Patrick Leahy: “I have the pleasure of joining Senator Jeffords to rise in support of the renewable energy programs within the Energy…”

“I have the pleasure of joining Senator Jeffords to rise in support of the renewable energy programs within the Energy and Water Appropriations bill. First, I would like to thank Senator Domenici for accepting the Jeffords/Roth amendment to increase funding for these vital programs. With the dramatic changes taking place in the energy sector, our nation is faced with many opportunities to increase our consumption of renewable energy sources. There are two trends in the energy sector converging to make this change possible-- utility restructuring and decreasing costs for renewable energy. In my home State of Vermont, renewable technology companies are building wind turbines that are used in Europe, the Far East and South America. Unfortunately, the United States is behind much of the world in adopting wind and other renewable energy technology. Much more work needs to be done to spur the utilization of renewable energy. Although the cost of renewable energy has decreased significantly over the last decade, it still must compete against the artificially low cost of fossil energy. As we see the level of mercury and other heavy metals increase in our lakes while the views of our mountains are obscured by air pollutants--the need to find alternative sources of energy becomes all the more vivid.”