The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) released the joint summary report of its Outlook on Renewable Energy in America Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The project was designed to present what ACORE calls "a shared statement by the renewable energy community" about the current state and future of the renewable energy sector in the United States. The report focused on all forms of renewable energy—wind power, solar energy and power, water power, geothermal energy and power, and biomass energy, power and fuels—and how the U.S. can transition to sustainable energy options in the future.

Michael T. Eckhart, president of ACORE, said the findings in the report indicate that renewable energy need not be left on the sideline as a minor player in the nation's future. "We've all been working on renewable energy and there's been many cases where we've put forward a story but never quite the whole story of just how big this can be," Eckhart said. "And we still have elected officials at the federal and state level who honestly believe that renewable energy cannot power the country. And I'm not saying they're wrong, but I think they're incorrect."

Outlook on Renewable Energy in America includes suggestions for a transition to sustainable energy sources. In the report, ACORE points to the need for aggressive public policy geared to build momentum in the renewable energy sector.

On the subject of ethanol fuel, the report advocates a surge in research and development on cellulosic ethanol production and transportation infrastructure for the fuel. At a press conference Tuesday, Eckhart addressed other issues confronting the industry.

"On food versus fuel, that is a live, ongoing and important debate," Eckhart said. "The corn producers and other elements of the ag community are coming forward with analyses that suggest that [food versus fuel] in the near future is not an impact at all.

"If you talk about getting biofuels, particularly corn-based ethanol or agriculture-based ethanol, up to 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 percent of the fuel supply, then clearly you've got a food versus fuel issue."

Eckhart also addressed President Bush's call for 35 billion gallons of renewable fuel be used in the country by 2017. "The 35 billion gallon per year target in 2017 is not something the industry came up with or invented," he said. "That 35 billion is calculated as being, as we understand it, first of all, it's what's necessary to have the desired impact on U.S. oil consumption and in turn the derivative impact on world markets. Secondly, it was considered the maximum feasible.

"It's pretty clear, I think, to everybody that 35 billion gallons by 2017 is an enormous challenge. It requires a tremendous amount of investment and a lot of infrastructure development, particularly to market that fuel."

ACORE is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. More information on the report can be found at http://www.acore.org.