Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability Initiative

More than a dozen energy experts convened in Houston, Texas, on February 13, 2009, for the first in a series of four regionally-based energy summits being held by the Council on Competitiveness. The Southern Energy Summit was hosted by Marathon Oil Corporation, and participants explored the public policy, business and technological challenges to increasing the diversity and sustainability of U.S. energy supplies. There was strong consensus that no single form of energy can satisfy the projected doubling, if not tripling, of demand by the year 2050 while also meeting pressing environmental challenges, including climate change. Innovative technology such as carbon capture and storage, new mitigation techniques and alternative forms of energy must all be brought to bear. However, unlike breakthroughs in information technology, advancing broad-based energy innovation requires an enormous scale that must be factored into any equation that represents an energy solution. Further, the time frame for developing alternative forms of energy is much longer than many believe and is not understood by the general public, whose support for sustainability is critical. Some panelists estimated that it will take more than 50 years to achieve the vision of an energy system that is locally tailored and has tremendous diversity in generation. A long-term commitment to energy sustainability may also require some game-changing strategies that calm volatile energy markets and avoid political cycles. Taking a page from U.S. economic history, one panelist suggested the creation of an independent Federal Energy Reserve Board not unlike the Federal Reserve. The board would be independent and influence national decisions on energy supply, technology, infrastructure and the nation's carbon footprint to better calm the volatile energy market. Public-private efforts are critical. Energy sustainability will require partnerships with the federal government, such as the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratories, that can provide real-world improvements in both the short- and long-term. Indeed, the roles of government and the private sector in energy sustainability were brought into sharper focus by the pending American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the economic stimulus bill. There was cautious optimism that the bill was moving the nation in the right direction by way of focusing on greater energy efficiency, alternative forms of energy and improved infrastructure. Nevertheless, there was concern over Congress picking energy winners and losers. Instead, Congress should challenge industry to produce solutions that will create a clear path forward to energy sustainability that the American people can support