Sen. Coleman seeks trust fund for energy

Hundreds of billions from oil leases would be used to encourage alternative energy infrastructure, he said.

Last update: August 25, 2008 - 10:39 PM

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Sen. Norm Coleman proposed Monday a federal program to fund the expansion of alternative energy with revenues from government oil drilling leases on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Coleman said that the National Energy Infrastructure Trust Fund would spread the benefits of wind and solar energy, nuclear power and renewable fuels, much as President Dwight Eisenhower's interstate highway system revolutionized national transportation in the 1950s and '60s.

But campaign officials with Al Franken, the DFL-endorsed candidate for Coleman's seat, dismissed the senator's plan as an election-year ploy that would open up more places for oil companies to drill.

Coleman said Monday that the federal government needs to prepare the country now for the variety of new energy sources being discussed. Improvements needed, he said, include transmission corridors for wind energy, chemical dioxide pipelines for coal, and more nuclear facilities and hybrid vehicles.

"Everyone believes energy security is a national security issue today, and there's a consensus building for what I call a kitchen-sink approach ... [but] the conversation hasn't focused on greater needs for energy infrastructure," he said.

Coleman said he wasn't sure how big the trust fund would be, other than it would run into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The fund would extend tax credit bonds and loan guarantees for privately built plants, and help states establish transmission corridors.

Franken spokesman Andy Barr said that Coleman has received more campaign contributions from oil companies than any politician in state history and that he's voted to give them $13 billion in tax breaks.

Franken believes that oil companies should do more drilling on sites that they're already leasing and that waste disposal issues should be resolved before nuclear energy is expanded.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

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