The Forum, Fargo
http://www.in-forum.com
By Sen. Byron Dorgan, The Forum
On Feb. 23 and 24 in Grand Forks, N.D., I am sponsoring a special conference that will showcase North Dakota’s renewable energy industry and discuss North Dakota’s growing role in our country’s energy future. Every North Dakotan has a stake in this. That’s because few issues have such broad impact on America as energy.
Individuals, businesses and government agencies all feel the effects of our dependence on foreign sources of energy every time we pump gas into our vehicles or turn on our lights. The high and volatile price of oil, the predicted shortage of natural gas, the 2003 electrical blackout in the Northeast, and national security interests all make the same point: we need to move aggressively to establish energy independence.
The road to energy independence must include a three-pronged approach.
First, we must move more quickly to establish a hydrogen fuel-cell economy. Second, we must expand the use of renewable energy sources, such as wind, biomass and solar. And finally, we must increase the production and use of ethanol in automobiles.
North Dakota is poised to benefit from just such a comprehensive energy plan.
North Dakota’s fossil fuel industry is and will remain an integral part of our country’s energy future. In addition, North Dakota has positioned itself as a formidable player in hydrogen, renewable energy and ethanol. We will discuss the groundwork our region has laid in each of these areas at the conference: Renewable Energy in the Upper Midwest.
The event builds on the wind energy conferences I have held with the Energy and Environmental Research Center and others over the past five years. This year, we have expanded the scope and reach of the conference to include hydrogen, ethanol and renewable energies.
The conference begins with a general session on Wednesday, Feb. 23. It is free and open to the public. Leaders from North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota will discuss their states’ renewable energy projects and the barriers and possible solutions for advancing the region’s energy interests. The half-day session is an excellent opportunity for North Dakotans and others to hear about hydrogen, wind and biomass, and their role in our state’s energy and economic future.
Following this general session, the conference breaks into two tracks allowing registered attendees to go in-depth on specific renewable energy issues. Experts and industry leaders will discuss topics such as transmission, ethanol production, new biopower opportunities, small and large wind farms, renewable legislation and production tax credits, value-added biomass products, and the hydrogen economy.
The event will feature major exhibits from some of the nation’s top renewable energy companies and organizations, and keynote addresses by Pat Wood, the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Dr. Marilyn Brown, a Commissioner on the National Commission on Energy Policy.
FERC, under the direction of Chairman Wood, recently unveiled new proposals that could unleash the potential of wind-generated electricity in the region. Brown directs a $120 million a year program at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that develops and studies advanced energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
Dorgan is in his third term as U.S. senator for North Dakota. He is chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee and a member of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee.
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