[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
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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
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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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