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Summit on Oregon Energy Future 2008
CLOSING REMARKS BY GOVERNOR TED KULONGOSKI
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
After a long day, my closing remarks will be brief. But I want to again thank each of you for coming to the Nike campus and participating in what I think will one day be viewed as a historic meeting of the minds on energy.
This Summit was put together on short notice. But the fact is: We don’t have a lot of time to mitigate soaring energy prices – and move Oregon toward long-term energy independence.
An Energy Summit may not call for a quote from Churchill – but I’ll give you one anyway because it reflects where we are at this hour. Churchill famously said: “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
We have spent the morning – and the better part of this afternoon – listening to and discussing the perspectives of all the major energy players, government, suppliers, labor, business, consumers, and environmentalists.
I think it is fair to characterize the panel presentations – and the discussions that followed – as vigorous, candid, but always informative. I also think we accomplished what I called for in my opening remarks. That is, to drill down on the big issues – and start giving real substance to the broader themes of energy independence, green technology, and making the transition from carbon to renewable energy while growing Oregon’s economy.
I’ll be the first to admit that we don’t have consensus yet. We don’t have the public’s buy-in yet. And we certainly don’t have all the answers to many tough questions yet. Nevertheless, we made great progress today – and that would not have happened without your active engagement at this Summit.
I’d like to add that as someone who has spent most of his career negotiating deals that skeptics thought were beyond reach, I come away from this Summit believing more strongly than ever that there is a deal to be made on energy, a deal that will protect our environment, strengthen Oregon businesses and our economy, create family wage jobs, and meet my bottom line demand that any future energy plan for Oregon must provide certainty and price stability. We’re not there yet. But thanks to your hard work today – we have reached the end of the beginning.
Why bring a large and diverse group of Oregonians together in the middle of summer to expand the dialogue of how we move from the status quo to a renewable energy future? Because that is who we are.
The spirit and tradition of Oregon is to see the future before it arrives, and to find solutions to problems in a way that preserves the essential character of Oregon – and sets a high standard for the rest of America to follow.
Now we have another problem. We can see it when we pull into the gas station. We can see it in the rising cost of electricity and natural gas. We can see it in the slowing national economy. We can see it in the public’s reluctance to embrace any idea that might put more stress on the family budget. And we can see it in the diminished quality of life our children and grandchildren will inherit if – instead of following our best traditions – we sit our hands and do nothing.
Today we have proven that we will not sit on our hands – and that we will not make energy policy by either wishful thinking or staring into the rearview mirror. In the days and weeks ahead – we need to continue the same openness, candor, and fact-based conversations about energy, the environment, and our economy that were on display at this Summit.
That won’t be easy. Advocates for the status quo – or for saying no to every new approach to building Oregon’s energy future except their own – will make their presence felt in the Legislature, the media, and even in the courts. But finding both a short-term strategy and long-term solutions for the problems of demand, supply, cost and the environment are too important to wait – and too important not to look for common ground.
I wanted this Summit to focus on substance not process. Nevertheless, there is no way to create a blueprint for transitioning to Oregon’s energy future without a structure for drafting that blueprint. In other words, we need a vehicle to organize the competing ideas 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.
We don’t need a big bureaucracy. But we do need a structure that is visionary; takes account of new facts and technology; and 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.
Although it may not be well known, the Governor of Oregon has a Council of Economic Advisors. By Executive Order I will soon create a council whose focus will be energy. My proposed name for this new entity is: The Oregon Planning and Energy Council – or OPEC for short. One purpose of the Council will be to help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil
This is the structure through which we will take what we accomplished from 2003 to 2007, what we will accomplish in 2009, and build a comprehensive energy plan that keeps Oregon moving forward.
I envision the Council meeting on a regular basis and reporting to both the Governor and the Legislature with recommendations for legislative and budgetary needs to secure Oregon’s energy future. I will expect the Council to:
1. Provide the Governor and Legislative Assembly analysis and counsel on energy forecasting, energy transmission, energy price stability, renewable energy, alternative energy sources, and energy efficiency.
2. Develop comprehensive short, middle and long-term plans for meeting the State’s energy needs.
3. Conduct an ongoing review of the State’s anticipated energy needs and energy supply, and make recommendations for bridging any potential gaps.
4. Identify challenges to addressing the immediate issues of price stability and energy supply certainty for Oregon families and businesses.
5. Advise the Governor and Legislative Assembly on the emissions and environmental impacts of recommended energy strategies.
Let me end with this thought: Just as land use planning was about much more than urban boundaries and the creation of a new state agency, finding our way to a clean and renewable energy future is about much more than measuring CO2 emissions and building more transmission infrastructure. It is a test of our character, our wisdom, and our willingness to leave to our posterity an even better Oregon than was left to us.
Today, we took an important first step toward meeting that test. But there are many more steps to come. I look forward to taking those steps with you.
Thank you.
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