Slowly but surely, the United States is putting in place infrastructure that will make us less dependent on oil imports and move more quickly toward energy independence.

First, we are continuing to reduce our usage of gasoline and crude oil. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that during the first five months of 2008, U.S. consumption of crude oil dropped 900,000 barrels per day. In June and July, heavy driving months, the consumption reduction was running about 400,000 barrels a day lower.

However, the usage is expected to be down only slightly when we get into 2009 with estimates in the reduction in consumption around 120,000 barrels a day. People are riding their bicycles, walking and buying more fuel-efficient vehicles.

On another energy front, natural gas prices declined sharply in August from about $14 per dekatherm to around $10 per dekatherm for most commercial users. Though natural gas prices remain significantly above last year, there appears to be room to the downside on prices.

Natural gas prices may be pressured even lower also after the Wall Street Journal reported that some experts are saying there is more natural gas in U.S. and other fields that is more easily accessible than once thought.

Natural gas production in the U.S. is up 8 percent this year, and likely to grow as new wells are dug in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Natural gas futures were suggesting even a supply glut by trading much lower last week.

More good news came last weekend when a European energy services company called Veolia Energy announced plans to build a $120 million biomass energy plant in Fairmont that would produce energy from processed refuse, wood waste and agricultural waste like that from crops like alfalfa and soybeans.

The company would sell power to 18 nonprofit cities, including Wells, St. Peter, Waseca and Fairmont, that are part of the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power agencies. Such a plan helps the agency meet statewide power goals that call for energy producers to provide 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2025.

At the same time, The Wall Street Journal reports wind turbine manufacturers can hardly keep up with demand for wind turbines. Their profits, as a result, are growing.

There’s still a lot more work to be done on the alternative energy front. Our goals should be nothing less than energy independence. But so far, it seems the wind is blowing in our direction.