|
Summit on Oregon’s Energy Future 2008
OPENING REMARKS BY GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thank you Jim for your very generous introduction.
I also want to thank the entire Nike family – not only for allowing us to meet in this beautiful venue, but for being an indispensible anchor for Oregon’s economy. I’d like to begin by welcoming all of you to this Energy Summit. I often say that Oregon owns the summer. So if you’re asking yourself: Why are we indoors on this beautiful August day – my answer is, to begin writing a new chapter to the always unfolding story of Oregon – and who we are as a people.
Energy – where it comes from, how we use it, how much we pay for it, and how we make the transition to an independent renewable energy future – will define us as Oregonians for generations to come.
So we do not have the luxury of getting energy wrong!
But replacing an energy system that has been in place for decades – with a system based on clean renewable energy – will take money, planning, and most of all time. Literally and figuratively – we’re talking about turning around a fleet of super tankers in the middle of the ocean. So thank you for being here – and for adding your experience, perspective and advocacy to the most important public policy question we – as citizens of Oregon – must answer in the 21st century: How do we give – in a very real way – power to the people?
I’d like to read you something. It is about the passage of our landmark land use system: .“[I]t can only be understood as a response to a growing attitude of concern, and the feeling of most Oregonians that it was not too late for the state to take control of its destiny by solving the problems that threatened the lifestyle long cherished by Oregonians.”
These words are not new. They come from a report written in 1974 following the passage of Senate Bill 100 – which created Oregon’s statewide land use planning system. That may seem long ago and far away, but as Shakespeare wrote – what’s past is prologue.
With fuel costs rising. With energy demand outstripping domestic supply. With climate change no longer a theory – but a proven fact. With renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation the wave of the future – but no clear path for transitioning to that future, Oregonians are once again concerned. And with good reason.
But what was true more than 30 years ago is still true – it is not too late to take control of our energy destiny and solve the biggest threat to Oregon’s cherished way of life. That threat is the perfect storm of too much carbon, too high energy costs, too much risk to the competitiveness of Oregon businesses, and the lack of a strategic energy vision for how we get from where we are today – to where we want to be in the future.
But just as we have done in the past with cleaning up the Willamette River, keeping our beaches a public trust, and preserving our open spaces, I pledge that we will find a vision for Oregon’s energy future that enshrines our values, strengthens our economy, and serves as a blueprint for the rest of America to embrace and follow.
So why have I called this Summit?
First – to expand a dialogue with the people of Oregon about how we transition to a clean, renewable, and energy independent economy.
Second – to celebrate Oregon’s recognized national leadership on the issue of renewable energy and conservation – and to review the significant progress we’ve made over the last several years to create a sustainable energy policy in Oregon.
Third – to bring together a diverse group of Oregonians to speak openly, disagree respectfully, and work collaboratively on an energy plan that bridges the gap between the status quo – which is no longer acceptable – and freedom from carbon, which is not yet attainable. In other words, we need to chart a short-term strategy while we advance our long-term vision for an energy independent Oregon.
And fourth – to put the cold facts on the table so the public knows what’s at stake; knows what options are available; and knows that my bottom line is this: When it comes to energy – Oregon families and businesses must always have supply certainty and price stability.
With only two and half years left in my administration, it would be easy for me to leave the political hot potato of energy to the next Governor – or on the doorstep of the federal government, in the hope that they’ll actually open the door. But I have no intention of doing that, and I’ll give you four good reasons why.
One – I intend to be Governor right up to my last day in office.
Two – This issue cannot wait. Delay makes the hole we’re already in that much deeper.
Three – This issue is too big for any of the major players to solve on their own. To paraphrase Ben Franklin: Government, utilities, business, labor, environmentalists and consumers must work together – or we will all fail separately.
And four – I see taking on the challenge of creating a new energy future for Oregon – and America – as more than an economic necessity. It is a moral imperative.
Look around the globe. Russia invades Georgia with impunity – in part because Europe is dependent on Russian oil and natural gas, which is tapped in and piped through the Caucuses. The rising price of oil – fed by fear of another oil shock and increasing demand – is both hurting the American economy and a leading indicator of the growing strength of China’s economy.
Poor countries are getting poorer because they can’t afford energy – and our domestic politics is being trivialized by the federal government’s failure to develop a strategic national energy policy that explains to our citizens the tough choices that lie ahead.
And as I mentioned – global warming is real. Do we really want to pass on to our children and grandchildren a sick planet of rising sea levels, arid farmland, less water for fish – and potentially catastrophic forest fires? The right answer – and the moral answer – is no.
This Energy Summit – with its large cross-section of participants and even larger mission – is a first for Oregon. But it is not the first step we’ve taken toward a renewable energy future. That happened in 2003 when I entered the first regional partnership in the West with the governors of Washington and California to combat global warming. This became known as the Western Climate Initiative.
I created the state’s first global warming advisory group with the charge to find ways to reverse the detrimental impact of carbon on our environment and economy. The group recommended the most aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals in the nation, which – when fully implemented – will reduce CO2 emissions by roughly 6-million metric tons.
