Oklahoma Poised to Become Renewable Energy Leader

By SEAN MURPHY , 11.13.08, 08:21 AM EST

With a huge wind corridor in western Oklahoma and local researchers working on creating biofuels from perennial native grasses, experts say Oklahoma is poised to become a leader in the renewable energy industry.

Speaking Wednesday at the Oklahoma Biofuels Conference in Oklahoma City, renewable energy experts said the emphasis on biofuels and wind energy likely will continue under President-elect Obama's administration.
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"We have 40,000 megawatts of wind potential in western Oklahoma, and that industry is exploding out of the ground as we talk," said Oklahoma Energy Secretary David Fleischaker. "The Obama administration's attitude toward bringing wind into the grid will really benefit that industry in Oklahoma.

"In addition, to the extent we have the ability, we'll see a lot more funding of research important to pushing the conversion of biofuels technology."

Fleischaker said using perennial native grasses, like switchgrass, as a source for biofuel has a number of advantages over annual crops, like corn, that take much more energy to produce.

"If you have an annual, you've got to pull the tractor out of the barn and plant it every year, which takes a lot of energy," Fleischaker said. "If you have a perennial, it grows back every year automatically and you can leave the tractor in the barn."

Ernie Shea, coordinator of the 25x'25 Alliance's plan to have renewable energy comprise 25 percent of U.S. energy needs by 2025, agrees switchgrass shows much promise as a biofuel source.
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"We can actually produce an energy crop and at the same time improve soil and water quality, sequester carbon dioxide through the plants that grow and improve air quality," he said. "So, we're providing very valuable and important environmental benefits while we provide these national security benefits in terms of domestically produced fuels."

Shea also said there was a lot of misinformation about biofuels diverting food for fuel production and, as a result, driving up food prices and impacting poverty and world hunger around the world.

"That is simply not true," Shea said. "There are plenty of well-vetted studies that have documented that while food prices have been influenced by biofuel production, it's been very marginal. The primary reason for higher food prices is the high price of oil."

Shea said he also believes an Obama administration will be supportive of renewable energy efforts and likely would increase government programs to incentivize the development of wind and biofuels industries.

"I think we'll probably see all policies revisited, but at the end of the day I think the support will be there to maintain the appropriate incentives and appropriate standards to ensure the industry is viable."