Byron Dorgan: “Not just the Senator from Alaska, but the Senator from Arizona, in the points he made toward the end of his…”

“Not just the Senator from Alaska, but the Senator from Arizona, in the points he made toward the end of his presentation, specifically talked about the size of the devices to gather solar energy that would be required to offset X amount of oil. I believe it was 2,000 acres, something the size of Dulles Airport. He said: Here is the amount of wind energy; here are the number of wind turbines it would take to offset a certain amount of oil. The point is, when we talk about a renewable source of energy, we are talking about electricity. That is the case. How do you generate electricity? You generate it through electric generating plants. We can put coal in them, use natural gas--there are a number of ways to generate electricity. Our colleague, for example, from Utah, now drives this hybrid car I saw parked in front of the Capitol yesterday. His car uses less petroleum, because it runs, in part, on battery-powered electricity. Renewable and limitless sources of energy will help us reduce our supply of imported oil. I am not suggesting, and I would not suggest, that doing all we can on renewables takes us far down the road in relieving us from the substantial amount of oil we now receive from abroad. I am not suggesting that at all. I do believe, especially in the area of production of electricity, we have opportunities to do things in a different way. The question in the Senate is, Do you want to do that or don't you? Some say, no.…”