US Senator for Indiana Richard Lugar has released a “Lugar Letter” which focuses on his achievements in energy for 2008. Â Some excerpts:
The price of a barrel of oil was one of the hottest topics from the kitchen table to the floor of the U.S. Senate in 2008. The year started with a barrel of oil costing $92.93 (January 4, 2008) and ended with it costing $38.73 (Dec. 12, 2008) – a price not experienced since January 14, 2005.
[…] In the past year, U.S. Senator Dick Lugar has traveled thousands of miles across the globe and Indiana to meet with leaders, learn about new energy projects and initiate dialogue about renewable fuels. At dozens of venues in Indiana, Washington, D.C. and around the world he called on the next President to make energy security the top priority.
[…] From the beginning of the year, Senator Lugar made energy security for Hoosiers a priority. He met with entrepreneurial Hoosiers at the forefront of researching and deploying new energy technologies that have the potential to provide secure, cost effective, and environmentally responsible ways to generate and use energy. Many of these energy businesses are already creating new jobs and sources of revenue to help pay for schools and services in Indiana.
[…] He also called on our next president to take our energy security seriously. “The next President must demand that research projects related to battery technology, cellulosic ethanol, carbon capture and storage, solar and wind power, and dozens of other technologies receive the highest priority within the Administration … We must be very clear that energy security is a political problem. The United States has the financial resources, scientific prowess, productive land, and industrial infrastructure to address our energy vulnerability. The question is whether we will heed abundant warning signs and apply the political will to deal with this problem in the present rather than suffering grave consequences in the future.”
[…] “Whoever is sworn in as President of the United States in 2009 must commit to elevating energy security to the status of a core national goal, and he must directly engage all the American people in the solution. If the next President addresses energy through a familiar ideological prism, the chance to strengthen U.S. national security and economic prosperity will be lost. To succeed, the President must be more than thoughtful and attentive to energy concerns. The President must be relentless. He must be willing to have his Administration judged according to its success or failure on this issue,” Senator Lugar said in his speech.
[…] The Benton County Wind Farm is the state’s first operational wind farm. Senator Lugar met with officials in 2006 as they were planning construction and marveled at the finished product. The wind turbines are large structures that can be seen from a significant distance and most are positioned in the middle of corn and soybean fields. The farm’s 87 turbines will produce 130 megawatts when they reach full capacity.
The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm spans nearly 50,000 acres and is under construction near Fowler, Indiana. The first phase calls for the construction of more than 200 wind turbines. Senator Lugar took a bus tour of the expansive operation and saw a turbine under construction.
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