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CEA, Labor, Local Gov’t Officials Turn Out at State Dept. to Lend Support to Keystone Pipeline

CEA’s Whatley on hand to participate in forum, submit comments in support of expanded Canada-to-USA pipeline

WASHINGTON – June 29, 2010 Is the U.S. government ready to take meaningful steps toward reducing America’s reliance on far-away, unstable energy while leveraging secure, proximate energy sources to create jobs and opportunity here at home? That’s the conversation that took place today at the U.S. State Department, as the agency held another in a series of public forums on whether to grant a final permit in support of the Keystone XL pipeline project, which, upon completion, is slated to deliver 900,000 barrels of affordable Canadian energy a day to consumers in the U.S. who need it.

“Some might consider the State Department an unlikely setting for a discussion on energy in the United States,” said Michael Whatley, vice president of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) and on hand today to provide comments in support of the Keystone project for CEA. “But actually, the Keystone pipeline project is right up State’s alley – especially since the project has the potential to advance key national imperatives related to energy security, affordability and access for millions of Americans. The best part is: It has the potential to do all that without bringing harm to the environment. That’s why CEA supports the project, and that’s why we will continue to work with all stakeholders involved to ensure it happens swiftly and responsibly.”

Once completed, the Keystone XL project will consist of three new pipelines spanning roughly 1,380 miles across the United States from Canada, with the capacity to deliver roughly 900,000 barrels of secure, affordable Canadian energy to American consumers over the long-term. Despite that reach, the actual environmental footprint involved in executing the project is minimal – with the total disturbed area for the project only expected to be 150 square miles. Because the pipeline originates in Canada and crosses into the United States, State Department approval is required.

In addition to CEA, a number of organizations representing consumers, organized labor, and state and local governments appeared at today’s forum to lend their unique perspectives on why the Keystone project is so important to them and their constituents.

“We came here today to show our strong support for the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline,” said Russ Breckenridge, a legislative representative of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada. “Right now the construction industry is currently facing on average 20 percent unemployment, and in some areas our members are facing 40 percent. The TransCanada pipeline will begin to put our members back to work with high-quality jobs, with full benefits and worker protection.”

Added Breckenridge: “Our organization wouldn’t be supporting this project if safety was any concern. … As President Obama has told our organization many times, his number one priority is creating jobs and turning the economy around. The Keystone project will achieve these two goals.” (audio)

Richard Moskowitz, vice president and regulatory affairs counsel for the American Trucking Associations – a CEA member – told the forum that the trucking industry supports the use of renewable and alternative fuels in the transportation sector, but “for the foreseeable future we will be dependent on diesel fuel to deliver virtually 100 percent of the consumer products in the United States.”

Moskowitz also addressed concerns related to the carbon output of fuels expected to be delivered by the pipeline: “The carbon required to transport that oil from Alberta down to Houston is going to be less than the amount of carbon required to transport that oil across Canada, load it on super-tankers, and bring it to China – which is what will happen if we don’t use that oil here in the United States.” (audio)

Additional resources and audio files available from today’s State Dept. event:

CEA Newsletter July 2010

While efforts to stop the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil spill and cleanup its environmental effects continue, the question of the future of domestic offshore oil and gas development remains unanswered.

With the industry’s future uncertain, many deepwater drilling rigs are initiating plans to begin leaving U.S. waters to be used for contracts in other areas of the world, such as Africa and the Middle East. Rigs that leave the United States will be committed to producing energy for other countries for the foreseeable future and would be unavailable to return to the U.S. quickly once the legislative and regulatory fallout from the oil spill has been resolved.

The U.S. Department of the Interior seems unbothered by the fact that once the rigs leave, it will be hard to replace them, let alone the negative effects that lowered production of domestic oil and natural gas resources will have on the American people, especially the communities along the Gulf Coast that have been hardest hit and rely most greatly on the industry for jobs and livelihoods.

