— A sixfold increase in ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, a boon to farmers. Of that, 21 billion gallons will have to be from feedstock other than corn such as prairie grasses or wood chips.
— Improved energy efficiency of appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and dishwashers, and a 70 percent increase in the efficiency of light bulbs.
— Energy efficiency improvements in federal building and new efficiency standards for construction of new commercial buildings with an aim that they produce as much electricity as they use.
The new lighting standards alone are projected to lower consumers' annual electricity bills by $13 billion in 2020, remove the need for 60 mid-size power plants and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, by 100 million tons a year, said the advocacy group Alliance to Save Energy.
Democrats said the fuel economy requirements will save motorists $700 to $1,000 a year in fuel costs and reduce oil demand by 1.1 million barrels a day when the fuel-stingy vehicles are widely on the road.
The overall bill including more ethanol use and various efficiency requirements and incentives, will cut U.S. oil demand by 4 million barrels a day by 2030, more than twice the current daily imports from the volatile Persian Gulf, Democrats said.
But some Republicans complained the legislation fails to address the need for more domestic production of fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas.
''What we have here is a mandatory conservation bill,'' said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas. He argued that the auto fuel efficiency requirements and the huge increase in ethanol use may not prove to be technologically or economically possible.
Earlier this year, Bush announced his own plan, which he said was aimed at cutting U.S. gasoline use by 20 percent in 10 years. Like the legislation passed by Congress, the president's plan included a sharp increase in ethanol use. It also urged Congress to overhaul fuel economy rules to give auto companies more flexibility, some of the provisions lawmakers adopted.