Prepared Remarks of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference

Statement

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SEC. KEMPTHORNE: Thank you, Deputy Secretary Conner (Chuck Conner).

This is my second tour of duty in Washington, DC. Before I became Governor of Idaho, I served as a member of the United States Senate, where I was a member of the Armed Services Committee.

(Tell John Glenn Story, concluding with "Who are you?" and "I am your new best friend.")

When some of you heard that the Secretary of the Interior was a speaker, you wanted to ask me, just as John Glenn did, "Who are you?"

Well, I'm Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Department of the Interior manages national parks, wildlife refuges, public lands and energy production. With our responsibilities in the U.S.-affiliated island areas in the Atlantic and the Pacific, we have operations that span 12 time zones. We manage government-to-government relations with 562 Native American tribes. We have the third largest law enforcement contingent in the federal government. We manage 500 million acres-or 20 percent-of the United States of America. My department oversees 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf off our nation's shores.

President Reagan used to say that only in Washington, D.C. the Department that dealt with everything outdoors would be called Interior.

We are truly the Department of the Great Outdoors. These lands and waters provide 30 percent of America's domestic oil production and 20 percent of our natural gas production.

Our vast lands and waters also provide boundless opportunities for wind, solar, biomass and geothermal development. Renewable energy is an increasing part of our portfolio. As just one example, Interior's lands already provide half of the nation's geothermal energy.

In managing this renewable energy portfolio, I bring first-hand experience with the environmental and economical benefits of renewable energy.

My home is Boise, Idaho. A little known fact is that Boise is a center for geothermal energy in the United States. As Mayor, I presided over a city hall and a downtown business area heated by geothermal energy. As Governor, I worked in the only state capitol in the United States heated with geothermal energy.

Two facts for your consideration: First, every drop of geothermal water used goes back to the underground aquifer from which it came. Second, the State of Idaho has saved millions of dollars in energy costs in the 25 years it has been heating its capitol and other state buildings with geothermal energy.

So my personal experience has made me a believer in renewable energy. I am committed to renewable energy.

I expressed this commitment to President Bush when he talked to me about becoming the Secretary of the Interior.

I expressed this commitment to Senators voting on my nomination to be Interior Secretary.

After I took office, I told our Assistant Secretary in charge of renewable energy to leave no stone unturned in the responsible use and development of renewable energy. So far under my watch, we have been streamlining our regulations for geothermal and wind energy development and started nationwide assessments of geothermal, solar and offshore resources.

The truth is my efforts continue the commitment to renewable energy that President Bush started when he took office seven years ago. The President will talk to you tomorrow about renewable energy results so far achieved across his entire Administration.

But it is worth mentioning here the impressive results achieved by the Department of the Interior alone:

- 18 percent of the energy used at Interior's 47,000 facilities comes from renewable energy. We will continue to convert thousands of our facilities to renewable energy in the years ahead.

- Since 2001, Interior has issued 380 geothermal leases, compared to 20 in the preceding four years. One of the Department of the Interior's agencies, the U.S. Geological Survey, has studied the use of geothermal energy in the United States and concluded that there are enormous untapped opportunities for geothermal energy production on our land. We are taking the necessary steps to tap into this potential.

Under newly revamped geothermal regulations, we have held two very successful competitive lease sales that netted $30 million for the U.S. Treasury. We are working with the U.S. Forest Service to complete a nationwide environmental assessment that will make it easier for entrepreneurs to develop geothermal resources while complying with environmental standards.

- We have a similar success story in wind energy. In the four years before President Bush took office, the Department of the Interior issued only five wind energy rights-of-way. Since 2001, we have issued 170 wind permits.

- Just as we are now doing with geothermal and solar energy, we identified our most promising locations for harnessing wind resources and took steps to plan for their development. As a result, we anticipate that entrepreneurs will produce enough energy for one million homes.

- Solar power is another success story. Interior is second only to the Department of Defense in the use of photovoltaic cells. We have more than 100 applications for commercial solar power generating facilities on public lands. We are working with the state of California to streamline the application and review process on federal lands in that state.

- Consider biomass energy. Interior has converted 200,000 tons of biomass from the forests we manage for beneficial uses, including energy production. A science center in Alaska is heated by wood from trees killed by insects.

- We are now writing regulations to implement the new authority Congress gave us to regulate renewable energy development off our coasts. Off the eastern coast of the United States alone, we have the realistic potential to produce enough wind-generated electricity to supply 50 million homes. Additionally, our coastal waters could produce enough wave-generated electricity to supply 22 million homes.

In short, those of you who care about renewable energy may ask "What do the people of the U.S. Department of the Interior do?"

We may be your new best friends.

I am honored and humbled to be with the leaders in this room. There is much that both Interior and I can learn from those assembled here. You have achieved success in your spheres of influence. As just one example, Europe has 27 wind farms operating or under construction off its coasts, while to date the United States has none.

With the opportunity all of us have to set renewable energy policy development comes a great responsibility.

We have the power to bring new meaning to the word renewable. Renewable has two words in it: New and Able.

We must show we are able to bring new energy sources the world needs.

I think of it this way:

Re:

New...

and Able...

Energy.

Renewable Energy

I have learned four lessons in my work on renewable energy that will enable us to bring the new energy into homes and factories.