The lack of responsiveness on the part of the Administration and governmental agencies, including the Department of the Interior, is something that is a cause of concern. The explosion and subsequent oil spill began on April 20 – more than 60 days ago. The President’s Commission to investigate and move forward with solutions from the oil spill was announced in mid-May, but appointments to the commission were delayed for weeks – the final commission members being announced just a couple weeks ago. This first meeting of the commission is rumored for mid-July.  Why all of the delays? What has been done to get the country moving again and spur economic growth? What solutions have been raised? Shouldn’t the top priority be to move quickly to find out what went wrong and fix it?

Whether or not the Administration-backed deepwater drilling moratorium – which will cost thousands of Americans their jobs and is devastating to the Gulf Coast region as well as to the American oil and gas industry – will stand is another point that has yet to be resolved. Should the ban last a year (which now appears likely) as the President’s committee ponders the future of U.S. offshore development, the situation will become that much more dire and damaging.

For those who may be pleased with the prospect of the demise of the U.S. oil and gas industry, consider this: In 2008, nearly $22 billion was distributed to the federal government, states and American Indian tribes from oil and natural gas production. Oil and natural gas industry revenue is the second-largest revenue for the United States after income taxes – how will the nation pay the multi-trillion dollar debt – now 13 percent of GDP and rising – without these valuable revenues coming in? Without this essential industry – which directly supports more than 9 million Americans, and indirectly contributes to hundreds of thousands of jobs that would not exist without oil and/or natural gas – how will the country stimulate needed job creation and economic growth? How will the people who lose their jobs as a result of the moratorium or other knee-jerk reactions to the oil spill, pay their mortgages or provide for their families?

No doubt about it – the oil spill is a terrible situation that must be resolved with all deliberate speed and all resources available. Yet, this terrible situation is being made even worse due to poor decisions and inactivity. Offshore oil and gas development is an essential element of the American economic engine that we cannot do without and we must continue to support exploration and development of American energy.

David Holt
President

Help Defeat Efforts to Ban North American Energy and Increase Prices at the Pump!
The Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is being sold to the American public as a way to blend transportation fuels with low-carbon alternatives so that tailpipe CO2 emissions can be reduced. But the fact is that affordable and reliable lower-carbon fuel options are not yet available. As a result, an LCFS simply will increase the cost of diesel fuel and gasoline and will place certain domestic supplies of transportation fuels off limits. Increasing the cost of transportation fuel and U.S. dependence upon foreign sources of petroleum is simply unsound energy policy.

Join our effort to defeat these measures, which would put an economic stranglehold on America and leave U.S. consumers stuck with higher prices at the pump. Send in your comments today!

Natural Gas: The Other Alternative Fuel
One source of fuel that is not only clean and in abundant supply but has already demonstrated it can be effectively adopted on a large scale is natural gas. Last week, MIT released a study that is being widely cited as providing some of the best evidence yet that natural gas can – and must — play a critical role in the country’s energy future.

In fact, the study finds that the country has a 92-year supply of natural gas, based on current consumption levels. Read blog…

 

Stay Cool, Save Money
As summer temperatures increase, you can save money and energy and still beat the heat by following a few simple tips:

  • Close window blinds and drapes to prevent heat gain from the sun
  • Use a programmable thermostat to regulate home temperature when you’re at home and away
  • Reduce cooling costs by setting your thermostat as high as comfortably possible
  • Don’t set the thermostat to a colder setting than normal to get it cooler quicker – it doesn’t work!
  • Using a ceiling fan and A/C allows you to set your thermostat four degrees higher and still feel as cool
  • Turn off ceiling fans when you leave the room – fans cool people with a breeze, not rooms
  • Use bathroom ventilating fans to remove heat & humidity from your home

To learn more about staying cool this summer while saving energy and money, visit the “Stay Cool, Save Money” section of EnergySavers.gov, a consumer-geared website of the U.S. Department of Energy.

