Mail Tribune
Thu, Aug 3, 2006
Newly appointed to an energy board advising the U.S. secretary of energy and Congress, Medford Avista executive Steve Vincent has joined efforts in recommending the fast-tracking of alternative fuel vehicles, creating a system of renewable energy credits that can be traded and making energy conservation a "moral imperative."
Just back from a week of talks with the State Energy Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., Vincent, Avista's regional business manager, said his panel in August will finalize five major recommendations — including making power plants part of Homeland Security, which is now only happening "to the smallest degree."
Continuing a major focus on "moving away from petroleum," said Vincent, the board also will ask the Department of Energy to better publicize new technology coming out of its labs, especially about alternative-fuel vehicles, so it can be commercialized more quickly in the private sector.
Although the panel is only advisory and has no legal power, Vincent said its DOE contact, Andrew Karsner, the new assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, has shown "a lot of receptivity" and wants the department to seriously engage in alternative-vehicle fuels.
The board wants DOE to actively promote early use of such new transportation fuels as natural gas, ethanol and biodiesel by "pulling together the best practices in communities and use that to deploy it state to state," said Vincent. "This will help us move away from petroleum, clean the air and allow us to get away from energy security issues and why we have conflict in the Mideast."
The panel, composed mainly of state secretaries of energy and utility heads, wants DOE to set up a system of tradable credits based on energy efficiency and renewable energy, such as biomass, solar and wind power — something "now just in its infancy in the U.S.," Vincent said.
He called credits "the least-cost plan" for mainstreaming alternative energy use — "and the least-cost plan is what utilities are into."
So-called renewable portfolio standards allowing for such credits have been passed by almost half the states, including California and Montana. Gov. Kulongoski will ask the Oregon Legislature to adopt them next session, said Vincent.
The panel is asking DOE to embrace a vigorous program of education to "transform energy efficiency in the market into a moral imperative," said Vincent, rather than "just another brand of light bulb, which is how the public now thinks of it."
Asked if the panel's recommendations will have clout in the White House and Congress, Vincent said,"That's a good question. You wonder if an advisory board is there for show or if they will take your recommendations seriously. I do believe there's a lot of receptivity. The president did devote half his State of the Union speech to energy-related issues."
The panel will ask DOE to "consider energy security to be part of Homeland Security" and try to insert itself into Homeland Security's efforts so that power generation facilities are protected.
"Right now it's about protecting ports and helicopters and such from terrorism," Vincent said. "Energy has to be on that list."
Vincent was recently appointed to a two-year term on the board by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. Its Web site, www.steab.org, says its mission is to develop recommendations for DOE and Congress on policies for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, helping bring consistency among federal, state and local efforts.
Vincent serves as president of the Oregon Economic Development Association, is a member of the Oregon Department of Treasury's Growth Account Board and the Governor's Unemployment Insurance Diversion Task Force, and serves in several roles with Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc.
John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.
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