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Alaska holds the answer to Washington's energy problems

Tuesday, January 30, 2001

By RICK HALFORD and BRIAN PORTER
ALASKA LAWMAKERS

If you want relief from the threats of rolling blackouts and the indignities of unreliable, expensive power, you need only lift up your eyes -- not to heaven for divine deliverance, but to Alaska for energy deliverance.

If you want to keep your homes and businesses warm and bright; if you want to prevent the economic pain of high energy costs and intermittent supplies; if you want to ensure a bright future for Washington, we in Alaska have got good news: Alaska has plenty of energy. And with your help, it can be on its way south sooner than you might think.

Twenty-five percent of U.S. petroleum energy in the past 30 years has come from Alaska's Prudhoe Bay and other North Slope oil fields. As much as 50 percent of West Coast power comes from Alaska. We've become world-recognized experts at bringing hydrocarbon energy to market with minimal impact to the environment.

The North Slope also holds proven natural gas reserves of 35 trillion cubic feet -- the nation's largest storehouse of clean, efficient, environmentally friendly energy.

Alaskans have long wanted to share this energy resource with America, and there are already three workable methods for doing so. The first calls for chilling gas to a non-flammable, nearly inert liquid -- liquefied natural gas, or LNG -- that can be loaded on tanker ships for delivery to market. Private industry and government have studied this approach for years, and Congress approved the right-of-way permits back in 1977.

A second plan would convert the gas into a highly refined, low-sulfur diesel fuel known as white crude, which could be sent down the existing trans-Alaska pipeline and shipped to market. This plan requires no new refineries or transportation infrastructure on the West Coast.

The third plan would see construction of a separate gas pipeline from the North Slope south along the Alaska Highway to intersect the existing continental pipeline network. While this plan would require more construction, it would utilize mature technology with a proven record of safety and environmental protection.

There's little need to point out how natural gas prices have skyrocketed in recent years, and how high prices and reduced supplies have devastated business and personal consumers all along the West Coast. What's more, deregulation of the natural gas industry and the resulting cross-border energy raids by desperate utilities have made the water wars of years past seem like the polite disputations of a debating society.

Alaska's natural gas will come to market sooner or later. But if it comes sooner, it can mean a win-win situation for all parties concerned. Not only will Washingtonians get the energy they want and Alaskans the market they need, but the entire nation will benefit by tapping a new source of clean energy that will bring lower power costs and greater reliability for decades to come.

If you're concerned about the environment, you'll be pleased to know that no new exploration or drilling is required to bring Alaska gas south. We already know where the gas is, and we know how to get it to you without harming the natural world or its wildlife. In fact, last month state biologists announced record-high populations in the Central Arctic caribou herd that roams the tundra near Prudhoe Bay.

If you want to stop worrying about whether you'll have light, power or a job tomorrow, here's what you can do:

  • Call or write your representatives in Congress and tell them you want them to support bringing Alaska's North Slope gas to market through the southern route along the Alaska Highway.

  • Contact the electric company that (usually) supplies you with power, and tell them you think taking advantage of Alaska's gas to supply your power needs makes more sense than burning coal, smashing atoms or damming rivers in your back yard.

    Alaska has been sharing energy with the West Coast for many years. With your support and that of your representatives in Congress, we can bring new supplies of natural gas on line quickly to keep the Evergreen State warm and bright for many more years.

    Rick Halford of Chugiak is president of the Alaska Senate. Brian Porter of Anchorage is speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives.

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