On the recordJuly 21, 2010
today I am introducing the Thermal Renewable Energy and Efficiency, or TREEA, Act, on behalf of myself and Senator Bond. I want to thank him for working with me on this bill, which is inspired by models in both of our states. It is good policy for the environment, for creating jobs, and for increasing the efficiency of heating and cooling--a major yet often ignored part of our Nation's energy consumption. As we think about carbon emissions and energy use, most of the conversation focuses on moving away from fossil fuels in the electric power sector. But over 30 percent of our country's energy use goes toward thermal energy--heating or cooling our homes, public buildings, or industrial facilities. Thermal energy is enormously important for my state of Minnesota, whether we're talking about heating in the midst of a cold snowy winter or air conditioning on a blazing summer day, when additional plants have to kick in to meet the demand. Unfortunately, as we talk about changing the way we produce and use energy, thermal energy is usually ignored. We talk about producing significantly more of our electricity from renewables like solar, geothermal, or biomass. But what we forget is that we can much more efficiently produce thermal from these sources than we can from electricity. After all, when we are talking about energy efficiency, we are talking about how much of the energy produced from a given fuel is not lost as heat. Well, that heat has a value.…
