Twenty In Ten

In December 2007, President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, which responded to his "Twenty in Ten" challenge in the State of the Union Address to improve vehicle fuel economy and increase alternative fuels. Twenty in Ten has the goal of reducing U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent in ten years (2007-2017).

• Increasing the supply of renewable fuels by setting a mandatory fuels standard to require 35 billion US gallons (130×10^⁶ m³) of renewable fuels in 2017 – nearly five times former 2012 target. In 2017, this will displace 15 percent of projected annual gasoline use.

• Reforming and modernizing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars And extending the current light truck rule. In 2017, this will reduce projected annual gasoline use by up to 8.5 billion US gallons (32×10^⁶ m³), a further 5 percent reduction that, in combination with increasing the supply of renewable and alternative fuels, will bring the total reduction in projected annual gasoline use to 20 percent.

Renewable fuels

The President's Plan calls for facilitating the growth of renewable fuel sources by increasing the size and expanding the Scope of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), established by the President and Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The increased standard will contain multiple "safety valves." The EPA Administrator and the Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy will have authority to waive or modify the standard if they deem it necessary, and the new fuel standard will include an automatic "safety valve" to protect against unforeseen increases in the prices of alternative fuels or their feedstocks.

It includes continued improvement in crop yields, optimization of crops and cellulosic materials as fuel feedstock, and cost reduction in the production of cellulosic ethanol.

Increasing Vehicle Efficiency

Following this Plan, Congress would reform CAFE for passenger cars. The Administration has twice increased CAFE standards for light trucks using an attribute-based method (for example, a size-based system). Also, Congress should authorize the Secretary of Transportation to apply the same kind of attribute-based method to passenger cars.

The President's budget redirects DOT funds to a new $175 million Highway Congestion Initiative for State and local governments for curbing congestion. These ideas include congestion pricing, commuter transit services, commitments from employers to expand work schedule flexibility, and faster deployment of real-time traffic information. This wasted fuel accounts for more than 20 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in one year.

The Administration's Ongoing Energy Policy

The Administration's 2001 National Energy Plan Provided A Blueprint For Diversifying And Conserving Our Energy Resources To Increase Our Energy Security.

• Energy Policy Act Implementation: In August 2005, the President signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was a significant first step towards achieving greater energy security. Among its many achievements, the Energy Policy Act established the Renewable Fuel Standard that has increased the use of biofuels; provided incentives for renewable energy; and instituted mandatory reliability rules for the electricity grid and promoted investment in transmission upgrades.
• Advanced Energy Initiative: Building upon the Energy Policy Act's clean energy foundation, the President announced the Advanced Energy Initiative in the 2006 State of the Union Address.

See also

• Energy policy of the United States
• Cellulosic ethanol commercialization
• Sustainable biofuel

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2007/initiatives/energy.html".

External links

• Twenty In Ten.
• Advanced Energy Initiative.