Southern Leaders Release New Plan to Achieve American Energy Security

Southern Leaders Release New Plan to Achieve American Energy Security

July 18, 2006

Strategy to Use Environmentally-Friendly Technologies and American Resources to Produce Fuels, End Dependence on Foreign Oil
"Alternative energy production has to become the new standard for American energy production - it's critical to our national security, necessary for economic development, and right for our environment."

    NEW ORLEANS, July 18 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
Southern States Energy Board (SSEB), comprised of governors
and state legislators from 16 southern states and two
territories, today released a critically-acclaimed study of
America's liquid transportation fuel options.  The American
Energy Security Study presents a comprehensive plan for
United States energy security through the production of
ultra-clean liquid transportation fuels from domestic
resources, and sets an aggressive timeline for achieving
energy independence by 2030.  

    "The U.S. is endowed with the largest energy
resources in the world, including biomass, coal and oil
shale," Governor Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky, Chairman
of the Southern States Energy Board, told the assembled
policy makers at the Board's annual meeting in New Orleans.
 "This endowment rivals the world's conventional oil
resources.  Using environmentally-friendly technologies and
American innovation, this enormous base of U.S. resources
can provide transportation fuels at competitive prices and
rid us of dependence on foreign oil."

    The SSEB's American Energy Security initiative outlines
the costs, risks, and national security implications of U.S.
dependence on imported oil, and presents a national mission
plan and supporting legislative agenda to secure energy
stability and independence.  Key elements of the plan
include the creation of Alternative Energy Farms
("AEFs") utilizing a variety of currently
available, environmentally-friendly technologies,
large-scale implementation of coal-to-liquids (CTL)
processes to convert American coal and oil shale resources
into ultra-clean fuels, extensive development of biomass to
produce renewable liquid transportation fuels, increased
transportation fuel efficiency, sensible energy
conservation, and a legislative agenda that creates
incentives for rapid deployment of domestic energy
resources and bolsters a climate of long-term financial
viability and environmental stewardship.  The initiative
also backs innovative efforts to increase domestic enhanced
oil recovery by injecting carbon dioxide into declining oil
fields to release additional trapped oil and safely
sequester the CO2 underground.

    "America is at a crossroads," noted Governor
Fletcher.  "We either can choose to produce our own
transportation fuels and secure our own destiny, or we can
continue to rely on expensive foreign oil from unstable
sources.  Importing foreign oil costs the U.S. economy
about $300 billion per year in diversion of our financial
resources, loss of jobs and investment, loss of tax
revenues, and in military expenditures tied to defending
Persian Gulf oil.  Alternative energy production has to
become the new standard for American energy production -
it's critical to our national security, necessary for
economic development, and right for our environment."

    In addition to providing a specific path for achieving
energy security for transportation fuels by 2030, the study
is intended to increase awareness of the energy challenge
among the American people, industry, the financial
community, the media, governors, and legislators and
political leadership at the national, state and local
levels.  The SSEB plan presents a detailed analysis of how
embarking on a national mission to achieve energy security
and move toward liquid fuels independence will:

    -- reduce national security risks and free up U.S.
resources now devoted 
       to protecting foreign oil supplies;

    -- lower oil prices and reduce oil price volatility;

    -- facilitate a renewed U.S. industrial boom, with
direct new energy 
       sector investments of up to $200 billion by 2030;

    -- establish a reliable domestic energy base that
sustains the global 
       competitiveness of U.S. industries;

    -- create more than 1.4 million new jobs over two
decades;

    -- foster new technology development;

    -- help eliminate trade and budget deficits, including
a projected 
       reduction of the U.S. trade deficit by $600 billion
by 2030;

    -- ensure affordable energy for citizens and strategic
fuels for the 
       military;

    -- achieve conservation and efficiency savings
equivalent to 19 million 
       barrels per day of current oil usage; and

    -- take new steps to protect the environment,
substantially reducing total 
       atmospheric emissions.

    The SSEB American Energy Security initiative is
projected to allow America to eliminate approximately 5
percent of foreign oil imports per year for 20 years,
beginning in 2010, with oil imports eliminated entirely by
2030.  A copy of the report and additional resources are
available at
http://www.AmericanEnergySecurity.org/studyrelease.html .

    SOUTHERN STATES ENERGY BOARD
    AMERICAN ENERGY SECURITY STUDY

    AVAILABLE MEDIA RESOURCES

                                             Southern
States Energy Board
                                             6325 Amherst
Court
                                             Norcross,
Georgia  30092
                                             Contact: 
Kenneth J. Nemeth
                                             (770)
242-7712
                                             [phone]
(fax)
                                             [phone]
(cell)

    The full report and additional media resources are
available at
www.AmericanEnergySecurity.org/studyrelease.html.

    Resources available include:

    -- An Executive Summary

    -- Additional quotes from Governor Ernie Fletcher
(R-Ky), the Chair of the 
       Southern States Energy Board, including quotes about
the four primary 
       risks of dependence on imported oil, environmental
safeguards, and the 
       need to move aggressively.  Also available are
quotes regarding the 
       need to develop Alternative Energy Production Farms
from Ken Nemeth, 
       the Executive Director and Secretary of the SSEB.

    -- A summary of Key Strategies of the American Energy
Security Initiative

    -- A summary of Projected Economic Impacts

    -- A summary list of Policy Recommendations

    For more information, please contact:  

     Kenneth J. Nemeth  
     Tel:    [phone] 
     Fax:    [phone] 
     Mobile: [phone]

SOURCE  Southern States Energy Board