The US Congress has passed a significant energy bill that will slowly but surely change the country's economy.

The bill which passed on a bipartisan vote of 314 to 100, sets higher fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks for the first time in 22 years and requires the annual production of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, a fivefold increase from current ethanol production levels.

The measure, the Energy Independence and Security Act, also establishes new efficiency requirements for household appliances and government buildings, and aims to phase out the incandescent light bulb within the next decade.

Its passage is one of the largest steps on energy the nation has taken since the oil crises of the 1970s. But its full costs will not be known for years.

The Renewable Fuels Association, which represents distillers of alternative fuels and which lobbied vigorously for the bill, said that if the nation could meet the 36 billion gallon annual production mandate by 2020, roughly one-sixth of projected gasoline consumption would be replaced with fuels based on corn, switch grass, wood chips and other renewable sources.