared toward EV development could gain support in the Republican-controlled House remains in question.

On Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to vote on bills that would create an agency to provide financial assistance to develop and deploy low-emission energy technologies, to amend the Federal Power Act to protect the grid from cyber attacks and other threats, and to authorize the Department of Energy to demonstrate long-term geological storage of carbon dioxide from power plants.

The committee is expected to debate and vote on Merkley and Alexander's EV bill in June.

In a separate discussion with National Journal, Alexander said he believed the best way to deal with high gasoline prices "is to create an environment for electric vehicles to succeed."

Alexander said that his bill with Merkley is aimed at creating a five-year "jumpstart" for putting EVs on the road nationwide. The plan would require about a $3-billion commitment from the federal government, he said. The bill would create a program under DOE for communities to compete for federal grants to help deploy EVs and provide other incentives to get EVs on the road.

Electricity that goes unused overnight across the country equates to generation from 60 nuclear power plants and could fuel 40% of the nation?s cars and light trucks, according to Alexander. "All we have to do is plug it in at night," he said. "And we get a cheaper fuel than oil."