More Than $60 Million in Recovery Act Funding to Expand Local Energy Efficiency Efforts in 20 Communities
The U.S. Department of Energy recently selected 20 communities, including municipalities in Alaska, California, Colorado and Florida, to receive $60 million-plus in funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives to reduce energy use for homes, vehicles and businesses. Read article…

 

Energy Star Helps Auto Plants Improve Energy Efficiency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program has helped improve the energy efficiency of the auto manufacturing industry, cutting fossil fuel use by 12 percent and reducing emissions. Read article…

 

The energy world has certainly been buzzing this summer: between the Gulf of Mexico spill and potential climate and energy legislation moving forward in the Senate, energy policy and regulatory issues have been front and center of our national debate on the sustainable development of domestic energy resources.

While CEA remains heavily engaged on these issues, we also continue to monitor and participate in discussions that could have significant impact on the U.S. natural gas industry. Specifically, CEA and the CEA Natural Gas Committee are working to ensure the in-progress EPA Study on Hydraulic Fracturing proceeds in an objective manner that will help to dispel some of the myths about hydraulic fracturing and provides policymakers with the most objective information possible on hydraulic fracturing and development of this important resource.

As discussed in the June 2010 newsletter, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a study on the relationship between drinking water and hydraulic fracturing, as directed by the 2010 Appropriations Conference Committee. Up to now, CEA has participated in all stakeholder meetings, all of which have focused on the intended scope of the study. In our comments to EPA and the Science Advisory Board (which was asked to provide direction to the EPA on its study), CEA has urged the agency to focus the study squarely on the Congressional directive: the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water.  Despite the clear instructions of the directive, we have noticed recommendations to extend the scope to encompass additional, non-drinking water sources (including those for recreational purposes) and to include an assessment of other commercial activities adjacent to drilling sites. While CEA has continually advocated the importance of future studies, we believe the Congressional mandate and the appropriated funds are not sufficient at this time to justify an expanded scope.

One primary concern is that EPA properly utilizes industry experts and state and local regulators in their investigation. As CEA learned during an industry-specific stakeholder meeting on June 21 in Washington, DC, the EPA wants and needs industry cooperation to conduct the study effectively: from collecting data to gaining a better comprehension of fluid fate and transport, an area in which EPA admitted they were not completely adept. CEA is encouraged to hear that EPA has already begun working closely with state and local regulators, most of whom have expertise in the unique features of natural gas reserves and production in their jurisdictions. This expertise has been integral to effective state and local regulation of hydraulic fracturing, a technology that has been used for over 60 years in over 1 million wells in the United States.

As the stakeholder process proceeds, CEA looks to participate in the four public meetings being held in July and August in various cities nationwide. CEA will continue to emphasize the importance of hydraulic fracturing to the U.S. natural gas industry and its long record of safety. The vast and diverse supplies of onshore and offshore natural gas in the United State have the potential to transform our energy future, and we must advocate that safe, responsible production continues. Part of this effort will require countering polemical attacks on hydraulic fracturing such as the recently-aired documentary, Gasland. Objective science has repeatedly validated the safety of hydraulic fracturing, and a culture of fear should not jeopardize the opportunity to progress towards a smarter, more balanced energy policy.

In strengthening our advocacy for U.S. natural gas, CEA will host the next Natural Gas Committee meeting in its DC offices on Tuesday, July 15. David Blackmon from the El Paso Energy Corporation will be presenting to the committee. Please keep an eye out for updates on the committee meeting as well as CEA’s engagement on the EPA study.

On June 17th, the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) gave an Energy 101 presentation about the liquids pipeline industry at the CEA monthly meeting. Established in 1947, AOPL is a trade association whose membership is comprised of owners and operators of liquid pipelines. AOPL members carry nearly 85 percent of the crude oil and refined petroleum products moved by pipelines in the United States.

