The Senate passed and the President signed into law a comprehensive Energy policy providing a national blueprint for the supply, delivery and efficient use of energy. For years to come, the new Energy law will provide affordable energy for consumers by diversifying our energy supply and promoting energy of all kinds. It marks a new day of economic prosperity for Missouri and the country.

I’m especially pleased we were able to add a number of important renewable fuels provisions to the new law. As a member of the Senate Energy Committee and as Co-Chair of the Senate Biofuels Caucus, passing a pro-jobs, pro-growth Energy bill that promotes renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel was a top priority.

Renewable fuels are at the heart of economic growth and jobs for the future; at the heart of energy independence from foreign energy producers; at the heart of environmental quality; and at the heart of value-added agriculture for our family farmers and producers.

Working together with the Missouri Farm Bureau, the Missouri Corn Growers Association, the Missouri Soybean Association and other commodity groups, I added the Renewable Fuels Standard to the bill in the Senate Energy Committee. The new standard creates a phase-in for renewable fuel over 7 years, beginning with 4 billion gallons by 2006 and increases to 7.5 billion gallons in 2012. For years people talked about creating a Renewable Fuels Standard, but it was this Senate that got it done, making the first ever federal commitment to the use of renewable fuels in our nation’s gasoline.

We also took steps in the bill to make fuel with a greater blend of ethanol more available to consumers. All motor vehicles manufactured since the 1970s can run on 10 percent ethanol which does not require engine modifications. But there are vehicles on the road today that can operate on an 85 percent ethanol blend called E-85. E-85 is not compatible with all vehicles, but there are millions of Flexible Fuel Vehicles that can run on a combination of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent petroleum gasoline. The problem is few gasoline stations carry E-85. In Missouri, only 24 stations sell it.

Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and I added to the Energy bill a provision to increase the availability of fuels blended with 85 percent ethanol. The legislation provides a tax credit incentive of 30 percent through 2008 for switching one or more traditional petroleum pumps to E-85 fueling systems. This incentive will make E-85 more available and every gallon sold will mean less dependence on foreign oil.

The new Energy law also extends the biodiesel tax credit which was set to expire next year. I worked with Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) in the Senate and Congressman Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) in the House to extend through 2008 the $1.00 per gallon biodiesel tax credit designed to make soybean-based biodiesel fuels cost competitive with conventional diesel fuel.

Extending the tax credit will be particularly beneficial for Missouri where the Missouri Soybean Association and Mid-America Biofuels LLC, announced their plan to build a biodiesel plant in Mexico, Mo. The plant is expected to produce 30 million gallons of biodiesel each year.

I also worked with Senator Lincoln to include a provision expanding the ten-cent-per-gallon small ethanol producer tax credit to encourage more people to start an ethanol plant or soy crushing facility. The new law allows those who produce up to 60 million gallons of ethanol annually to be eligible for the tax credit. It also establishes the tax credit for small biodiesel producers.

Now that the new law is in place, I will be working with the Administration to make certain they follow the intent of the law as they implement the new renewable fuels programs so Missourians can begin benefiting from this historic bill as quickly as possible.

U.S. Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Agriculture Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Biofuels Caucus.