[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 171 (Thursday, November 19, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8138-S8140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ENERGY INNOVATION

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, let me switch to a better topic, and 
that is one I know the Presiding Officer cares a great deal about; that 
is, the issue of energy and the importance of energy to our Nation's 
economy and to our overall health.
  I have come to this floor many times to highlight what I believe are 
the shortsighted, anti-energy decisions that we have seen come from 
this administration. Whether we are talking about the Keystone XL 
Pipeline, more than 7 years of delay and the eventual rejection of that 
infrastructure, whether it is the burdensome rules coming out of the 
EPA that raise the energy costs or whether it is the actions from the 
Department of Interior that seek to halt resource development in 
Federal areas, this administration has rarely ever worked with us to 
promote responsible energy, mineral, and timber development.
  In Alaska this ever-shifting Federal regulatory environment played a 
very key role in the recent decision by Shell to abandon 7 years of 
work and $7 billion of investment in the offshore Arctic. It was just 
this week we received word that another company, looking again at low 
oil prices but seeing this same deteriorating regulatory environment, 
decided to follow suit, and they are seeking to return their leases in 
the offshore.
  The Obama administration has also canceled offshore lease sales in 
the State. It has hamstrung projects in our National Petroleum Reserve, 
which we absolutely need if we are ever going to refill our Trans-
Alaska Pipeline. It has placed half of the National Petroleum Reserve 
off-limits, even though it was specifically designated for development. 
Of course we all know the situation in ANWR. This administration is 
trying to lock away 10 billion barrels of oil in the nonwilderness 
portion of

[[Page S8139]]

ANWR, which could be safely produced with development of just 0.01 
percent of its surface area. The list goes on and on.
  I told you I was going to move to more promising and more uplifting 
subjects than Frankenfish and what the administration has done to 
suppress our ability to access our energy resources. I do want to move 
to another area because I think this is an area and a focus that I 
would like to believe we can find support, not only working with the 
administration but working with colleagues and building some 
partnerships on both the public and the private side. This is in the 
area of energy innovation, where I believe there is greater hope for 
working together with this administration to make a real difference for 
our Nation. Innovation holds tremendous promise, not just for us as 
policymakers but also in terms of long-lasting benefits that it can 
deliver for not only the United States but around the world.
  Innovation doesn't require more complex and costly regulations. It 
doesn't need to choose winners or losers in the energy sector. Instead, 
innovation offers a chance at common ground that will deliver results 
and help power our Nation for decades to come. No matter your 
motivation for seeking cleaner and more affordable energy, we should 
all be able to agree that without innovation--without pushing every day 
for that greater technology--our energy future and our economic 
prosperity are hardly secure.
  The good news for us in this country is that the United States is the 
global leader in innovation. We hear this is a race and that America is 
falling behind, but I would contend that our strength and skill are 
unmatched. Our innovation, ideas, inventions and our products and 
processes have changed history and in turn changed the world.
  The United States has led the way in research and development that 
has changed our lives and lives across the world for the better. Among 
Federal agencies, the Department of Energy, in particular, has played 
an important role in these efforts, and I think they can make even 
greater contributions, especially when it comes to vital basic 
research.
  The DOE is hardly perfect. Many of us would make changes to the scope 
of its mission and improve its priorities if we were given the chance, 
but given that, the Department has also sparked innovation that has 
helped transform the global energy landscape. The most successful 
innovations give us more energy, reduce the amount of energy we use, as 
well as lower the cost we pay for energy. I think as we move forward we 
should keep those goals in focus and we will improve. Increasing access 
to energy, making it more affordable, and improving its environmental 
performance are the key factors that drive our innovation policy.
  Those of us on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee are always 
talking about innovation and how best to promote it through reasonable 
Federal policies. We understand how critical it is to our Nation's 
future. That is why energy and the innovation part of energy is a key 
part of our broad bipartisan Energy bill that we reported through the 
energy committee by a vote of 18 to 4 back in July.
  The bill also includes legislation that is authored by Senator 
Alexander to renew some of the energy-related portions of the America 
COMPETES Act. We have agreed to authorize a 4-percent increase in 
funding for basic energy research each year, which I think puts us on a 
responsible path to double our Nation's commitment to it.
  It is basic research that is at the heart of the mission of our 
system of national labs and also many of our research universities. The 
men and women in the research sector are pushing to make that 
fundamental discovery--to conduct the basic research that could find 
the next big thing for energy. This type of research should be a 
priority for us, and the Department of Energy should be committed to 
helping new discoveries transition to market viability.
  Within this bipartisan bill we also reauthorize the ARPA-E Program, 
which solicits ideas that are too early for private sector investment 
but with bridge funding has the opportunity to transform the energy 
sector. ARPA-E is a true hands-on program that ensures awardees meet 
milestones toward the goal of market viability. ARPA-E hasn't been 
around that long, but it has been promoting some good ideas, strong 
ideas, and producing some good results.