The presentation provided an overview of the importance of the liquids pipeline industry, current regulation, and the impacts for consumers. Also included in their presentation was background on how oil pipelines operate, information on significant improvements in their safety record, and future challenges facing the industry.  View the presentation here. For more information about the liquids pipeline industry, please visit AOPL’s website: www.aopl.org.

 

The EarthQuest Institute, a 501c3 organization slated for development in New Caney, Texas, is the centerpiece of the planned EarthQuest Adventures Theme Park development, the goal of which is to further the public understanding of the connections between society’s need for energy and environmental conservation.

“The EarthQuest development as a whole is envisioned to be a new global epicenter of responsible, energy efficient development with a focus on entertaining and engaging the public in a destination resort environment,” says Chief Science Officer Dr. Matthew Gardner, noting that through state-of-the-art exhibits, exciting programming and creative media and communication technologies, the Institute will empower people to make informed decisions about living in ways which preserve the planet and its resources.

Educating the public with credible and objective information regarding energy issues is one of the main purposes of the Institute.

“We would like to re-engage the people, particularly young people, with these issues, using entertainment and education – ‘edu-tainment’ – as our method,” explains Gardner.

“Our goal is to be a conduit for information, presented in an appealing and engaging format, about our need for energy – and we need lots of it! – and about how this need for energy interfaces with the issue of environmental conservation. We would like our audience to understand that energy production and environmental conservation and protection are not diametrically opposed concepts. We just need to be smart in our approaches.”

The EarthQuest Institute emphasizes that in order to face today’s energy challenges, it is going to take a portfolio of approaches, including the responsible development of fossil fuel resources, the deployment of renewable energy systems in places where they make economic and technical sense, the further development of nuclear power systems, and, most importantly, a renewed focus on the value of conserving energy resources.

“We need to recognize that there are no silver bullets out there that will solve all of the energy challenges we face,” explains Gardner. “This portfolio approach can address our energy needs for generations to come.”

The EarthQuest Institute is an affiliate of Consumer Energy Alliance because, Gardner says, “We need voices like this to be part of the dialogue. Our organizations have very complimentary views of the energy landscape. CEA has developed a very strong track record in the energy policy world, and we think that the EarthQuest Institute can bring a new set of tools to the table to advance this type of message even further.”

For more information on The EarthQuest Institute, visit http://www.earthquestinstitute.org/.

Natural gas: The other alternative fuel

One source of fuel that is not only clean and in abundant supply but has already demonstrated it can be effectively adopted on a large scale is natural gas.

Last week, MIT released a study that is being widely cited as providing some of the best evidence yet that natural gas can – and must — play a critical role in the country’s energy future. In fact, the study finds that the country has a 92-year supply of natural gas, based on current consumption levels.

While natural gas has long been recognized as a major natural resource in the U.S., the relatively recent large-scale production of natural gas from massive shale fields has proven to be a game changer: Over the next 20 years, gas production in the Marcellus shale and other fields in the Northeast and Great Lakes States is projected to expand by 78%. That, in turn, should help lower the price of natural gas to make it more competitive with other power sources.

Sounds like a simple enough analysis, but it’s hard to overstate what it means. In natural gas, we have a homegrown power source that is good for the environment, good for national security (any home grown fuel is), and also a major boon for the economy.

Pennsylvania State Senator Mary Jo White recently described the Marcellus shale as “the greatest economic, clean-energy opportunity of our lifetime.” Here is what some other individuals, small businesses – and even family farmers – in Pennsylvania had to say about how development of the Marcellus shale had stimulated employment and overall economic development in the region.

While we’re gratified to see natural gas getting the recognition it deserves, we also know that realizing all of these strong projections for future growth will depend on our continued ability to produce in key shale fields, which hold such a large share of the total national reserves. And that will depend on all of us working together to show that these reserves are a critical piece of our national energy supply that can and must be developed responsibly.

In the coming weeks this blog will devote more attention to natural gas and shale, the promise it holds, and what we can all do to see that that promise is realized.

