More progress in Washington:

Anne Korin of http://www.setamericafree.org recently briefed members of the
Senate Centrist Coalition about PHEVs / GO-HEVs, and as reported in the
article that follows, they appear to be set to introduce one or more
amendments to the Energy Bill promoting incentives and other support for
PHEVs.

The effort has been bolstered by Thomas Friedman's column on Friday
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/calcars-news/message/69, the joint
statement by former Secretary of State George Schultz and former CIA
Director James Woolsey
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/calcars-news/message/68, and by
coordinated efforts by a number of people at California's electric utility
companies. We may have more specifics in the next few days, and suggestions
that supporters contact Senate members....stay tuned.


http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Senate_Centrist_Coalition
# Evan Bayh (D-IN)
# Tom Carper (D-DE)
# Lincoln Chafee (R-RI)
# Susan Collins (R-ME)
# Kent Conrad (D-ND)
# Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
# Judd Gregg (R-NH)
# Jim Jeffords (I-VT)
# Herb Kohl (D-WI)
# Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
# Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT)
# Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
# John McCain (R-AZ)
# Ben Nelson (D-NE)
# Bill Nelson (D-FL)
# Mark Pryor (D-AR)
# Ken Salazar (D-CO)
# Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME)
# John Sununu (R-NH)
# George V. Voinovich (R-OH)

Friday, June 17, 2005 FuelsAndVehicles.com Daily Updates

Senate Gang Of 14 Working On Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Amendment

The same centrist coalition in the Senate that brokered a deal on judicial
nominations is using energy policy to venture out into policymaking for the
first time, according to informed Senate sources. They say the coalition is
working on an energy bill amendment pushing ultra petroleum-efficient
hybrid technologies -- backed by an eclectic group of national security
conservatives and a leading environmental group, Senate sources told Inside
Fuels and Vehicles.

The "Set America Free" document, put forth by these energy security
interests as an "Open Letter to the American People," will be overlaid onto
the energy bill now being debated on the Senate floor, a Senate source
explained. Proposals from its "Blueprint for U.S. Energy Security" that are
not in Energy Policy Act of 2005, S. 10, may be included in the amendment,
the source went on to say.

Freshman Colorado Senator Ken Salazar (D) mentioned the strategy in a
speech at the 16th Annual Energy Efficiency Forum earlier this week. The
"Gang of 14," as they are called, are "looking at the possibility of an
amendment [to the energy bill] to put more emphasis behind vehicle
efficiency." In his speech, Salazar characterized U.S. dependency on
imported oil as "the major national security issue of our times ... and we
need to do something about it."

The block came together to avoid what could have become the complete
paralysis of the Senate over the right to filibuster judicial nominations.
Using the same strategy to move energy measures that have widespread
support but may be opposed by Senate leadership would be a new exercise in
asserting the centrists' clout, observers say. In addition to Salazar, the
six other Democrats are Sens. Robert Byrd (WV), Joe Lieberman (CT), Daniel
Inouye (HI), Mary Landrieu (LA), Mark Pryor (AR) and Ben Nelson (NE). The
seven Republicans are Sens. John McCain (AZ), Olympia Snowe (ME), Susan
Collins (ME), John Warner (VA), Lindsey Graham (SC) and Lincoln Chafee (RI).

The same unique makeup of the Senate centrist coalition is reflected in the
coalition behind the set America Free proposals. Among the signatories of
the Set America Free document are leading neo-conservatives, such as Reagan
administration national security and Pentagon officials Robert McFarlane
and Frank Gaffney, former CIA director James Woolsey, who along with signer
Bill Holmberg are longtime renewable fuel proponents. A prominent
environmental group, NRDC, formerly known as the National Resources Defense
Council, is also a part of the coalition.

In the speech to industry and government officials, Salazar mentioned
"automobiles getting 500 miles per gallon" of gasoline. He was referring to
"plug-in hybrid electric vehicles," which is a key element of the
Blueprint. Unlike hybrid vehicles on the road today, these vehicles can be
plugged in to recharge the battery. Other features would be similar to
today's hybrids, with the battery pack being recharged by both the internal
combustion engine as well as the energy from braking. Plug-in hybrids
would have a longer range on battery power alone than the current crop of
hybrids on the road.

The Blueprint notes half the cars in the U.S. are driven less than 20 miles
a day. A plug-in with a 20-mile, all-electric range would substantially
reduce fuel consumption. "Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles can reach fuel
economy levels of 100 miles per gallon," the Set America Free document
states. The 500-mile per gallon of gasoline ranged cited by Salazar could
be achieved if the vehicle were fueled with E-85, a blend of 85 percent
ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

The Set America Free Blueprint estimates that if by 2025 light-duty vehicle
fleet were all hybrids and half of them were plug-in hybrids, it would cut
oil demand by 8 million barrels per day -- the U.S. currently uses about 20
million barrels per day, of which 40 percent is used in the transportation
sector. The document goes on to state that if the hybrids were flexible
fuel vehicles (FFVs), capable of running on E-85, the oil savings could
amount to
12 million barrels per day.

A Senate source familiar with the Gang of 14 discussions said that
incentives for manufacturers to produce plug-ins and other fuel efficient
vehicles, including FFVs, would almost certainly be included in the
amendment. In fact, the first policy recommendation in the Blueprint is to:
"Provide incentives to auto manufacturers to produce and consumers to
purchase, hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and FFVs across
all vehicle models."

A package of tax incentives adopted by the Senate Finance Committee June 16
includes more than $2.7 billion in incentives for consumers to purchase
hybrids and other advanced technology vehicles, as well as for alternative
fuels and for installing the infrastructure to dispense them. The House
bill only calls for clean-burning diesel vehicles to be eligible for tax
incentives. Neither bill would provide manufacturers with incentives to
build fuel efficient vehicles.

Other than DaimlerChrysler, automakers have shunned any discussion of
plug-ins. Toyota and others with hybrid models go to great lengths
emphasizing that their vehicles do not have to be plugged in. They continue
to suffer from the perception of electric vehicles that had limited range
and often needed hours to recharge.

Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles sold in Japan have a button that allows
drivers to drive in electric-only mode for short periods of time. The
button is disabled on U.S. models. Automobile enthusiasts have also
modified Prius vehicles so that they can be plugged in and the batteries
recharged. Toyota does not openly encourage the practice.

Other proposals in the Blueprint include mandating the use of plug-ins and
FFVs by federal state and local governments and providing incentives for
commercial fleets to buy the vehicles. In what is sure to be controversial,
it calls for "incentives to enable new players, such as utilities, to enter
the transportation fuel market." It is unclear which of these proposals the
centrist collation in the Senate would support.


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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/calcars-news
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/priusplus
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