Obama pushes energy efficiency

President Obama asked the Energy Department to quickly set new energy-efficiency standards for household and commercial appliances Thursday and strengthened his push for a stimulus plan designed to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil.

Mr. Obama asked the Energy Department to set the new guideline for appliances — including dishwashers, lamps and commercial equipment — after the department had missed a series of court-mandated deadlines.

The department settled a lawsuit in 2006, agreeing to set new guidelines for 22 types of appliances with staggered deadlines through 2011. The department has missed 15 of the 22 deadlines, however.

The energy-appliance request marks the latest in a series of changes Mr. Obama has sought working within his own domain, rather than relying on Congress. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the government was canceling oil and gas drilling leases in Utah and Mr. Obama said last month that the Environmental Protection Agency would review a waiver sought by California to impose tougher car-emissions standards.

“From ovens to lamps to dishwashers, President Obama is ensuring that the appliances we buy will be better for our pocketbook, for our environment and for our economy,” said Rep. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

The president also touted his plans to modernize 75 percent of federal buildings and spending on transportation improvements included in the stimulus bill, which senators worked late into the night Thursday to mold and temper.

“Washington might not be ready to get serious about energy independence, but I am,” Mr. Obama said at the Energy Department.

Retired Gen. Wesley Clark, an early Obama supporter who took the reins of an ethanol trade group Thursday, said he supports the president’s energy efforts.

“I think the work that is in the stimulus package and the work that we’re doing today will move us in the direction of energy independence,” he told The Washington Times.

The president estimated that his broader push to improve energy efficiency in federal buildings would cut the government’s energy cost a third and save about $2 billion a year. He also said that plans to build a “smart” electric grid would reduce national energy consumption between 2 percent and 4 percent.