Renewing America's Dedication to
Domestic Energy Production
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources holds field hearing on development of alternative and renewable energy sources

RENO , Nev . - The House Resources Committee today continued its agenda to alleviate America's dependence on foreign oil with a Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources field oversight hearing in Reno. The hearing focused on what state and local governments, as well as American businesses, are doing to increase alternative and renewable energy production.

"The solution to our energy situation consists of several components," Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) said. "As prices continue to rise it is increasingly important that we develop renewable and alternative energy sources while increasing conservation and further developing environmentally responsible domestic production of our abundant resources."

Just 10 percent of the nation's energy supply comes from alternative and renewable energy sources like wind, biomass, hydropower and oil shale. Twenty-two states - including five Western federal land states - mandate growth in their own use of alternative and renewable energy.  California and Nevada, for example, both require that 20 percent of their electrical power be generated from renewable sources by 2017 and 2015, respectively.

"Today's hearing addressed our need to transition from our current overdependence on foreign, and often unstable, sources of oil through increased production of alternative energy," Gibbons said. "The idea that Americans must choose between environmental protection and energy production is false, and I am pleased that we further examined a number of ways to produce cost-efficient and clean sources of domestic energy today."

"Private industry has the technology and state-provided incentives to develop new energy projects that will bolster American energy independence," Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) said. "Alternative and renewable energy kills two birds with one stone. They reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make our overall energy usage cleaner.  I commend Chairman Gibbons for his willingness and enthusiasm to advance this important issue."

The subcommittee held an oversight hearing on April 6 in Washington, D.C. that focused on the role of the federal government and federal lands in developing alternative and renewable energy sources.


Witnesses for today's hearing included: Ms. Rebecca Wagner, director of the Nevada State office of Energy; Mr. Donald L. Soderberg, chairman of the Nevada Pubic Utilities Commission; Mr. Sean Curtis, resource advisor for Modoc County; Mr. John McLain, Resource Concepts Inc.; The Honorable Dina Titus, Senate minority leader of the Nevada State Legislature; Mr. Dan Schochet, Vice President of ORMAT Nevada, Inc; Mr. Tom Kinberg, western manager of product development for Energy Concepts; Mr. Ralph Sanders, plant manager for HL Power, and; Mr. S. Kent Hoekman, executive director of the Desert Research Institute Division of Atmospheric Sciences.