In 2007, we passed energy legislation – including renewable electricity and renewable fuels standards – that will keep Oregon in the forefront of the fight against climate change, and move us toward a clean energy future. Under these standards, 25-percent of Oregon’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2025.
So, again, we’ve made significant progress. And in doing so we’ve sent a strong message to the national government: It’s time to get off the sidelines and start leading on this issue. But whether you do or you don’t – Oregon and other states are moving ahead and will not stop!
The fact is: I am committed in the 2009 legislative session to continuing our aggressive investment in alternative and renewable fuels; energy conservation and efficiency; green technology and the jobs that are created from that technology; and policies that reduce our dependence on fossil fuels – and spur sustainable development.
But as we think and invest long-term, we need a reality check about the short-term. As I’ve already suggested, the time has come to put some uncomfortable truths on the table. One of those truths is: Oregon’s population is growing – and it is going to keep growing. There will be a 41-percent increase in population – or more than 1-million new Oregonians by the year 2030.
This population growth means our economy will also grow. That is a good news story. We want economic growth. It creates jobs and wealth. But it also places ever greater demands on our supply of energy. Oregon’s growing population also means there will also be more vehicles on the road – creating more CO2 emissions. That’s why the transportation plan I will submit to the Legislature next year will be greener than any in Oregon history.
Demand for energy will go up as more people and businesses tap into the electrical grid. So in order to maintain certainty and price stability – supply will have to go up too. Much as we might wish otherwise – for at least the next decade – renewable energy will not – by itself – be able to satisfy Oregon’s demand for energy.
Furthermore – all three elements of our energy infrastructure – generation, transmission, and distribution – face major economic and environmental obstacles. Generation by coal, oil, and natural gas – to varying degrees – contribute to global warming. Nuclear power plants are hugely expensive and time-consuming to build – and the industry has still not solved the problem of how to store radioactive waste. The bottom line is: Construction of new generation facilities – including hydroelectric – is slowing at the same time electricity use is soaring. But even if we have enough generating capacity to meet our future demand for electricity – we need to invest in transmission infrastructure to move that electricity from where it is generated to where it is distributed.
The toughest truth we have to face is that the days of cheap, plentiful, energy – that can be extracted without concern about the environment – are over. And they are not coming back. That’s why we need new thinking. We need the courage to make hard decisions – and pragmatic compromises. And at least for the near term – we need to accept solutions that may not be to everyone’s liking.
Each of you in this room almost certainly has at least one energy proposal that you would like taken off the table – or believe must be left on the table. It might be cap and trade. It might be LNG. It might be natural gas from the Rockies. It might be nuclear. It might be drilling off shore. It might be “clean” coal. It might be taking down dams – or building more. It might be investment in renewable energy technology, such as solar, wind, wave, and geothermal. Or it might simply be conservation and investing in energy efficiency.
But this is not a Summit for drawing lines in the sand. This is a Summit for working across lines – between power generators and power users, between urban and rural Oregon, between industrial users and residential users, between the environmental community and the business community, and between citizens and their government.
What – specifically – do I want you to work on together during this Summit? Two issues: Or to be more exact – the answer to two questions. The first is: How do we meet the growing energy demands of today as we transition to a clean and energy independent Oregon? In other words, what are the near-term energy issues that need to be addressed – and included in a comprehensive state energy policy?
In the broadest sense, we know these issues include supply, demand, cost, protecting the environment, retaining Oregon businesses and keeping them competitive in the global economy, and saving existing jobs while we create thousands of new ones tied to renewable energy and green technology. But – if you’ll pardon the expression – we need to drill a lot deeper on these issues than we ever have before.
The second question that we need to think about is: What must we do to foster an ongoing dialogue about energy that will continue long past today, and ultimately lead to a blueprint for how we transition to an independent and renewable energy policy for Oregon. In other words, how do we organize the competing interests and concerns about energy in a way that is transparent, science-based, protects the Oregon economy, keeps the public well informed, and is both fair – and perceived to be fair?
My own belief is that we don’t want a big bureaucracy. But we do want a structure that is visionary. Continuously updated as new facts and technology come into play. And – again – brings the public along every step of the way. Because if I’m sure of nothing else, I’m sure of this: If the public doesn’t understand what we’re doing with energy policy – the public will reject what we’re doing with energy policy.
I started these welcoming remarks by drawing a historical comparison to the passage of Senate Bill 100 in 1973 – which put Oregon in the forefront of rational policymaking about the use and protection of land. That’s what we need to do with energy. Let me read again from the same report I quoted earlier: “[The bill] received support from the Governor, Legislature, state and local officials, realtors, environmentalists, planners, business and labor representatives, and concerned citizens. These groups were all involved…from its initiation through the drafting and amending stages.”
As we begin the substantive discussions of this Summit – Senate Bill 100 reminds us that when we work together, when we put our love of Oregon above all else, and when we take ownership of our future – there is nothing we cannot accomplish. In the words of the 1974 report I just read from we are at the “initiation” stage of writing a comprehensive policy that will carry us to a clean and renewable energy future.
Now let’s get to work!
Thank you.
|