David Holt: Foggy Bottom should OK Keystone pipeline

The following op-ed from David Holt, President of Consumer Energy Alliance, appeared in the Washington Examiner here on June 28, 2010.

Move over Department of the Interior. Kindly step aside Department of Energy. Interested in finding a way to strengthen U.S. energy security while creating thousands of high-wage jobs in the places that need them most? That’s precisely the topic of debate tomorrow at State Department headquarters in Foggy Bottom – part of a series of public hearings on whether State should issue a final permit for the expansion of a pipeline allowing additional supplies of secure, affordable energy from Canada to be sent to consumers in the United States.

As it is today, we already receive about 2.5 million barrels of petroleum from Canada each day – 2.5 million barrels, incidentally, that we don’t need to buy from suppliers in the Middle East. The good news is our imports from Canada are slated to grow significantly in the coming years.

The only challenge? We need to significantly expand existing pipeline capacity in order for this to happen. The Keystone XL project not only solves that problem, but it stands to create thousands of family-supporting jobs on both sides of the border along the way.

Believe it or not, oil sands from Canada are expected to become America’s top source of imported oil this year, surpassing conventional Canadian imports and almost equaling the volume of crude received each day from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined.

In Canada’s oil sands, we’re talking about an energy resource that’s expected to grow from a share of 1.34 million barrels a day of the American market to as many as 5.7 million by 2030 – or about 36 percent of U.S. oil imports by then. But for these opportunities to be fully realized, we need the infrastructure in place to actually get it here.

That’s why Consumer Energy Alliance supports the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline project and the State Department’s recently released Draft Environmental Impact Statement – a document that analyzes the potential environmental impact of the pipeline’s siting and construction, and ultimately confirms that the delivery of secure, affordable supplies of Canadian energy to American consumers can be done without harming our environment.

And, while a final decision by the State Department has not been made on the Keystone Pipeline, what we’ve seen so far portends positive news for American consumers.  The Keystone is initially slated to carry 700,000 barrels of crude per day, eventually increasing to 900,000 barrels — significantly strengthening America’s energy and economic security, as well as creating more than 13,000 jobs in the project’s initial construction phase alone.

Not a bad shot in the arm for the U.S. economy, right? Unfortunately, some in Congress oppose the pipeline and are working hard to stop it – citing an outdated figure for the energy intensity of Canada’s oil sands and openly suggesting that the answer to America’s energy challenges is to starve ourselves of the most secure and affordable sources available in our hemisphere.

Of course, the reality is that per-barrel emissions from the oil sands have dropped every single year since records have been kept, and today are comparable to the lifecycle energy rating of petroleum you’d find anywhere else in the world – including the United States.

And the story gets better every year. Consider: CO2 emissions from the production of oil sands have come down by an average of 39 percent per barrel since 1990.  In some facilities, the reduction has been as high as 45 percent.

As the State Department considers the application for the Keystone XL pipeline, we urge it to remember the economic and energy security benefits of Canada’s vital resources and the 2.5 million barrels of petroleum Canada sends the United States each and every day.

In this day and age, working to expand America’s access to secure, reliable and affordable energy supplies from friends in the hemisphere makes a lot sense. And it just might make a lot of jobs as well if the State Department allows us to seize on the opportunity.

Fuel agreement wrong for state

The following op-ed from Michael Whatley, Vice President of Consumer Energy Alliance, appeared in the Stamford Advocate here on June 25, 2010.

Just as the Constitution State was bracing for the rest of another cold New England winter at the end of 2009, Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the governors of 10 mid-Atlantic and New England states were signing an agreement that could significantly raise home heating oil prices throughout the region. By signing onto a Memorandum of Understanding on December 30, the governors paved the way for the adoption of a region-wide Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). As a state without fossil fuel reserves and a large portion of home heating oil consumers, citizens of Connecticut have reason to be concerned.

While proponents are selling this LCFS as a “market-based” way to reduce the carbon content of our fuel, it actually won’t make the fuels in your home heating tank or gas tank any cleaner than they are right now. What it will do is restrict which markets we can get our fuels from and hurt our economy by increasing energy prices across the board.

