A Conversation on Energy Comes to Tallahassee
ConocoPhillips and Florida State University invite area residents to a town hall meeting to discuss America’s energy future.
Approximately 230 residents from communities throughout northeastern Florida gathered in Tallahassee on Wednesday, August 29, to discuss the state’s and nation’s energy future. Co-hosted by ConocoPhillips and Florida State University, the town hall meeting–the 22nd stop on a 35-city listening tour in 2007–called on residents to share their views on energy issues and to gain insight and information from a panel of experts.
Luc Messier, senior vice president, Project Development, and Sabrina Watkins, manager, Environmental Technology, represented ConocoPhillips on the panel. Other panelists included Lisa Edgar, chair, Florida Public Service Commission; Barney Bishop, president and CEO, Associated Industries of Florida; and Charles Pattison, president, 1000 Friends of Florida. The meeting was moderated by Dr. J. B. Ruhl, Matthew & Hawkins Professor of Property, Florida State University College of Law.
Dr. Ruhl began the meeting by discussing where energy ranks among the topics on the minds of Americans. He emphasized that our country’s rapid population growth and proportionate consumption growth are putting enormous strain on our economic and social systems, our physical infrastructure and our natural resources. Going forward, he told the crowd, every American will have a role to play in ensuring that we use our resources wisely to meet our energy needs.
Luc Messier told meeting attendees that ConocoPhillips has begun a conversation on energy because we live in an energy-dependent society and every American has a stake in the energy debate. “As a community, we have to make wise choices,” he said. Regarding the future of our energy supply, Messier expressed that he doesn’t believe that energy independence is possible in the near term because “we consume too much energy and produce too little.” He noted that instead, the focus should be on energy security.
Lisa Edgar began by posing questions to the audience: “How many of you think that we should get energy from solar sources? How many of you are willing to pay more for solar generation?” With raised hands scattered throughout the audience, Edgar followed her questions by saying that we, as consumers, need to reduce our dependence on traditional fossil fuels. She continued, saying we need an understanding of where additional costs related to alternative sources will be placed and how we can benefit from them. “We take very seriously our right to the light coming on…and having good quality water,” said Edgar. She closed by saying that although the government may not do more on energy conservation until there’s a real energy shortage, she wants to make sure that Floridians do not wait until that point to make changes.
Barney Bishop stated that more than 80 percent of the nation’s manufacturing utilizes natural gas and noted that his association endorsed drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico in December 2005. Bishop encouraged audience members to help solve our energy issues, saying “Every problem has to start with a small step in the right direction.”
Sabrina Watkins expressed the need for new technology as we look ahead to our energy future. She said that ConocoPhillips has raised research and development spending by 50 percent to encourage ongoing technological development. She also explained that ConocoPhillips is developing alternative fuels, using soybean and vegetable oil to produce renewable diesel at its Ireland refinery and, through an alliance with Tyson Foods, which will render animal fats into second generation renewable diesel, here in the United States. She concluded her remarks by saying that “technology is vital” and that it will continue to be one of the company’s key strategies to move toward a secure energy future.
Charles Pattison began with a projection that the Florida population will likely double in the next 15 years, increasing the demand on resources and the environment. He stated that transportation has the second largest effect on the environment. Pattison also told the audience he believes quality of life has been compromised in Florida.
Following the panelists’ opening remarks, Dr. Ruhl began the question and answer portion of the meeting.
Audience members expressed their opinions and asked questions related to investments in alternative and sustainable energy, oil prices, coal mining, and affordability.
Concerning gas prices and federal subsidies, a member of the audience asked how much of tax payers' money goes towards fossil fuels, adding that that money should be used toward sustainable energy. Messier responded by saying that ConocoPhillips doesn’t receive federal subsidies outside of the tax incentive necessary to make the Tyson Foods alliance an economic and viable venture. Watkins added that the company occasionally partners with the Department of Energy and national labs for energy progress, but said those projects and subsidies are typically short-term.
A few audience members posed similar questions regarding consumers paying more on their utility bill to contribute to renewable energy efforts. Pattison responded that although this process is a good start, getting halfway there is not enough. Bishop agreed with Pattison, adding that there is not one “silver bullet.” To get to renewables, he said, we must significantly change our lifestyles, which will require sacrifices. He added that education will also be important so that information can be passed on to the younger generations. Reliability is not the issue anymore – “it’s about security,” Bishop said.
One audience member raised a question about those who are unable to pay and stated that the burden of new technology will fall to the poor.
One guest asked simply why it is important to have a conversation on conservation. The ConocoPhillips panelists said that it gives them time to figure out “real solutions” for the long term. The key to a short-term solution is to free up resources that are being inefficiently uses. Bishop said that conservation is the first thing that has to be done, but there are costs associated with that. He reiterated that the education process will have to continue in order to “lead the battle for conservation.”
One community member was concerned that coal mined in the east is destroying mountains in that area; she asked if there were plans for reducing the amount of coal used. Edgar replied that she continues to see coal in the state’s fuel portfolio. Bishop said that we can move to using more natural gas, which is more expensive, but believes that coal will always be used because there is nothing to supplement it. Although not the best, he said, it is the most abundant resource we have.
Exploring New Horizons
ConocoPhillips scientists focus on developing renewable energy technologies.
In April 2007, ConocoPhillips announced its alliance with Tyson Foods, Inc. to produce the next generation of renewable diesel fuel from beef, pork and poultry fat. The alliance will create a transportation fuel that contributes to America’s energy future, helps address climate change concerns, and helps supplement the traditional oil-based diesel fuel supply. The company also said it will establish an eight-year, $22.5 million research program at Iowa State University dedicated to developing technologies that produce biorenewable fuels.
In December 2006, the company began commercial production of renewable diesel at its Whitegate Refinery in Cork, Ireland. The production process, which was developed by ConocoPhillips, uses soybeans and other vegetable oils to produce renewable diesel fuel that meets European Union standards for diesel fuels.
ConocoPhillips employs a team of approximately 250 scientists, engineers, and researchers to explore viable alternative and renewable energy sources. These scientists are studying everything from clean-coal technology applications to liquefied natural gas initiatives.
A major area of interest is in hydrogen research, which is why ConocoPhillips is a partner in the Freedom Car & Fuel Partnership, a collaborative including the U.S. Department of Energy, automakers, and energy companies. The partnership explores environmental and economical attributes of various pathways to hydrogen production, as well as the merits of hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles.
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