Riley, Sparks form committee to push alternative energy

BYLINE: SEBASTIAN KITCHEN, Capital Bureau

Riley, Sparks form committee to push alternative energy

By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN

Capital Bureau

MONTGOMERY - Gov. Bob Riley and Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks announced a bipartisan committee Tuesday that will work to increase the production of alternative fuels in Alabama.

The two said they hope the effort will both decrease the nation's dependence on foreign oil and boost Alabama's economy by producing the fuel and exporting it worldwide through Mobile.

The committee, which started meeting last month, has more than 50 members.

Riley, a Republican, and Sparks, a Democrat, said they hope to have a working rough draft of a comprehensive alternative energy policy ready in coming weeks.

Options include efforts to use switchgrass, saw grass, corn, soybeans, timber and sugar cane in fuel production.

Riley announced last month that the state is converting some of its vehicle fleet to operate on E85, a fuel that is up to 85 percent ethanol.

Alabama also is offering grants to commercial stations that will open and make E85 available along Interstate 65.

During the first meeting of the committee, some suggested creating incentives for farmers that produce crops used in alternative fuels and for consumers who buy the product, the governor said.

Riley said offering consumer incentives is a possibility, but cautioned that the price of alternative fuel must be competitive with gas for the business to be viable.

He said there is a bipartisan consensus among Americans that they want alternatives to gasoline. But people in Alabama don't use such fuels because they are not easily available to most residents in the state, Riley said.

Riley and Sparks said the increase in alternative fuel use would decrease the nation's dependence on "some of the less stable parts of the world."

"Every gallon of oil we produce in Alabama is one less we have to pull out of that desert," Sparks said.

Sparks said consumers in the United States use 25 percent of the world's gas, but the nation only produces 2 percent of the world supply.

The Alabama Alternative Energy Committee includes experts, producers and officials with several state departments, including the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. There are representatives of manufacturers, agriculture, forestry and energy providers.

Auburn University professor David Bransby, who briefed President Bush on alternative energy research in Alabama during Bush's visit to Alabama last year, is also involved.

Bransby said he believes manufacturers in the state could be producing commercial diesel made from biomass by next year.

Although the state is moving forward, Riley said the federal government must develop the policy and incentives to drive the production and use of alternative fuels.

State Rep. Joe Faust, R-Fairhope, said he can envision ethanol plants in Baldwin County and local farmers growing corn, sugar cane and saw grass to be used in fuels.

"You can put (the plants) in every part of this state," he said.

QUOTE

"Every gallon of oil we produce in Alabama is one less we have to pull out of that desert." - Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks