Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 17
03/02/2005 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HCR3 | |
| HB150 | |
| HB147 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HCR 3 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 147 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 150 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HCR 3-RENEWABLE ENERGY ALASKA PROJECT CHAIR ANDERSON announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 3, Relating to renewable energy resource development. 3:29:08 PM REPRESENTATIVE JAY RAMRAS, Alaska State Legislature, introduced the bill, stating that although the state is awash in petroleum and oil, the state does have other alternative energy sources. Alaska has an opportunity to be at the forefront of the energy production and this resolution recognizes these facts and urges the Governor and his office to work with these individuals and groups aimed at developing these future energy sources. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS then stated that the local utility company in Fairbanks issues a magazine that recently had some interesting facts about green power coming to the area that Golden Valley Electric Association manages. This article, he said, has some interesting statistics: -86 percent agree that electrical utilities need to plan for the eventual demise of nonrenewable fossil fuels. -82 percent agree that Alaskans need to invest now for future development of alternative energy. -79 percent agree that it means a lot that energy come from environmentally sound sources. -72 percent agree that developing green power is necessary to reduce pollution emissions from fossil fuels. -64 percent agree that increasing the use of green power will reduce the need for imported petroleum and increase national security. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS ended by stating that he was very excited about this resolution and will have a bill that will begin by showing initial steps being made by communities in Bethel, who are experimenting with wind power by using Alaska Industrial Development Authority to help bring down the costs for the consumers. 3:31:20 PM REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS continued his conclusion by stating that the big issue for this particular subject is the cost of alternative energy sources. This is, he said, the big issue with alternative energy. He pointed out that it costs way more to produce a kilowatt than it does with more conventional energy sources. 3:31:51 PM CHAIR ANDERSON indicated that he supported the resolution and was looking forward to seeing the bill in final form. He then asked Representative Crawford if it were similar to one of his bills. REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD answered that is was very similar to a several bills and he thought it was excellent then and added that Ramras had made it an even better bill. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG, in regards to a conference on climate change with energy conservation, he found that many states are finding that some legislators are creating what they believe to be 'Sons of Kyoto' bills, which, he said, referred to a very promising but ultimately unsigned environmental treaty between various countries of the world and the United States. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG indicated that he felt that this bill had a strange ring to the Kyoto protocol and that he knew that similar legislation in other states were when they made policy statements on portfolio allocation of generations for the power generation capabilities of the future. This set state policy about what types of sources are used. He then asked if it was appropriate for legislature to get involved in energy legislation. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS answered that he agreed that it was an appropriate issue. He indicated that Alaska has unique needs for energy sources. One example of this is wind power in the Fairbanks area. This type of energy is really not particularly valuable since that area has good reserves of coal and can generate electricity that way. He then stated that the goal is to deliver thermal units of energy across the state cheaply and that there are many industries that require an abundance of energy and alternate energy is a viable option. He pointed out an example in California where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is working on creating the 'Hydrogen Highway'. For Alaska to be an innovator, he said, even as the state sits upon thousands of barrels of crude oil and a healthy supply of natural gas, the state must pursue alternative energy options. This move, he said, should be applauded and not continually couched into a political statement [against progressive thinking]. He ended by stating that this speaks to the desires of many for Alaska to be a leader in energy development. 3:36:47 PM REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG replied that he agreed with the sentiments of the previous speaker, and then said that it's interesting to note that interest in the market for wind power has grown so substantially in Europe and the entry of General Electric into creating new types of turbines that have been able to drive the cost down from 20 cents per kilowatt hour to 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour. He pointed out that despite this development, green power always costs more than conventional sources. However, he commented that many people are willing to pay more for the service because it comes from alternative source. He then asked if Representative Ramras had ever taken a poll in the Valley to determine if this were the case there as well. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS answered that this does seem contradictory since green power has the characteristic of being cheaper since it is free and renewable. It can be cheaper than conventional sources if, in the case of wind power, the turbines are optimally placed in a wind farm that is large enough to see significant size of product. He said that this is evidenced with the communities of Palmer and Bethel, which are good examples of this industrial sized green power being implemented. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS continued to state that it would behoove the rest of the state to look to develop alternative energy sources "where we can, where it's wise and where we are starved for it, and in whatever form makes the best sense". REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS stated, in deference to his own committee efforts, that when his committee hears the next bill, in which the committee asks the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) to help finance the construction of alternative energy sources for those communities for whom it does make sense, you would be pleased with the direction and leadership that we are trying to provide through this legislative body. 3:39:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG asked if anyone else was supporting it, more specifically AIDA. REPRESENTATIVE RAMRAS affirmed his own sentiments and commented that he did not care, since AIDA had moved away from being interested in what is good for the average Alaskan. He then added that cheap power development is a critical part of Alaska's future in its rural communities. 3:40:43 PM CHRIS ROSE, Executive Director for the New Energy for Alaska Project, announced his full support for the resolution and believed that the state has the unique opportunity to be leaders in this field. He indicated that many states had already benefited economically with jobs created in the construction associated with new alternative energy sources, and because of the high tech businesses that are moving into these states. This is, he said, due to these governments realization of the need for diverse energy sources. He ended by stating that Alaska has many more opportunities than these states to lead in this field, including geothermal, tidal, wind, hydroelectric, which are just a few examples. 3:42:07 PM MR. ROSE explained that hydrogen is something that is going to sustain Americans in the future and since there is an increasing demand for energy in the world, especially from third world countries like India and China, and that the world's reserve of fossil fuels is finite, and a contributing factor to planet wide pollution, and lastly concern about the related issue of climate change. MR. ROSE announced that right now there are wind farms being built all over the Midwest and that opportunity is here as well. He illustrated this point by referring to Fire Island off the coast of Anchorage, Alaska. The scale of that project will enable it to be very economically competitive with natural gas and coal fire plants at 4 cents a kilowatt an hour. The price of natural gas and coal are going up and the price of wind is negative- it is free. He indicates that his group, made up of various utility companies, have all come together to support this resolution and the eventual use of alternative energy sources. 3:44:05 PM REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD thanked the previous speaker for the article today in the local paper and told the committee that renewable energy does not have to be in conflict with the standard types of energy and instead should be seen as natural progression and an eventuality. MR. ROSE stated that this is true for Alaskans and that the creation of Hydrogen fuel begins with the already plentiful natural resources, like geothermal and wind, that can be used for hydrogen production, through electrolysis. The source for hydrogen is water and this is very plentiful for Alaskans. CHAIR ANDERSON asked if there was anyone in the committee that wanted to move the bill out. REPRESENTATIVE CRAWFORD moved to report HCR 3 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
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