The Conversation Comes to Kansas
Kansas History Museum and Library at capacity as Topeka residents turn out for a town hall meeting on Kansas’ and America’s energy future
More than 250 Topeka residents gathered at the Kansas History Museum and Library on Thursday, Oct. 4 to discuss energy issues ranging from energy security, to conservation and alternative fuels, to renewable energy sources. The town hall meeting was the first Conversation on Energy with three co-host institutions, including Washburn University, The University of Kansas Energy Council, and Kansas State University, Center for Sustainable Energy.
Topeka’s Conversation on Energy panelists included Carin Knickel, vice president of Human Resources, and Merl Lindstrom, general manager of Research and Development, ConocoPhillips; Steve Baccus, president, Kansas Farm Bureau; Dr. Ronald “Ron” Hammerschmidt, director of the Division of Environment, Kansas Department of Health and Environment; and Stuart S. Lowry, governor’s appointee, Kansas Energy Council. The town hall meeting was moderated by David Kerr, secretary, Kansas Department of Commerce.
David Kerr opened the town hall meeting by stressing the importance of an open dialogue with Kansans, as well as all Americans, about current energy issues. He noted the United States’ continued rapid population and consumption growth, a combination which strains the nation’s economic and social systems, physical infrastructure and natural resources. Kerr highlighted related programs and initiatives of all three co-host universities, and how Washburn University, The University of Kansas, and Kansas State University are working toward a sustainable energy future. He also mentioned the state’s programs to encourage energy solutions in Kansas. “Our state’s efforts and initiatives in alternative and renewable energy can help create economic opportunities for all Kansans,” Kerr said.
Carin Knickel began the dialogue by calling for a comprehensive national energy policy, which ConocoPhillips believes is long overdue. “A good policy needs to be bipartisan, it shouldn’t be punitive, and it shouldn’t cater to special interests, including the interests of the oil industry,” she said. Knickel pointed out that while a national energy policy is essential, it will take hard work and collaboration from every corner of our country. “Every American has a stake in this debate because we live in an energy-dependent society,” she said. “Energy drives our economy. So, when prices rise, every one of us is affected.” Knickel explained ConocoPhillips’ four pillars for U.S. energy security as diversification of sources, efficiency and conservation, innovation, and environmental responsibility.
The panel’s comments continued with Steve Baccus, who reminded the audience that successful community farmers are one of the largest groups of energy consumers. “Energy is a critical part of American agriculture,” he said. As farmers’ consumption and energy costs have nearly doubled since 2005, Baccus called for the agricultural industry to be part of the solution. “The Kansas Farm Bureau is pleased to be part of this discussion, because we think that agriculture has a tremendous stake in the energy of this nation – both as a major user of energy, as well as an industry that can possibly help solve the problem,” Baccus said.
Ron Hammerschmidt noted the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s unique role in the evening’s discussion, as his department oversees the statewide regulatory aspects of energy security. “There is a great deal of interest with any proposal for a new facility that will produce or convert energy,” he said. Hammerschmidt called for diversification through alternative sources, including hydrogen technology.
ConocoPhillips’ Merl Lindstrom stressed the importance of innovation and new technologies to move toward energy security. As general manager of Research and Development, Lindstrom highlighted the thousands of ConocoPhillips engineers, scientists and researchers who have earned more than 16,000 patents in the company’s 130-year history. Ongoing technological advancements have allowed the company to embark on key partnerships with a variety of companies and universities, including recent collaborations with Archer Daniels Midland and Peabody Coal. “Technology is one of the key strategies we must use in order to meet the world’s growing energy demand,” Lindstrom said. “It drives our energy development, conservation and environmental stewardship efforts. It is one of the key ways to secure America’s energy future.”
Stuart Lowry, a member of the Kansas Energy Council and an expert in utilities, gave an overview of the council’s purpose and planning process. “The end-products that we would like to come up with are policy recommendations that are studied, that are thorough, are not driven by constituent interests, and hopefully are not driven by crises,” Lowry said. “Much of our energy policy has been driven by one crisis or another, and when that happens, we don’t make very good policy. So, our hope as a council is that we will develop comprehensive, balanced energy policy that will benefit Kansans.”
Following the panelists’ opening remarks, the forum opened for audience members to address the panel with their questions and comments.
One audience member, who was a former farmer, expressed concern with using food for fuel. Instead, she called for the use of spent waste products for energy production. She asked how the panelists’ organizations were addressing the moral and ethical issues concerning the use of food for energy production. Baccus addressed her question on behalf of the Kansas Farm Bureau. “The vast majority of corn produced in this world is not used for human consumption,” he said. Baccus went on to explain the process of turning crops into ethanol, a fuel commonly used in Kansas. Lindstrom followed by saying that ConocoPhillips is researching and pursuing ways to convert waste products, such as grasses and woodchips, into energy.
Another audience member asked if ConocoPhillips is researching how to take municipal waste products and convert it into useable energy. “We are certainly looking at making fuels from cellulosic residues,” Lindstrom said. “One of the issues that you have with municipal garbage is you have more than just cellulose in it. Our activities are more geared toward using cellulose residues that are cleaner and don’t need to be separated.”
Hammerschmidt responded with specific plans in Kansas for use of cellulosic energy. “There is one pilot plant supported by the Department of Energy that’s being built in the southwest corner of the state,” he said. “The DOE and their partners are working to build the plant and demonstrate that it works in order to better determine what the operating conditions will be.”
An audience member asked what, beyond strictly conservation, could be done today to increase energy production in the United States. Baccus acknowledged there have been no new oil refineries licensed in the country since the 1970s. “Most of that is because of regulations,” he said. “I am very much aware that the oil companies have remodeled and expanded their existing refineries. Conservation aside, I don’t think there is a lot we are going to do immediately to have an impact on this situation,” Baccus added.
“I think the prudent answer is a combination of things, and that’s what all of us have been talking about tonight,” Knickel said. “Opening access is probably one component of that, but it’s also a lot of the other alternative resources that we say we need to learn more about and develop. So, I don’t think it’s a single solution, but it’s a portfolio of things that we can do to make the supply-demand equation balance.”
Toward the end of the town hall meeting, the question was raised to Hammerschmidt if the state is creating regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and how regulators plan to affect change with both companies and individuals. “A number of states have already begun to look into greenhouse gas initiatives,” he said. “There is no national policy on greenhouse gases.” Hammerschmidt went on to highlight two regional organizations, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Western Climate Initiative, which are working to reduce emissions and form a collaborate energy policy across many states.
As the large crowd filed out of the Kansas History Museum and Library, one Topeka resident commented, “I was very encouraged by the attendance and the span of questions on energy. This meeting was a good starting point for solutions.”
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 energy, environmental and economic attributes of various pathways to hydrogen production, as well as the merits of hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles.
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