Smith visits ANWR to seek energy solutions

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., is on an educational trip as he travels this weekend to Alaska to visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"It's about learning more about what our options ought to be," Smith said.

The National Wildlife Refuge is located in northeastern Alaska and consists of 19,049,236 acres in the Alaska North Slope region.

ANWR also contains a large reserve of crude oil. Conservationists say the impact of drilling for oil in ANWR could harm the ecological balance of the wilderness area.

Also, there are questions about how much oil from ANWR would benefit this country's energy needs.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, if drilling begins at ANWR, crude production could begin by 2013 and reach a peak of 876,000 barrels a day by 2025.

But, according to an EIA analysis, even at peak production the United States would still have to import two-thirds of its oil, as opposed to an expected 70 percent if the refuge's oil remained off the market.

Recently, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced that 86 percent of the land, or approximately 4 million acres, is available to be leased to oil and gas companies in the Arctic refuge.

 The Alaska Wilderness League, which opposes drilling in ANWR, said that currently in the Arctic region of Alaska, 91 million acres, both onshore and offshore, are open to leasing, yet only 11.8 million are being used. It's estimated that all these unused acres could bring an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil -- more than six times the estimated peak production from the Arctic Refuge.

Before going to ANWR this weekend, Smith will be touring the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., where researchers are working on solar, wind, hydrogen, biomass and fuel cell technologies. 

Smith, who is a member of the House Natural Resources Committee and its Energy and Mineral Resource Subcommittee, will travel to Prudhoe Bay and Alaska's North Slope to tour potential drilling areas, including ANWR.

He supports drilling in ANWR.

Smith said he hopes the trip helps put things in perspective for him when it comes to what this nation's energy policy should be.

"I think it's important to see and study as much as I possibly can, and that is what I plan to do," Smith said.

But Smith said just drilling for more oil is not the answer to the nation's energy problems. Along with Smith's 3rd Congressional District being the leading ethanol-producing congressional district, he said the district also has the potential of being the nation's leading wind energy producer.

But Nebraska has a long way to go when it comes to developing its wind energy potential.

John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union and co-chairman of the Nebraska Wind Working Group, is helping to conduct 30 meetings across the state this year, promoting wind energy.

Currently, Hansen said, 71 megawatts of wind energy are being generated in Nebraska. By September 2009, state wind projects now in development will add another 122 megawatts.

But, Hansen said, in order for Nebraska Public Power District to meet its 10 percent renewable goal by 2020, it needs to add another 80 megawatts of wind power each year.

In a recent speech, former vice president and Nobel Prize recipient Al Gore said the U.S. has the ability to switch all of this country's electricity production to wind, solar and other carbon-free sources within 10 years.

Gore's comment also comes as a recent poll showed voter support for ethanol.

The bipartisan poll said that 49 percent of Americans believe skyrocketing gasoline and fuel prices are the factors most responsible for rising food prices. Fewer than one in 10 voters blame ethanol.

"The American voter is much savvier than critics of ethanol and other biofuels give them credit for," said Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen. "Overwhelming broad, bipartisan support for increasing the use of ethanol clearly shows that coordinated efforts designed to demonize American farmers and ethanol producers are not having the desired effect."

The poll also notes that recent coverage of ethanol in the mainstream media -- much of it driven by a multimillion-dollar PR campaign aimed at derailing renewable fuels policy -- has had little impact. Nearly half of respondents who have heard something about ethanol recently say it hasn't influenced their opinions. Of those who say it has influenced their attitudes toward ethanol, more respondents say it has left them with a more positive impression.

In addition, the poll indicates that voters are more likely to support a candidate for president who favors increasing the use of renewable fuels such as ethanol. Half of all respondents say they would be more inclined to support a candidate who favors the use of ethanol fuel.

The Milwaukee-based agricultural commodity advisory firm Brock Associates reported that seven new ethanol plants have come online since June, according to the Web site, meatingplace.com.

Two new ethanol plants have come online in Nebraska in Wood River and Atchinson.

The Web site said construction also is ongoing at 42 new ethanol plants and seven expansion projects.

The total number of operating U.S. ethanol facilities stands at 161, with an annual production capacity of 9.36 billion gallons. In Nebraska, that number is 23 with an annual production capacity of 1.5 billion gallons.

Dinneen said despite the millions being spent on discrediting ethanol, "A more productive use of that time and money would be to focus on developing alternatives that reduce our dependency on foreign oil and lower the price of energy for all consumers, something ethanol is already doing today."

Smith said the nation has to be weaned off its dependency on fossil fuels.

"But, in the intervening time, develop what domestic sources we have so we can transition," he said.

Consequences of that dependency include current high prices and the erosion of consumer confidence it's causing.

"When consumer confidence is eroded, that doesn't bode well for our economy as a whole," Smith said.

"Despite what crop prices are, with inputs as high as they are right now, it takes away from the profitability of farmers."