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Rehberg coming to Havre biofuels lab Thursday

Montana's Rep. Denny Rehberg will be in Havre Thursday to talk about renewable energy with people from Montana State University-Northern about its Bio-Energy Innovation and Testing Center and about creating renewable energy from crops grown in Montana.

The tour is one of many stops Rehberg is making throughout Montana to discuss energy, among other issues.

"Even as we're paying far too much at the pump, Montana can lead the way in developing alternative and renewable energy as well as traditional energy like coal and oil, " Rehberg said in a press release Tuesday. "From wind to coal, we've got the resources. We've got people with the know-how and the desire to tap them. Now, we need to get the government off our backs so our state can help our country secure a more stable energy future. "

Rehberg, a Republican, has declared that he will run in 2012 for the U. S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Jon Tester.

His tour of the Northern bioenergy facility, scheduled to start at 1:30 p. m., follows a stop in Malta to talk about the impact creating a national monument would have on oil and gas production on private and federal land.

Rehberg has proposed a bill to help energy consumers and reduce dependence on foreign energy sources, including by:

  • Increasing domestic oil and gas production, including drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and in Alaska;
  • Requiring construction of new nuclear facilities;
  • Barring use of greenhouse gas regulation for climate change in the Clean Air Act or in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act;
  • Repealing the law that prohibits federal agencies from purchasing alternative fuels unless the greenhouse gas emissions are at least as low as from petroleum-based sources, which Rehberg says will increase production of alternative fuels from sources such as from oil shale, tar sands and coal-to-liquid technology.
  • The stop at Northern's bioenergy center is part of his "All-Of-The-Above Energy Tour, " which includes stops around the state to discuss various issues.

    During the tour, he will talk about coal development including with representatives of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, touring a wind farm in the Judith Gap and discussing wind energy, a meeting to discuss developing biomass energy with groups including the Southeastern Montana Development Corporation, discussing natural gas energy production during a tour of a facility in Culbertson, and talking about increasing oil production with groups including the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce.

    In his release, Rehberg said he also will talk about the rising prices of gasoline, how it affects Montanans and what can be done about them.

 

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