New law aims to majorly cut energy dependency

"It's a big deal," Bingaman said in an interview. "These (new) standards will improve lighting efficiency by 70 percent by 2020." That's an electricity saving equal to shutting down 24 coal-burning power plants, and saving consumers $6 billion for electricity, Bingaman estimates.

The law also requires new energy efficiency standards for refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers and clothes washers, and requires improved energy-use labeling on light bulbs, televisions, computer monitors and other electronic products.

Homeowners may also find more efficient natural gas furnaces on the market. The bill makes clear that the Energy Department can issue more stringent efficiency requirements for furnaces in colder regions of the country than they do nationwide. It requires the department to move faster to issue appliance standards.

Ungar said a new program to foster more energy-efficient commercial buildings "is potentially huge" since such buildings account for much of the energy used today. But he cautioned that while the law authorizes programs to spur construction of so-called green buildings, Congress must still come up with money to fund the program.

Carlos Riva, president of Verenium Corp., a pioneer in developing cellulosic ethanol, says the new ethanol mandate will bring the investments needed to dramatically expand ethanol use.

"We know the science and the process technology. The challenge is scaling it up to a point where it's competitive," Riva said in an interview. He predicted that within 15 years 20 percent of fuel people put into their cars will be alternative fuels such as ethanol.

"There will be more consumer demand for flex fuel vehicles," he said, referring to cars that can run on 85 percent ethanol blends. Verenium plans soon to finish construction of a demonstration ethanol plant and has plans for a commercial-scale plant within four years. Cellulosic ethanol is derived from materials such as prairie grass and wood chips.

Auto company engineers already have begun work to find ways to meet the new fuel economy standard, though it won't go into effect for another 13 years. Some vehicles will have to exceed the 35 mpg, while others — some SUVs, for example — may fall short as long as the overall fleet average is 35 mpg, about 10 mpg higher than today's total fleet average.

Consumers are likely to see more advanced gas-electric hybrid vehicles, clean-diesel powered SUVs and small trucks, and more cars running on ethanol blends, according to auto company executives. Vehicles are expected to be lighter, but not necessarily smaller, with more sophisticated engine and transmission technologies aimed at saving fuel.

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