WASHINGTON (AP) - Future energy security will require billions of dollars in government investment in clean coal technology, a new generation of nuclear power plants and promotion of renewable energy and conservation, according to a bipartisan panel of energy experts.

The privately funded group, a cross-section of people in the energy field from utility executives to environmentalists, was to outline its recommendations for a long-term national energy agenda in a report Wednesday.

A key finding by the group is the need for greater involvement by the government, including a doubling of money for federal energy research and development, according to a copy of the groups recommendations obtained Tuesday to The Associated Press.

Among the group's recommendations will be that the government impose a mandatory permit program aimed at reducing so-called greenhouse pollution believed to cause climate change and significantly strengthen vehicle fuel efficiency standards to reduce oil consumption.

The Bush administration has opposed strongly mandatory actions on climate change and higher fuel economy requirements for automakers. Efforts to advance such initiatives also have failed repeatedly in Congress.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who for several years has argued in Congress for increased auto fuel economy and suggested a federal fund to promote renewable energy during his unsuccessful presidential campaign, characterized the report as "another wake-up call" about the danger of too much reliance on Middle East oil.

The group, called the National Commission on Energy Policy and financed by private foundations, was organized two years ago to develop a consensus report on where the country should go to achieve greater energy security. Its 16 members include representatives of industry, government, labor, and environmental and consumer groups.

In some of its recommendations, the panel reflects some of the same priorities outlined in 2001 by Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force. For example, the panel calls for expanded development of coal, natural gas and nuclear power, saying that all these sources will be needed to achieve energy security.

It calls for $7 billion in federal spending over 10 years on clean coal technology and to develop ways to capture emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide as the only way to "ensure a future for the nation's most plentiful energy source."

The panel also recommends incentives for putting into use advanced nuclear reactors, calling for $2 billion over 10 years in federal nuclear reactor research. The nuclear industry contends that federal money is needed for an initial group of reactors to jump-start the next generation of nuclear power plants.

To help reduce U.S. dependence on oil, the group calls for $3 billion in federal spending to advance development of hybrid gasoline-electric cars, which have been proven popular in showrooms but are not yet being produced widely.

It also said construction of liquefied natural gas terminals should be encouraged, and $1.5 billion in federal money is needed over 10 years to "increase domestic production of nonpetroleum renewable transportation fuels.

Commission members include both Republicans and Democrats and senior energy and environmental officials of both the first Bush administration and the Clinton administration.

Its co-chairmen are John Holdren, a professor of environmental policy at Harvard University; Bill Reilly, former EPA administrator in the first Bush administration; and John Rowe, chairman of Exelon Corp., a Chicago-based electric power company. Among the 16 panel members are former CIA director James Woolsey; Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers of America; and Linda Stuntz, an energy lobbyist and former deputy energy secretary in the first Bush administration.