Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hydrogen, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has a penchant for making some straightforward statements about energy policy. He’s said that electric vehicles are inevitable, for example, and that all American cars should be E85-capable. Recently, he apparently said that “if it were up to me, I would put every cent into electric cars.”
This quote, which was relayed by unnamed alternative energy developers who were at a recent meeting on alternative fuels, is sure to stir up the whole hydrogen vs. plug-in cars debate that’s been going on since the DOE slashed H2 funding in May. The Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee responded by marking up the FY 2010 DOE budget and restoring the hydrogen vehicle funding.
If Chu did say what it’s reported he said, then it should be clear that it isn’t an official reversal of the Senate’s work. It just shows that there are some serious disagreements in Washington about how to best fund the future. But the DOE is in charge of some things and, this year has handed out billions in loan guarantees for plug-in vehicles, including money for Ford ($5.9 billion), Nissan ($1.6 billion), Tesla Motors ($465 million) and Fisker ($528 million).
[Source: Biofuels Digest]
REPORT: Energy Secretary Chu: “I would put every cent into electric cars” originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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