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It's time for the U.S. to develop an energy plan—and stick to it

By Lisa Murkowski

As a senator for Alaska, I'm reminded of the potential of renewable energy every time I return home.

For those of you who haven't been to the Last Frontier, it's the biggest stage for renewables that you'll find anywhere. We have two-thirds of the nation's coastline—more than all the other states combined. We're more than twice as large as Texas, and throughout the state, we are literally an energy storehouse. We have tremendous potential for wind, geothermal, hydropower, ocean energy, biomass, and solar. And the need for clean, affordable energy is not anywhere greater than in rural Alaska, which includes our nation's true frontier towns.

There's a lot of reason for optimism about clean technologies. New ideas are emerging, costs are coming down, and deployment is increasing. All of those are welcome developments for our energy supply and the global environment. Federal policies have played a role, but much of the progress we've seen is the direct result of your creativity and determination.

I would like to share my perspective on how we can ensure that renewable energy enjoys a brighter future. It starts with my overarching philosophy about what our nation's energy policy should look like. I'm a strong believer in an "all of the above" approach—and that certainly includes a place for renewable energy. In fact, I believe our policies should reflect five primary goals, many of which favor renewable resources: we should continually strive to make our energy supply more abundant, affordable, clean, diverse, and domestic.

Coming from Alaska, I know that our nation's tremendous resource base can help us reach those goals. By harnessing all of our resources, we can grow our economy, create jobs, and strengthen our national security. We should promote everything from energy efficiency to hydropower and clean coal. But we also have to be careful. Our policies can't sacrifice the economy or the budget for the environment. We have to protect all three.

So how can we do this? I believe there are a number of steps that can be taken—by the federal government, by state and local governments, and by private companies—that will lead to meaningful progress on clean energy.

I recently participated in a roundtable discussion on energy innovation with Bill Gates, Norm Augustine, and several other distinguished business leaders. One speaker remarked that while we're very good at coming up with plans, we're terrible at sticking to them. And I think that's particularly true for energy. We regularly authorize programs that have little chance of being funded. We pass short-term tax credits, change them up or let them lapse, and then wonder why they weren't successful. We need to design policies that can endure both the passage of time and shifts in party lines and that will receive consistent funding for five years or ten years—or longer.

So now, the biggest question. Is it possible to ensure a steady stream of funding for renewable energy? My answer is yes—absolutely.

I look at forecasts and see that our nation now imports about nine million barrels of oil per day, and 25 years from now, that number is projected to be largely unchanged. Think about that: eight or nine million barrels a day, at $100 a barrel or perhaps higher, for the next quarter century. That will cost our nation trillions of dollars that we can't spare, and the truth is, we have the resources right here at home to dramatically reduce those costs.

If we can agree to develop more of our conventional resources, that would provide billions and billions of dollars in revenues for the Treasury each year. And if we're smart enough to dedicate a significant portion of those revenues for clean energy, that will finally provide the makings of a legitimate long-term energy policy—a policy where the substantial government revenues from fossil fuels are used to speed up the development of their replacements. Our best energy policy will not rely on new mandates or higher taxes—it will instead help fossil fuels work themselves out of a job.

So when I consider the best ways to keep energy prices low, to create new jobs, and to bolster our national security, one approach stands out. Our best path forward is to increase domestic energy production and ensure that some of the returns to the Treasury are used wisely to develop the resources we will depend on in the future.

For the Record is an excerpt of a speech given by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at the RETECH conference, hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) in September 2011.

March/April 2012