Biofuel production called vital for nation

NewsOK
By Adam Wilmoth
Business Writer

NORMAN — The United States must quickly develop alternative fuels to protect the country's economy and national security, former Central Intelligence Agency director and Tulsa native James Woolsey said Tuesday.

Speaking before more than 530 attendees of the Oklahoma Governor's Conference on Biofuels, Woolsey said Americans must stop spending $320 billion a year on foreign oil, effectively supporting governments and leaders hostile to the United States.

"This is the only war, except maybe the Civil War, in which we pay for both sides," he said. "This is not a good long-term strategy."

The country's dependence on foreign oil gives a decided advantage to countries with crude, he said.

"Oil could be at $200 a barrel overnight if one mortar shell knocks off enough oil production offline or if the president of Iran pulls one or two million barrels offline just as a shot off the bow because we're trying to prevent him from developing nuclear reactors," Woolsey said.

Advanced technology could move the power from the oil-rich countries to the land-rich countries, including the United States, funneling some of the billions sent to the Middle East to American farmers, he said.

Woolsey touted corn-based ethanol, ethanol made from switchgrass and other plant-based fuels in conjunction with improved electric technology.

"I get about 50 miles per gallon in my Prius hybrid," Woolsey said. "With relatively minor changes, these cars can be modified and plugged in overnight, drawing the power of about four TV sets to store up enough electricity to drive 20 miles. At that point it would drive like a regular hybrid."

Twenty miles of pure electric power could as much as double a hybrid's gas mileage. Coupled with a flex-fuel engine that would allow a vehicle to run on a blend of 85 percent ethanol, such a car could travel as much as 500 miles per gallon of petroleum-based fuel, he said.

"I'd say we're two or three years away from some kind of plug-in hybrid," Woolsey said. "They might not get 20 miles on the rechargeable battery at first, but even 10 miles would make a huge difference."

The two-day conference held at the University of Oklahoma's Catlett Music Center is designed to bring together participants from various aspects of the growing biofuels industry.

"We want to engage the farmers and ranchers. They are the foundation for this new economy," Oklahoma Energy Secretary David Fleischaker said. "We also want to show the large companies and the federal government that Oklahoma deserves a significant piece of the biofuels development."

The conference also is designed to allow scientists throughout the country to discuss their research and help advance the technology, he said.

"Today is the time to get into this industry," Fleischaker said.