Never heard of an LCFS? It is a system in which bureaucrats determine which fuels are available to consumers based on their life-cycle carbon emissions – which are based on several factors including the amount of energy used to produce the fuel. Under this formula, heavy crudes — such as oil produced in Canada, the Southwest and Mexico receive a higher life-cycle carbon score since they require more energy to produce than light crudes.

Given that an LCFS discriminates against these North American energy reserves, which make up a significant proportion of our nation’s crude supplies (Canada alone provides almost 20 percent of the fuels we use every day), a large portion of the fuels we currently rely on would be barred under an LCFS.

How would we replace this fuel? You guessed it – imports from across the ocean. So much for energy independence. In fact, an LCFS favors light crudes like those found in the Middle East, Libya and Nigeria – some of the most unfriendly and unstable regions of the world.

While Connecticut may produce the second largest amount of oysters in the U.S., it doesn’t produce or refine any of the fuels it uses on a daily basis. Because Connecticut receives all its fuels from outside the state (largely through the coastal ports of New Haven, New London and Bridgeport), it faces the threat of becoming a “fuel island” under an LCFS — which could have immediate and significant cost impacts on gasoline, diesel and home heating fuels.

Given the current economic difficulties facing Connecticut and the U.S., now would clearly not be the time to adopt energy policies that will likely increase energy costs on the 3.5 million residents of the Nutmeg State.

Proponents of an LCFS are also pushing to include home heating oil as part of this regime — which will significantly raise heating costs for the half of all Connecticut households that use fuel oil as their primary energy source for home heating. Given that Connecticut required almost $126 million in funding from the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program in 2009, restricting Connecticut’s ability to purchase a large portion of the home heating fuel on the market today just doesn’t make sense.

Unfortunately for all Connecticut residents, Gov. Rell and the governors of 10 other New England and Mid-Atlantic states have already set in motion the creation of an LCFS – pushing this harsh scheme on any residents that rely on transportation or heating fuels across the state.

While there is still time to consider the economic and energy implications of adopting this misguided fuels policy, the bad news is that the LCFS train has left the station and shows no sign of stopping.

Residents of Connecticut can only hope that Governor Rell and her fellow governors will realize the negative repercussions of an LCFS in time to stop this runaway train.

If not, we will all pay the price.

CEA-Alaska Executive Director Dave Harbour Submits Comments on New Five-Year Program

Click here to view CEA-Alaska Executive Director Dave Harbour’s comments on the new five-year program.

No time for legal wrangling

Late last month, President Obama issued a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling, effectively forcing many operators with perfect safety records to shut down. This week, a federal judge in New Orleans blocked the moratorium, bringing welcome news to the tens of thousands of Gulf residents who rely on oil & gas to manufacture, transport, sustain, pay bills… to live.

And then a few hours later, the Obama Administration vowed to appeal that ruling.

Clearly, there is a lot of work to be done right now in the Gulf of Mexico. But engaging in a protracted legal battle of this sort is counterproductive to all parties attempting to move forward following the tragic explosion last spring. CEA applauds the ruling by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, which will help keep jobs in the region and help support a strong domestic energy industry at a critical point in time when we are working to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fuel. And while we have always maintained that a six-month moratorium would make a bad situation worse, we are particularly concerned that a lengthy legal battle could serve to keep many rigs shut even longer than six months, while posing an unnecessary distraction to the important work at hand.

What’s at stake? The Wall Street Journal reports that by the end of this week, eight of the 33 rigs covered by the moratorium will have left the region (and.. what about those rigs that produce only natural gas?  What is the justification for shutting those rigs down too?). And because of the steep daily costs of operating a rig, those that depart and begin drilling in another region are not likely to quickly return. What’s at stake is the future of a vital industry.

