Senator Patty Murray's Statement to the Harvesting Clean Energy Conference

Pasco, Washington
February 27, 2002

Dear Participants of the "Harvesting Clean Energy" Conference:

I want to thank the Northwest Cooperative Development Center for inviting me to the second annual Northwest Regional Conference, "Harvesting Clean Energy -- Farming for Energy Independence." I am sorry I cannot attend personally, but want to express my support for the conference and its goals.

Your meeting is taking place at an important time in our nation's capital. The Senate just passed its Farm Bill today.

The last four years have been a difficult time for farmers and ranchers. Prices are low and credit is harder to get. Foreign markets are closed because of U.S policy decisions, trade barriers or the strong U.S. dollar. These problems were made worse by last year's drought and high energy prices, which devasted farmers, workers and businesses in the Northwest.

In every crisis there is opportunity. I believe we need to tap the productivity of our nations farms to strengthen our energy security. Our communities are growing rapidly and additional resources are needed to support economic growth.

Farmers can help meet this demand. But it won't happen without political leadership and strong advocacy by the farm community.

Washington and the Pacific Northwest are very dependent on hydroelectric power to meet our current energy needs. This dependence contributed to severe price spikes during last year's drought. I fear that in our rush to address last year's energy generation short fall, we are becoming overly reliant on natural gas. Nearly every significant new generation plant being constructed or planned is fired by natural gas. We need to guard against the Pacific Northwest becoming victim to price swings in the natural gas market caused by limited supply and transmission capacity.

Diversifying our energy resources is essential for the energy security of the Pacific Northwest, as well as the nation. Developing wind, biomass, solar, and geothermal resources in the Northwest will protect us from future shortages and insure our communities and economy can continue to grow.

I believe very strongly that our farmers should help lead the way. That's why I am lending my support for homegrown, renewable farm-based energy resources. It is in our best interests for renewable energy to be a significant element of new energy generation in the region.

Energy issues are scheduled to be debated on the Senate floor in February and perhaps into March. The Energy debate will likely include a discussion of the renewable energy tax credit and renewable energy production incentive programs. These programs create an incentive for utilities to invest in renewable energy and purchase renewable energy. As a result, these programs will help farmers producing renewable energy.

I have been working with the Washington delegation to insure these programs are available to farmers producing energy for our people. The renewable energy tax credit has expired and the renewable energy production incentive will expire next year. I support tradeable renewable electricity production tax credits that are available to public power systems, rural electric cooperatives, and investor owned utilities. I also support the renewable energy production incentive to encourage investment in renewable energy resources.

In addition, for the first time, the Senate Farm Bill includes an energy title. I supported grants and financial assistance for renewable energy projects in rural communities that will help invest in energy development. Unfortunately, the House Farm Bill does not include these new investments. I urge you to express support for the energy title in the Senate Farm Bill.

Farmers can enhance their economic security by improving our nation's energy and food security, and I am excited about the prospect of new renewable energy resources being developed in Washington State. I look forward to continuing to work with you on these important prioritities.

Sincerely,

Patty Murray
United States Senator