Industrial Energy Efficiency Research and Development Act of 2007

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3775) to support research and development of new industrial processes and technologies that optimize energy efficiency and environmental performance, utilize diverse sources of energy, and increase economic competitiveness, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 3775, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I'm pleased that the House will consider my bill today, H.R. 3775, the Industrial Energy Efficiency Research and Development Act. I first wish to thank my colleagues on the Science and Technology Committee for their support in crafting this legislation, especially Ranking Members Inglis and Hall, who worked with me on this bill which highlights the critical need for research into technologies that improve industrial energy efficiency.

An expanding economy and growing population ensure that demand for energy will continue to grow, making energy conservation a key national goal. In the United States, industry is responsible for more than one- third of all energy consumed. Heavy industries such as chemical, glass and metals production, mining, petroleum, refining, and forest and paper products all require very large amounts of energy, making them particularly susceptible to high energy prices. Therefore, these and other energy-intensive U.S. industries are ideal candidates on which to focus Federal research and development efforts and apply new technologies to increase efficiency, raise productivity, reduce wastes, trim costs, and ultimately make them more competitive in a global market.

I'm very familiar with the difficulties these industries face. Texas has the highest percentage of large energy-intensive industries, 8 percent of the U.S. total. Over half the energy used in Texas is consumed by the industrial sector. There is significant pressure to reduce the emissions and energy use associated with their processes, while keeping costs low enough to maintain the region's attractiveness to industry. That's a tall order when costs for natural gas, one of the primary industrial feedstocks, are among the highest in the country.

The Industrial Technologies Program, ITP, at the Department of Energy, works to improve the energy intensity of U.S. industry through coordinated, cost-shared research and development. The ITP is considered one of the most effective Department of Energy programs, transferring over 170 technologies to the commercial market, improving an estimated 13,000 U.S. manufacturing plants, and saving nearly 5 quadrillion Btus of energy, or approximately $23 billion in energy since its inception. That's significant.

The ITP also sponsors university-based Industrial Assessment Centers, which utilize engineering faculty and students to provide no-cost energy assessments, mostly to small and medium-sized manufacturers. These centers serve as valuable preparation for

the next generation of energy and industrial engineers, training almost 250 students per year.

The Industrial Technologies Program has suffered dramatic budget cuts in recent years, dropping to just one-third of the funding levels of 2001. And this reflects a dramatic and untimely shift in priorities away from industrial efficiency research and development.

So H.R. 3775 authorizes and expands the Department of Energy's Industrial Technology Program through better coordination of interdepartmental research, enhancement of the industrial assessment centers program at universities, and support of more research and development of new innovations and technologies that improve the energy efficiency and environmental performance of most energy-intensive manufacturing processes.

This legislation is needed to ensure continued gains in these areas through research and development that makes the U.S. industry more competitive and enhances the quality of life for American workers, their families and the communities that they serve.

Again, I want to thank Mr. Inglis for working to make this a better bill. I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 3775.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Thank you for your words, Mr. Reichert. Certainly this is important. It's something that can make a significant difference to what we're doing for the world and for industry in the United States of America, to make sure that we are kept competitive.

There's so many things, whether it is using waste to pelletize wood into new kinds of fuel, whether it is solar, water, any of the many things, wind, that we're doing and to encourage to make these things possible is something that is very important to me.

Mr. Speaker, I will insert the following letters into the Record.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC, October 22, 2007.

Hon. Bart Gordon,

Chairman, Committee on Science and Technology, Washington,

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3775, the Industrial Energy Efficiency Research and Development Act of 2007, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The industrial sector of our economy is currently the largest user of energy. According to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration, the industrial sector consumed 32 percent of the Nation's energy in 2006. While the industrial sector has made impressive efficiency gains since 1980, more is needed and more can be done.

The Department of Energy currently runs the Industrial Technology Programs, ITP, whose mission it is to improve the energy intensity of the United States industrial sector, whose industries include aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, metal casting, mining, petroleum refining and steel. The ITP program engages in partnerships with industry to conduct research and development into energy efficiency technologies, as well as demonstrating those technologies and transferring them to the marketplace. The program has been very successful in its efforts with over 140 projects reaching the commercial market.

The ITP also conducts energy assessments, to help industrial manufacturers of all sizes, through both its Save Energy Now and university-based Industrial Assessment Centers, IACs. The Save Energy Now program completed 265 assessments that identified energy savings of more than $585 million per year.

The IACs serve a dual role, aiding small and medium-sized business to reduce their energy costs and the training of university students who will take the efficiency knowledge they have learned and apply it in the workforce.

The bill before us today will ensure that ITP's beneficial work will continue to help the industrial sector reduce its cost, which not only helps them remain globally competitive while allowing them to keep their operations in the United States of America. Further, the ITP aids our country's goal of reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy by improving this critical sector's use of energy.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.