  Our bill also supports innovation in a number of other areas; 
specifically, energy efficiency, energy storage, and distribution; in 
vehicles it provides for hybrid microgrid systems; and for recycling, 
for geothermal power, for marine hydrokinetic, and for many other 
developing technologies.
  Recently, we have also seen more reports of private individuals and 
companies who plan to invest in energy technologies with the potential 
to transform the way energy is produced, delivered, and consumed. This, 
too, will help drive energy innovation in this country.
  Back in July, Bill Gates announced his personal commitment to invest 
$1 billion over 5 years to advance new energy technologies. He made 
that commitment based on his recognition that currently available 
energy options will not allow the world to achieve its much discussed 
climate goals in a way that also works to reduce the costs for people 
using energy. It is one thing to be working toward climate goals, but 
in doing so if all that we do is increase the cost to the consumer, 
that doesn't help us. His focus is as much on clean air and clean water 
as it is on lifting people around the world out of poverty.
  I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Gates several weeks ago and 
look forward to seeing what comes out of his commitment. I am also 
following the possibilities that are coming out of venture capital and 
other private investments. I think these efforts augment the Federal 
research and development dollars, in many cases ensuring that promising 
technologies are not just set up on a shelf somewhere but are pursued 
to a successful and productive result.
  Now you have heard me say it on the floor many times, but we in the 
State of Alaska are desperate to see energy innovation. Energy prices 
in many parts of Alaska are much higher than the prices paid by our 
friends in the lower 48. In some communities in Alaska it costs 40 to 
50 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity. In certain parts of the 
State, over half of a family's budget goes just toward energy to keep 
warm and keep the lights on. Can you imagine what that means when over 
half of your family's budget--half of your income--is used just to keep 
your lights on and keep yourself warm? It doesn't leave a lot for 
anything else, such as educating your kids, feeding them or for health 
care. It is a huge issue for us. There are so many things that 
contribute to the high cost of energy. It is the big geography and the 
lack of a comprehensive and interconnected energy delivery system. We 
have tremendous energy potential in the State of Alaska, and 
unfortunately many of our communities are just not powered by it. We 
have natural gas in abundance, and yet our second largest community in 
Alaska doesn't have access to natural gas. We are trying to get it 
there, but that is our current reality.
  Many communities in rural Alaska still rely on diesel to generate 
their power. Delivering the diesel, whether it is moving it up river by 
barge or flying it in by plane is hugely expensive. It is not 
sustainable. Innovation is essential to moving these rural 
communities--and even the not so rural communities--off diesel and onto 
more sustainable, locally generated, and less expensive energy systems.
  What we are doing in Alaska is bringing some very innovative 
technologies to communities around the State through a variety of 
State-run programs that are largely financed by the revenues that are 
derived from our oil production. Think about that. We are a State that 
derives most of our revenues and income from oil. We are taking a 
nonrenewable energy source, taking the revenues from that and helping 
to facilitate our renewable resources--our resources that will be there 
for well into the future. These programs need to be financed. We are 
doing so much of it from our oil production. Responsible development of 
Alaska's resources has enabled our State to take the necessary steps to 
improve energy delivery in our remote communities. In many ways this is 
almost like a virtuous cycle, where current energy production helps 
fund the next generation of energy production and where we harness

[[Page S8140]]

today's energy to significantly improve the lives of our people.
  What we are seeing in the State are several communities working with 
various State agencies to integrate wind, solar, and geothermal into 
their electricity delivery system in an effort to displace the power 
that is normally generated from expensive diesel. It is the microgrids 
that we are seeing that are coming to be found as the solution. We are 
home to more microgrids in the State of Alaska than any other State out 
there. That is largely because they are the only option for us. They 
are the only option for many of our communities that lie far outside 
any regional transmission grid. We have transmission grids in what we 
call the Railbelt area. But it is difficult when you have large 
geography and small population numbers. So you are going to have to 
figure out how you can literally power one village at a time or maybe 
you get lucky and you are able to cluster a few.

  But knowing what, for instance, the island of Kodiak has done with 
being able to power a major seafood-producing port through wind, 
combined with their hydro resources and also utilizing batteries--that 
area in Kodiak is almost 100 percent powered by renewable resources. 
This, again, is one of the major seafood-producing ports not only in 
the State but in the country. So the energy that is needed for those 
processes is coming to us by renewable energy sources--almost 100 
percent. The irony--and we were able to talk about this briefly in the 
energy committee this morning--is that in order to meet increased 
demand in Kodiak, they are going to need to expand one of their hydro 
facilities, Terror Lake, and so they have asked for assistance with 
that. If they cannot get the expansion, which some are objecting to 
because they don't want to see an expansion of that dam, what will 
happen? You go back to diesel. You go back to diesel. That is not the 
answer here.
  So what we have been doing with pioneering of our microgrids is 
something that I think provides States and the Federal Government with 
ample opportunities to conduct research and develop solutions to better 
integrate renewable technologies into these microgrids. In order for 
renewable technologies to be effective in the State, innovative 
research and development is required, and I think the result of those 
efforts has made a dramatic difference in many communities.
  Bringing renewables online in remote communities like Kodiak has 
displaced hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel, not only 
saving the people who live there hundreds of thousands of dollars but 
resulting in a cleaner environment overall.
  I do think it is exciting to think about what a difference future 
innovations in renewable technologies and energy storage could mean for 
communities not only in a place like Alaska but really around our 
country and around the world. Whether it is through Federal research 
and development, whether it is through our State programs that are 
assisting our private capital, promoting innovation is a clear path to 
lower energy costs and a future with cleaner water and cleaner air.
  We might not agree on every energy policy that comes to this Chamber, 
but I hope we can all agree that energy innovation is one key to 
ensuring our economic growth, our national security, as well as our 
international competitiveness. I look forward to working with 
colleagues in all of these areas.
  With that, I see that my friend and colleague from Kansas--a 
gentleman who is always filled with thanksgiving and who has shared 
that with many of us today--is here on the floor, and so I will yield 
at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from 
Alaska for her kind comments, her advice, and her help on several 
important issues we have worked on together. I hope she enjoyed the 
Thanksgiving meal we had--I guess it is called the Thursday lunch 
bunch.

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