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Jim: jdipeso@rep.org
(253) 740-2066 / 2011
Archive / 2010
Archive
Oklahoma
Energy Plan Is OK
November 29, 2011
Oklahoma
is a long way from Washington, DC, which Ronald Reagan used to call the
puzzle palace.
That might explain why Oklahoma’s first state energy plan, released
earlier this month by Republican Governor Mary Fallin, is blessedly
free of the ideological posturing and partisan cant that afflicts
energy debates in the nation’s capital, to the point that an observer
who didn’t know better would conclude that wind turbines are Democrats
and coal-burning power plants are Republicans.
Instead, Fallin’s energy plan is a practical, balanced, mainstream
strategy that sticks to the facts, maintains a civil tone, and treats
energy as an integrated system in which resources—fossil and
renewable—should be optimized to deliver clean, affordable, and
reliable energy, not teased apart and treated in isolation, either as
political favorites or whipping boys.
What did Fallin get right? Plenty.
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin
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Efficiency
Fallin treats efficiency as the foundation of an energy strategy, as it
should be, since efficiency “leverages all forms of supply by
stretching the value a given unit of energy supplies.” Among other
things, her plan calls for using lifecycle rather than first-cost
analysis to plan state capital investments, upgraded local building
codes, industrial rate structures that encourage demand-side
management, and clearing away obstacles—such as high standby
charges—for industries to install combined heat and power systems that
squeeze more value out of each unit of fuel.
Renewables
Unlike DC ideologues who rattle on about renewables as the spawn of
some socialist devil, Fallin gives renewables their due. To be sure,
Oklahoma has lots of wind and plenty to spare. Rodgers and Hammerstein
weren’t making things up when they wrote that famous song lyric about
Oklahoma’s wind. Still, it’s never a bad idea to play to your
strengths. Oklahoma, already number 8 in the country in installed wind
generation capacity, has barely scratched the surface of its wind
development potential.
Fallin’s plan supports transmission investments to connect wind power
to loads, and calls for the wind and gas industries to work together on
integrated power development in which gas-fired power plants, which can
be up and running quickly, could back up variable wind plants, allowing
for easier integration of wind energy into the 24/7 grid. It gives a
shout-out to Oklahoma’s 15 percent renewable energy target and suggests
getting more ambitious as time goes on.
Oil and Gas
Oklahoma grew up as an oil state and it’s still a major oil producer,
but Oklahoma’s ace in the hole is natural gas. Oklahoma in 2009
produced more than 8 percent of total U.S. gas needs, and exported
two-thirds of its production to other states. With new drilling
technologies making shale gas accessible, Fallin sees a huge market for
gas-fired generation and transportation, which would bring her state
thousands of jobs, millions in tax revenue, less pressure on rivers and
lakes used for power plant cooling water, and better air quality for
Oklahomans.
In tandem with the release of her plan, Fallin signed an agreement with
her Colorado counterpart, John Hickenlooper, on joint procurement of
natural gas-fueled fleet vehicles. Building a market for natural gas
vehicles would help add some much-needed competition for oil in the
transportation energy market.
Greens will find aspects of the plan to quibble with. Fallin raises
concerns about the suite of air quality rules coming down the EPA pike,
but steers clear of hyperventilated DC sloganeering that clean air
regulations will bring on the apocalypse. In a calm voice, her
plan makes a reasonable argument that the complexity of the rules and
their near-term deadlines could result in “suboptimal decision-making.”
Nor does her plan mention climate change. Nevertheless, it points that
capturing CO2 to coax more petroleum out of oil reservoirs would keep a
lot of CO2 out of the atmosphere, as well as extend the lives of old
fields.
So, what does Governor Fallin’s plan mean for people who don’t live in
Oklahoma? It’s a model that Congress—if it can get beyond its
dysfunctional ways—could apply for addressing national energy issues.
Stick to the facts, avoid vein-throbbing rhetoric, don’t paint energy
resources in ideological colors, and find ways in which all forms of
energy can contribute towards providing heat, light, and motive power
in ways that keep homes comfortable, people and goods on the move,
energy bills reasonable, and the air and water clean.
Nice work, Governor.
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