Remarks to the Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week Conference

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, May 2, 2005

Technology is allowing us to make better use of natural gas. Natural gas is an important source of energy for industries like agriculture or manufacturing or power production. The United States has the sixth-largest proven reserves of natural gas in the world, and we'll do more to develop this vital resource. That's why I signed into law a tax credit to encourage a new pipeline to bring Alaskan natural gas to the rest of the United States.

Technology is also helping us to get at reserves of natural gas that cannot be reached--easily reached by pipelines. Today, we're able to super-cool natural gas into liquid form so it can be transported on tankers and stored more easily. Thanks to this technology, our imports of liquefied natural gas nearly doubled in 2003. Last year, imports rose another 29 percent. But our ability to expand our use of liquefied natural gas is limited, because today, we have just five receiving terminals and storage facilities around the United States.

To take advantage of this new--this technology, Federal agencies must expedite the review of the 32 proposed new projects that will either expand or build new liquefied natural gas terminals. In other words, there's projects on the books, and we're going to get after the review process. Congress should make it clear to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission its authority to choose sites for new terminals, so we can expand our use of liquefied natural gas.

Technology also allows us to use our most abundant energy source in a smart way. America has enough coal to last for 250 years. But coal presents an environmental challenge. To make cleaner use of this resource, I have asked Congress for more than $2 billion over 10 years for my Coal Research Initiative. It's a program that will encourage new technologies that remove virtually all pollutants from coal-fired powerplants. My Clear Skies Initiative will result in more than $52 billion in investment in clean coal technologies by the private sector. To achieve greater energy dependence, we must put technology to work so we can harness the power of clean coal.

The second essential step toward greater energy independence is to harness technology to create new sources of energy. Hydrogen is one of the most promising of these new sources of energy. Two years ago, my administration launched a crash program called the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. We've already dedicated $1.2 billion over 5 years to this effort to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells. We know that when hydrogen is used in the fuel cell, it has the power to--potential to power anything from a cell phone to a computer to an automobile that emits pure water instead of exhaust fumes.

I've asked Congress for an additional 500 million over 5 years to help move advanced technology vehicles from the research lab to the dealership lot. See, I want the children here in America--you two are sitting there--to be able to take your driver's test in a completely pollution-free car that will make us less dependent on foreign sources of energy. To help produce fuel for these cars, my administration has also launched a Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative, an effort to develop advanced nuclear technologies that can produce hydrogen fuels for cars and trucks. My budgets have dedicated $35 million over the past 3 years and will continue this effort.