News Room
News Items from the Senator
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| May 9th, 2008 |
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Media Contact(s): Heather Barney, (801) 524-4380 |
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Printable Version |
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HATCH PARTICIPATES IN EVENTS FOR NEW UTAH GEOTHERMAL POWER PROJECT
Lauds Utah Firm for Being the First to Use Latest Technology to Convert Earth's Heat into World's Cleanest Energy |
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Salt Lake City, Utah – Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) joined Raser Technologies in breaking ground today in Beaver County, Utah, for the first geothermal power plant built in the Beehive State in two decades. He followed this visit with remarks at a press conference in Salt Lake City to highlight the importance of geothermal energy in addressing our nation’s energy needs.
The senator’s remarks detailed many steps he has taken in recent years to legislatively address the state’s and nation’s growing energy needs and how renewable energy technology can play a vital role.
The complete text of Hatch’s remarks follows:
I want to thank Raser Technologies for inviting me to participate in today’s event. It was an honor for me to help turn over the earth for the first new geothermal plant in Utah in 20 years. Raser Tech is a company that has consistently pushed the envelope to develop, and bring to market, some of our nation’s most advanced concepts in clean energy, and I congratulate this Utah business for being first out of the gate to use the latest technology to convert the earth’s natural heat into the world’s cleanest energy.
Geothermal is clean, green, and abundant especially in Utah. Unlike wind and solar, geothermal energy provides us a renewable source of base power. If we are interested in slowing carbon emissions significantly, we must increase our green sources of base power. Today, Raser Technologies is doing just that.
After learning about the great untapped potential of geothermal energy in the U.S., I asked energy companies why they were not using existing tax incentives to install more geothermal plants. I was told the Congress provided tax incentives only in short bursts. Wind and Solar could be built relatively quickly and take advantage of the incentives. On the other hand, geothermal plants could not be planned, permitted and built in time to receive tax incentives.
Solving that problem was my motivation in introducing legislation in 2005 that would make the renewable tax incentives last longer, giving geothermal a chance to play in the game. My provision became law as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. And just last week, I cosponsored a measure in the Senate with Senators John Ensign of Nevada and Maria Cantwell of Washington that further extends tax incentives for renewable energy production.
When I first introduced my geothermal incentives bill, I didn’t realize that a Utah company would be first out of the gate with the latest technology, but I’m proud that one of our own is leading the charge.
Raser’s leadership doesn’t end with renewable electricity technology. In my view, they have had an even more significant role in developing technologies to help solve our shortage of liquid fuels for vehicles. I was the author of the existing tax incentives for hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, for alternative fuel infrastructure, and for the purchase of alternative fuels used in vehicles. That legislation was known as the CLEAR Act, and it also became law in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Raser, a world leader in efficient A/C induction electric motors, has been a strong supporter of the CLEAR Act.
Raser has also been supportive of my recent legislation S. 1617, or the Freedom Act, which is cosponsored by Senators Barack Obama and Cantwell. The Freedom act proposes strong tax incentives for plug-in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles and for the U.S. manufacture of these vehicles and their technology. My aim with the Freedom Act is to initiate a shift in our transportation sector away from oil and toward electrons. Electrons, even when coming from a coal fired power plant have been proven to be much cleaner, greener, and cheaper per mile than a conventional vehicle. Can you imagine the benefits of a plug-in hybrid which gets its electricity from a geothermal plant? Raser Tech can, and so can I. Today is an early step in that direction, and I’m confident it is only the beginning of many advances in this direction yet to come.
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