Georgia must develop a bold energy plan

When fights start breaking out at gas stations, children are in jeopardy of not being able to get to school, workers can’t get to their jobs and fathers may not be able to get home from work, it’s easy to say with certainty that Washington has failed us when it comes to energy policy.

States such as Georgia have waited for years for common-sense energy plans to bring oil, natural gas and more electricity to their states — especially those with booming populations. When one hurricane hits, such as Ike’s destruction to the Texas coast, panic strikes because we can’t get gasoline delivered to a busy metropolitan area such as Atlanta.

If our nation had a common-sense energy plan of energy independence, and each state had embraced energy independence, this problem may never have happened.

That’s why it is time to return energy policy to the states. Washington has proved it cannot live up to the task.

Just like the challenge of illegal immigration, Washington has proved itself incapable of solving our energy problems. Our own state and our nation’s economy will be in jeopardy if states do not find their own energy solutions.

Having now seen what happens without having gasoline available for extended periods, I suggest Georgia develop a bold energy plan for its growing population. It should include:

• Immediately adopt legislation calling on Congress to permanently lift the ban on exploration and drilling off the Outer Continental Shelf, including the deep waters of the coast of Georgia. The ban just expired but Congressional Democrats have vowed to re-impose it in January. States that discover oil and gas off their shores could share in the royalties. The hundreds of millions of dollars could result in important economic stimulus needed during economic downturns such as tax cuts or a check for every citizen, as we have seen in Alaska. Georgia should enter into negotiations with oil and gas companies to explore for energy in our state.

• Utilize our state’s economic development office to seek the location of a refinery here in Georgia. Having a refinery in our own state would make gas readily available if there are hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. And it would easily serve pipelines from any offshore oil discoveries in the Atlantic Ocean off our coast. We shouldn’t be at the mercy of refineries or pipelines thousands of miles away to get out energy supplies.

• Enact legislation that would reduce the time to build nuclear facilities so we have abundant electricity. Bureaucratic red tape can slow down the construction of such projects. We don’t ever need to be in a situation such as California which has had brown-outs in recent years — and not had enough electricity during peak summer periods.

• Promote construction of a natural gas pipeline from the Elba Island liquid natural gas terminal off the coast of Savannah to metro Atlanta. With growing demands for natural gas in North Georgia and record high prices in recent months, we want supply to keep up with demand with the state’s surging population.

• Target the use of alternative fuels and technology such as compressed natural gas vehicles for fleet vehicles. Natural gas vehicles pollute less and compressed natural gas is cheaper than gasoline. We should set a goal of phasing out the state’s fleet of vehicles from traditional gasoline to natural gas over the next 10 years. Counties, cities and school boards could easily convert their own fleets to this technology.

• Call on the federal Environmental Protection Agency to waive designer fuel standards for metro Atlanta for the foreseeable future. We have a temporary suspension in place. Such blends not only make gasoline more expensive but slow down the process of bringing product to market. It is technology, not gasoline, that is making our air cleaner. As newer vehicles come on line, we will continue to see a decrease in pollutants in the metro region. No natural disaster or tragedy should disrupt the state’s economy, including the transport of commerce and educating of our children. Planning for the future across our energy portfolio will hopefully insulate us from an energy crisis of any stripe.

• Mark Burkhalter, a Republican state representative from Johns Creek, is Speaker Pro Tem of the Georgia House.