Texas still provides the energy in US

Houston Chronicle:

The state will make the development of alternative energy and biofuels a bigger priority under a new strategy outlined Monday by Gov. Rick Perry.

The initiative is focused on creating commercially viable products — especially non-corn-based ethanol — to help Texas keep pace with its rising energy needs and ensure its position as a world energy capital.

To that end, Perry said he is calling for more collaboration among state agencies, increased support for research programs at Texas universities and better use of the state's natural and economic assets.

"As a state that grows by 1,000 new residents each day, Texas must take a more innovative approach to developing new methods and research in the field of energy," Perry said during a news conference at the Greater Houston Partnership offices downtown.

As part of the effort, Perry announced a $5 million grant to Texas A&M University, his alma mater, for research and marketing of the "next generation" of biofuels. The university has a four-year partnership with Chevron Corp. to encourage biofuels research, he said.

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Texas is the top producer of wind power among the states. It ranks second in solar power production. It has the fourth-highest number of biodiesel fuel pumps in the nation. And it is making progress in developing bioenergy and fuel sources from plant cells, compost and fertilizers, Perry said.

But the state can do more, he said: "We have a distinct opportunity to further develop and leverage more of our state's resources to develop a variety of bioproducts."

That may be truest in bio- fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel.

But biofuel production must not come in conflict with the state's cattle industry, which depends heavily on corn and other feedstocks used in biofuels, Perry said.

"Finding that balance is what this is all about," he said. "We don't want to be put in the place of having to decide whether we are going to feed cattle or fuel vehicles."

Alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel have been touted as a way to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, cut harmful tailpipe emissions and support struggling U.S. farmers.

But there are concerns that supplies of corn and other crops often used to make biofuels are limited, and major scientific breakthroughs are needed to make the fuels economically viable on a wide scale.

Research is under way to develop the fuels from agricultural waste and other non-food crops like switchgrass.

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By 2025, Texas will have the potential to produce 3.76 billion gallons of biofuels and 144.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity from renewable sources, including wind and solar power — more than 20 times 2003 levels, according to a study released last month by the University of Tennessee's Department of Agricultural Economics.

If that target is achieved, Texas would be the nation's biggest producer of renewable energy and generate nearly $23 billion each year in new economic activity, said the Texas State 25 x 25 Alliance, citing the university's figures. The group is a coalition of farming and government representatives who support a goal of meeting 25 percent of U.S. energy needs with renewables by 2025.

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Texas is able to achieve this kind of result because it is not in the hands of the anti energy environmental wackos who seem to control what can't be done in most blue states. While the environmental wackos oppose drilling for oil and digging for coal, they also oppose most alternative energy projects like wind and lately they are coming out with scare stories about biofuels such as ethanol.

Some perspective is in order. Brazil has already become energy independent by using biofuels and domestically produced energy and it does not appear to have effected the countries food supply. Castro started the hysteria about food versus fuel, but his record on producing both does not suggest he is an expert in either area.