Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, said he will spend the weekend familiarizing himself with a 1,700-page draft of a broad energy bill before helping to fashion the final version Monday.

The first major overhaul of U.S. energy policy in more than 10 years looks positive for North Dakota but isn't without its faults, Dorgan said. He has two days to read the bill before it goes to a Senate-House conference committee meeting Monday where he'll be among those suggesting changes.

The bill was stalled for weeks as House and Senate Republicans held closed-door negotiations. A breakthrough came Friday when the Senate Energy Committee released the draft, giving Democrats their first look.

The bill calls for doubling American's use of corn-based ethanol by 2012, tax breaks to energy industries and construction of a pipeline to transport natural gas from Alaska

"It appears that there are some important and positive provisions in this bill that will strengthen our energy economy in North Dakota," Dorgan said. "From what I've seen so far, provisions that boost ethanol production, expand wind energy and promote production of bio-diesel all seem to be positive for North Dakota. That means greater energy security for America and new jobs and economic growth for North Dakota."

The bill also contains provisions that would expand coal, oil and natural gas production.

According to Dorgan, there were a few disappointments, including a failure to require utility companies to produce at least 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources and leaving out the tradable tax credits for co-ops. Both would have stimulated wind energy production.

Dorgan said as a member of the Energy Conference Committee he plans to offer a number of amendments.

Republicans want the conference committee to approve the bill by Monday and plan to send it to the House and Senate for a final vote later in the week.

"It looks like a pretty good start at this point," Dorgan said. "That doesn't mean, however, that it can't be, or shouldn't be made better."

(Reach reporter Mike Albrecht at 250-8261 or cops@ndonline.com.)