Inside Report (7)

Public outcry apparently has pulled loose a report that the Department of Energy may not have wanted to publish. The paper, compiled by the Solar Energy Research Institute, claims the US need not pawn its future to pay for imported oil. Instead, an aggressively managed program of conservation and intelligent use of current energy sources could "virtually eliminate" petroleum imports by the year 2000, while per-capita income increases 45 percent and miles driven go up by half.

Supporters claim the DOE sat on the report because it was odds with Reagan's view that the energy problem can be handled by deregulation, synfuels development, and increased support of nuclear energy.

After news of the report was leaked, the Office of Management and Budget quietly direct ed that copies be given to anybody who asks for them, according to a staffer associated with the paper.m