AMERICA DESERVES A SAFE, CLEAN, AFFORDABLE ENERGY FUTURE

America deserves a safe, clean, affordable energy future



A forward-looking, responsible energy policy includes four basic principles, all of which can be achieved with technologies available today. Good energy policy should:

• Protect public health and the environment by promoting clean, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency technologies to reduce our reliance on polluting fossil fuels and nuclear power.
• Protect consumers and taxpayers by eliminating subsidies for polluting industries and strengthening consumer protection laws.
• Enhance our energy and national security by reducing our dependence on oil.
• Avoid drilling in America's natural resource heritage, and protect special places on our western public lands and in fragile coastal ecosystems.

Renewable Energy

Tapping the Earth’s Potential

The term "renewable energy" refers to the use of the Earth’s systems and cycles to generate energy that humans consume on a daily basis. We have the technology to utilize the movement of the wind and water, the heat and light of the sun, and heat in the ground to create the electric power on which our society has come to depend.
Wind energy converts the power available in moving air into electricity. Wind power does not produce air emissions, generate solid waste, or use water.
Biomass is energy from trees and plants. This includes crops that are grown specifically for energy production and organic wastes, such as wood residues from paper mills and methane from landfills. Using biomass to generate electricity reduces global warming emissions if new plants are grown to replace those that are harvested.


Geothermal energy uses heat from inside the earth to make clean power.
Solar power captures the heat and light of the sun to generate electricity. Solar energy does not produce air emissions, generate solid waste, or use water.
Hydroelectric power captures the energy in falling water. It does not produce emissions or solid waste, but can have a relatively low or high impact on the environment, depending on the site-specific factors such as maintenance of water flow and water quality, fish impacts, and other land use issues.
At the present time, we get most of our electricity from the burning of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas. The U.S. currently generates more than half of its electricity using coal, the most polluting of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels differ from renewable energy sources because there is a limited or finite supply of these fuels, which will eventually run out if we continue to consume them at the current rate. Burning fossil fuels pollutes our air, water, and land, therefore causing harm to human health and contributing to global warming.


Only two percent of our electricity comes from renewable energy. However, advances in renewable energy technology have made large-scale commercial development economically feasible. The United States is blessed by an abundance of renewable energy resources from the sun, wind, and earth. We need to begin to tap these potential resources in order to protect our environment and decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.
In order to increase our use of renewable energy sources, NET advocates for the enactment of policies that would encourage the development and adoption of renewable energy technologies. NET supports the establishment of a Renewable Energy Standard, which would require that a certain percentage of our nation’s electricity come from renewable energy.

Fuel Cells and the Hydrogen Economy

What is a fuel cell?
A fuel cell is a device that converts the energy of a fuel (hydrogen, natural gas, methanol, gasoline) and an oxidant (air or oxygen) into electricity. The principle behind fuel cells was discovered in 1839. Using fuel cells to generate electricity dates back to NASA’s Apollo and Gemini missions - they are still used in space shuttles today. Fuel cells can be used to generate energy for cars, buses, homes and industry, as well as cell phones and laptops.
What are the advantages of fuel cells?
When fueled with pure hydrogen, fuel cells produce zero emissions of air and global warming pollutants such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide. Even when fueled with fossil fuels as a source of hydrogen, fuel cells offer significant improvements in energy efficiency, as they remove intermediate steps - like combustion - and mechanical devices such as turbines and pistons. Fuel cells can use hydrogen derived from a variety of sources including natural gas, biomass, wind, and solar energy.
Are fuel cells being used commercially?

Fuel cells already are coming into use now in commercial applications. Several fuel cell buses are already employed in public transport systems in cities such as Chicago. The largest new market opportunity available to fuel cell technology is the use of fuel cells in cars. In March 1999, Mercedes launched a prototype fuel cell car. Are there different kinds of fuel cells? There are many types of fuel cells, including PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane, which is used for small-scale applications like vehicles), molten carbonate (used for large-scale operations such as power plants), and alkaline (which is used by NASA). What’s NET’s position on fuel cells? NET supports U.S. commitment to leading and accelerating the adoption of fuel cell technology by: Initiating a “Manhattan Project” to develop fuel cell technology to speed commercialization at economically viable prices. Creating government funding to construct the fuel delivery infrastructure necessary to ensure that hydrogen and other alternative fuels are readily available by the year 2030 as gasoline is today. Different Applications for fuel cells. Fuel cells can be used to generate energy for cars, buses, homes and industry, as well as cell phones and laptops. For more about Fuel cells, see: www.fuelcells.org www.usfcc.com