Senate panel increases funding for alternative energy sources

Tuesday, July 18, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

Reid, D-Nev., spoke at a geothermal conference July 6 at the University of Nevada, Reno at which he said the nation must end its dependance on fossil fuel in favor of renewal energy like solar, wind and geothermal sources.

Reid praised Energy Secretary Bill Richardson at that time for launching January's Geopowering the West initiative with $4.8 million in research grants for developing the power source in California, Nevada, Utah, Texas and North Dakota.

Its goal is to have 7.5 percent of the western states' energy needs provided by geothermal energy by the year 2010, increasing to 10 percent by 2020. The senator said Nevada is in a position to be a leader in geothermal production.

Reid, who is the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Water appropriations subcommittee, successfully sought increased funding for the new solar and renewable energy initiative from $360 million in fiscal year 2000 to $445 million in fiscal year 2001. The Administration requested $450 million in its fiscal year 2001 budget.

"Our addiction to fossil fuels is not only eating into the American people's pocketbooks, it is causing unprecedented and damaging changes to our environment," Reid said in a statement.

"Clean, renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind, biomass, and geothermal heat are healthy alternatives to America's debilitating reliance on fossil fuels."