First, we must have a holistic approach on all energy development, including renewable. In this first lesson, I will cite three examples of how all of us need to think holistically on renewable energy development:

- Example 1: The Washington Post reported Saturday that prices for wheat, corn, rice and other cereals have soared 41 percent in the past several years, in part because of increased biofuel production. The ripple effect this has in the world economy is profound.

- Example 2: Ethanol has and will for a long time be a vital component of our energy picture. But we must be mindful that crops used for ethanol take an enormous amount of another precious resource . . . and that is water. To reach our ethanol production target of 7.5 billion gallons per year by 2012 will require 30 billion gallons of water a year to process . . . or the amount of the annual water needs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. And if just 25 percent of the new corn crop requires irrigation, ethanol will demand more water than the combined annual usage of all cities in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada.

As we increase ethanol production, we must have a holistic approach that takes into account its impact on water supply.

In his Presidential budget this year, President Bush proposed a major water initiative that will include the first census of our national water supplies and explore ways that we can more efficiently and effectively use the water we have.

- Example 3: We also have to have a holistic mindset on wind energy. Yes, wind energy is a clean and renewable energy source. But there is great concern that wind farms adversely harm birds at a time when bird populations are under severe stress. The Audubon Society says average population of common birds has declined 70 percent since 1967 and that 30 percent of more than 400 species have declined significantly. Wind farms placed in areas that may harm birds does not advance the cause of renewable energy.

As part of our holistic approach to wind energy, we are working with wildlife experts and industry to determine the best ways to site wind turbines to avoid impacts to birds. We are also undertaking a major initiative called "Birds Forever" to work with states, local communities and other partners to conserve the health of wild bird habitat, strengthen educational outreach programs and improve our scientific understanding of the dynamics of wild bird populations. The second lesson learned -- that leaders in renewable energy policy must recognize -- is that the same attitude of "Not In My Backyard" that exists toward oil, gas and coal development exists toward renewable energy development. No matter how well intentioned, a proposed wind farm or geothermal power plant can be just as controversial to local citizens as putting up an oil derrick This should not stop renewable energy projects. But it does suggest that collaboration is vital in determining the best place for renewable energy development.

The third lesson is that we have to be honest about current limitations of renewable energy yet be open to its potential and communicate this to those we serve. Since 2001, we have nearly doubled renewable power generation in the United States. Generation from wind power has grown 550 percent and solar power has grown 525 percent. The United States led the world in new onshore wind power generation both in 2006 and 2007. Even with these dramatic increases, our nation's renewable energy production, including hydropower, represents only 9 percent of our total consumption. While renewable energy is expected to grow by more than 60 percent over the next 25 years, it will still be a relatively small fraction of our overall consumption.

There is a "Back to the Future" aspect about using wind and water energy to meet our needs. Paintings fill our museums of picturesque European windmills from the 1600s. George Washington installed a stream-powered stone mill at Mount Vernon that ground corn and wheat. Western settlers harnessed the wind to pump water and generate electricity.

Today, hundreds of years later, we again are looking to the wind and water and forests to meet our energy needs.

We are indeed going "Back to the Future."

Yes, we still need coal, oil and gas. But we also need to recognize that today we are only using a tiny fraction of the solar, wind and water energy that is available.

The fourth lesson is that, as leaders, we have to be open to new ideas and to take on the task of being cross pollinators to make them a reality. This responsibility was underscored during a breakfast I hosted last week with the governors of the western states and the Pacific territories. It was an informal, no agenda event. During the breakfast, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter talked about how scientists at Colorado State University were working with a start-up company to cheaply produce biodiesel fuel from algae. Governor Ritter said that algae are some of the fastest growing organisms on the planet and produce 100 times more fuel per acre than conventional soil tilled crops. The company estimates it could produce as much as 4 million barrels a day of fuel.

Listening to Governor Ritter was Governor Felix Camacho of Guam. Guam, located in the lush Pacific tropics, has huge amounts of algae. Like me, Governor Camacho had never heard that algae were a potential energy source. He was keenly interested. Governor Ritter promised to send Governor Camacho more information, which he has already done.

I may not be the only person in this room who was unaware that algae might be an energy source. I have no idea if it has commercial potential. But I do know that its potential intrigued a respected Western Governor, and that information was shared with another governor who is now equally intrigued.

I expect that at this conference hundreds of conversations will take place like the one these two governors had. That is why this conference is so important.

What I say here is not nearly as important as what you will do here.

This conference has attracted world leaders, captains of industry, conservationists, financiers, philanthropists. You are a mixture of idealists who see a bright future for renewable energy and others who are cold hard realists who understand rates of return and the importance of the bottom line.

Both mindsets are needed. The world right now faces an uncertain energy future. Oil for the first time tops $100 a barrel. More than one billion of the world's six billion people don't have electricity. The world's population will grow to nine billion by the middle of this century, creating even more demand for energy.

The world has immense energy needs and problems. But I offer you the thought that people have the ability to solve every problem they create.

Think about it. It is true.

There is no problem created by humans that humans cannot solve.

It is a notion both liberating and exciting.

Yes, solving problems requires creativity and collaboration, intellect and ingenuity, cold hard realism and enthusiastic idealism.

Together, we must show that we are able to provide new sources of renewable energy.

In the effort of securing a bright future for renewable energy, I hope each of you will consider the Department of the Interior a responsible ally and a willing partner who will share with you what we are doing, what we have learned and what we need to be doing. In turn, Interior will learn from the successes you have achieved.

Together, we will put the "new" and the "able" in renewable.

Thank you.

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