And while the potential loss of jobs is massive, the potential economic impact of a moratorium would be much more far-reaching. Deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico accounted for 23% of all the oil produced in the United States last year.

Any policy that cuts into that supply impacts all of us – consumers, families, truckers, seniors and small businesses all around the country.

Taking our conventional energy resources off the table before alternative energy sources are ready for prime time will have significant negative impacts on our economy.

We all want a domestic oil industry that is productive and safe. But we also agree with Judge Martin Feldman that a lengthy moratorium is an “arbitrary” response that will serve no real purpose but could do a lot of damage.

Federal Judge Reversal of Offshore Moratorium a Winner for American Consumers

HOUSTON – June 22, 2010 David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), issued this statement regarding U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman’s ruling today in New Orleans, which overturned President Obama’s six-month moratorium on domestic offshore oil and natural gas development:

“Tens of thousands of Americans in the Gulf Coast and throughout the nation who help deliver, use or rely upon homegrown oil and natural gas received some encouraging news today. Judge Feldman’s commonsense ruling underscores the arbitrary nature in which President Obama put this short-sighted moratorium in place.

“Unfortunately, the Administration has already indicated that it will work to reinstate its job-killing offshore moratorium. Further, despite the court’s ruling, the Administration could delay issuing permits or implement other mechanisms to keep the drilling delay in place.

“Consumers, families, truckers, seniors and small businesses nationwide recognize that expanding the production of all forms of energy here at home – oil, natural gas, wind, solar, coal, nuclear – and advancing commonsense conversation measures that allows us to use our energy more wisely, are essential components of our long-term energy future.

“However, taking our conventional energy resources off the table before alternative energy sources are ready for prime time will have significant negative impacts on our economy. In order to spur job creation and economic growth and compete with the global economy, we must immediately allow development of our offshore resources in the Gulf and in Alaska.”

Alaska Support Industry Alliance Submits Pro-Development Comments

Click here to view comments submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior regarding oil and gas development in Alaska, June 22, 2010.

Efficient air conditioning

It’s that time of year again, at least throughout most of the country. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have access to air conditioning in our homes and places of work are spending a lot of time indoors, happy to have refuge from the heat.

Happy that is, until the power bill arrives at the end of the month.

The fact is, air conditioning can be pricey. During the hottest months, it can easily account for more than half of a family’s monthly power bill. And while people have resorted to all sorts of tricks to keep the power bill down when the mercury rises, from frequently showering to donning wet clothes, few of these tips provide sustained cooling to people who can’t afford air conditioning.

Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory last week had news of a potential breakthrough that could cool the air far more efficiently. The prototype they developed eliminates the condenser and the compressor, which are core components – and also the power hogs – of today’s air conditioning systems. In their place, it uses something called an evaporative cooler, which essentially evaporates water from a wet surface with a fan to create cool air.

Scientists who developed the technology, known as Desiccant-Enhanced evaporative or DEVap, are hopeful it could lower energy consumption from air conditioning by up to 75%, while at the same time delivering other benefits.

Because the technology removes moisture from the air, it could also reduce humidity levels. Anyone who’s ever complained, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” understands the value of that.

Now the reality check: Even under the most optimistic forecasts, this technology is a good three years from being commercialized, and even then it could face barriers to widespread adoption. Like solar-powered air conditioners, which offer the promise of reduced energy use, but have not yet been widely adopted, the DEVap technology is expensive. Although it would produce large energy savings, it is not yet clear that those long-term savings would offset the steep upfront investment.

This cost-benefit ratio is a critical detail that limits the adoption of so many promising new technologies, in renewable energy and other industries. It helps — to a point — to educate investors about the long-term cost savings. But we also need to recognize that less expensive technologies will always be adopted more rapidly and that it often makes sense to invest in promising new technologies to drive down their cost.

And, with temperatures topping 90 throughout much of the country, we must also remember that air conditioning is not a luxury. It can be a matter of life and death and people should be able to access the basic comfort it provides without breaking the bank.

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