The popular notion of energy independence for the United States continues to gain ground in hearts and minds, yet nearly every legislative action being taken on energy policy moves us further from that objective.

Reacting to high gas prices, President Bush finally came out swinging at legislative actions that got us where we are today, calling for Congress to remove roadblocks to expanding domestic energy production and to drop plans to increase taxes on energy.

Nuclear power is inexpensive, clean and efficient, yet due to actions by the federal and state governments, a new nuclear power plant has not been constructed in the US in over 30 years. The US has been called the Saudi Arabia of coal, because of the tremendous abundance of the fuel present within our borders, yet states are enacting moratoriums on the construction of new clean coal-fired plants. A 2,000 acre plot of land in the 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) holds the potential to increase domestic oil production by 20%. That’s the equivalent of 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel per day, and would rival Saudi Arabia’s exports, but Congress has forbidden drilling for oil in ANWR. Increased domestic oil-drilling and construction of new oil refineries would undoubtedly drive gas prices down, but thanks to irrational policies, we’re paying $3.50 a gallon or more at the pump and the price is expected to continue rising.

Bio-fuels not only spectacularly fail to move us closer to energy independence; they simultaneously threaten our food supply and exponentially increase prices. Even if every acre of farmland in the US was converted to bio-fuel production, we would not achieve energy independence through bio-fuels and we would produce no food. Because of intense lobbying by big agricultural interests looking for short-term payoffs, a significant portion of national and state energy policies rely on these fuel sources even though it is becoming increasingly apparent that bio-fuels don’t live up to their promise.

The move away from coal-fired power generation in favor of wind and solar power is a major contributor to escalating energy costs. Xcel Energy estimates that Minnesota’s renewable energy mandates will lead to an average household electric bill increase of $300 to $400 per year.

Further exacerbating the cost problem is an increasing reliance on natural gas to generate electricity because of its perceived environmental benefits. Use of natural gas to fire Minnesota power plants has increased nearly 7-fold since 1997. Xcel Energy’s two new gas-fired power plants will increase natural gas consumption even more dramatically in the next year. The two new plants, which will generate about 1,000 megawatts between them, will consume more natural gas than is now used to heat every home in Minneapolis and St. Paul combined.

The trend pits electricity production against heating in competition for the same resource, driving up the cost of both. Natural gas price increases have already had a significant impact on Minnesota families and businesses. Center Point Energy reported 208,000 gas bill delinquencies in 2007 and Minnesota’s Home Energy Assistance expenditures rose 33% between 2005 and 2007.

Although the US has increased domestic output of natural gas in recent years, we import 16% of our natural gas supply. Increasing reliance on natural gas will mean more imports, and therefore less energy independence.

MN House debate on the Hackbarth amendment to lift the nuclear power plant moratorium.

Legislators, who by and large profess a desire to foster energy independence, are moving us farther and farther away from that vision by falling in with socialism veiled in pseudo-environmentalism, giant agricultural financial interests and irrational fears of nuclear power.