By David A. Hill, Executive Editor 

We headed south out of Jackson Hole last week, skirting the mountain ranges of Western Wyoming and across the ribbon of highway that intersects impossibly vast reaches of the open range. It was unseasonably cool, even for this part of the West. As we drove further down Hwy. 191, patches of dirt-laden snow gave way to sage ground covering as far as the eye could see.

With my wife at the wheel from Jackson to Rock Springs, I had ample time to reflect on the Western States Energy & Environment Symposium that we just attended. Natural gas well sites dotting the countryside around the Pinedale area provided an appropriate backdrop for my thoughts.

Wyoming, the nation’s leading coal-producing state, hosted the energy meeting and paid for lawmakers from 12 other states to congregate at the base of the mountains in Teton Village, a few miles from the famed western town of Jackson. States that sent legislators to participate included: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.  Emergency legislature demands prevented California and New Mexico representatives from joining their brethren.

An Impossible Task?

As the miles sped by, I reached my first conclusion: Developing real agreement on energy issues among western states will be an imposing challenge, nearly as great as attempting to scale the steep granite walls of the Teton Range towering over the ski resort where the event took place.

That said, the goals of the Symposium were laudable and it proved successful in at least bringing together policymakers representing states with vastly different energy viewpoints, to discuss their common interests, current energy policies, and what they view as the challenges going forward.

Press reports from the general media have emphasized the lack of collective progress achieved in Jackson Hole. They miss the point. Did any objective observer really believe that concrete decisions would result anytime soon from this initial regional gathering? If so, we have some great Denver waterfront lots available for sale.

Actually, specific steps are already being taken, as evidenced by the release of a post-Symposium report with the high-minded title of “Elements for Cooperative Agreement Among Participating States.”  The document outlines “focuses” and “elements” to be considered for further study and potential action, including such important topics as transmission options, carbon capture and storage, regulatory and permitting processes and much more. While no actual policy decisions are spelled out, it is a comprehensive blueprint for further discussion and potential collaboration among states and their representatives. A baby first step, but a step, nonetheless.

CLICK HERE to read the entire PDF document.

A Governor in His Groove

It took the always interesting Wyoming Governor, Dave Freudenthal, to offer some of the most compelling and realistic comments to the gathered legislators on the Symposium’s first morning.

“States,” he reminded the  audience, “are in competition with each other, and so are the legislatures, even more so in the current economic climate. How can we make this work? What you’re doing here is a start … but states are fundamentally parochial. I think we have to rethink how utility law is structured and the impact of public utilities in each state,” Freudenthal added.

The Governor matter-of-factly told the audience the current political environment is geared to two year cycles at the most. “People’s personal agenda get in the way and tend to limit long term solutions to problems like energy. There really is no incentive in the system for true bipartisan policy. The national political environment isn’t geared to long term views that reward bipartisan cooperation.”

That said, Freudenthal joined other participants in acknowledging that a fundamental market change is occurring and the movement to some form of reduced carbon economy is all but certain.

I even heard one veteran Wyoming state legislator remind a counterpart from Idaho, “there is really no point in discussing whether man-made climate change exists or not. We’re going to eventually shift to a new carbon-driven energy economy of some kind and states like Wyoming had better figure out how they are going to deal with the new reality.”

The Need for Certainty

While a collective consensus on the way to move energy policy forward was nowhere to be found, there were some notable areas of agreement among both attendees and panelists. Topping the list is the need for clarity and certainty in the country’s energy policy.

Lots of investment money for energy is still sitting on the sidelines, according to panelist Kurt Hallead of Global Energy Research/RBC. “ Without a specific federal policy spelled out on such issues as transmission line siting, carbon sequestration and clean coal technology, it will be very difficult for the U.S. to achieve true global energy leadership and independence.”

The lawmakers also agreed that a key component of a national energy policy should be a better system to locate and permit new power lines. One speaker noted how hard a time the feds are having with organizing siting policy through BLM lands, adding that constructing lines on public lands should be given priority before digging up private lands. NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) positions are hard to overcome without a concise and clearly defined grid jurisdictional plan.

“All the renewable energy sources being developed at a staggering pace will end up being wasted without a national, concerted effort to renew our electrical grid,” said a panelist.

Us Versus Them

Not surprisingly, Congressional proposals to impose a cap and trade system on coal-fired power plants generated large disagreements among attendees. Case in point: California and Wyoming. The former’s energy decisions follow a state law that essentially prohibits utilities there from entering new long-term contracts for electricity that’s generated at coal-fired power plants.

“Based on what I’ve heard here, I can virtually guarantee you that the California Legislature and the Wyoming Legislature are not going to agree on what the cap and trade program should look like,” said Edward Randolph, chief policy consultant to the California State Assembly’s Committee on Utilities and Commerce.

Representatives of states with small populations and conventional energy industries voiced fear they would end up being victims in any climate change legislative scenario. The states with large urban population centers – and more representation in Washington D.C. - would ultimately have more influence on national energy policy.

Is that surprising in our form of government? Nevertheless, the concern of energy-exporting states like Wyoming, Utah and Idaho is understandable, with so much of their economies dependent on traditional extraction industries.

Wyoming House Speaker Colin Simpson, R-Cody, who sponsored the bill to create and fund the symposium, told reporters he’s not willing to apply what he called “cap and tax” to the nation’s energy system. “I don’t know where the federal policy will lead us,” Simpson said. “It looks pretty clear that there has to be a price for carbon. How we get there, I’m not sure.”

“Outside of California, states in the West represent a minority in Congress,” said John Hines, President of the Wyoming Senate. He repeated the often heard warning from conventional resource advocates that massive job loses could result if energy legislation is not carefully – and fairly – crafted.

Even as the state lawmakers were debating energy policy in Jackson, the Obama administration warned that the country runs the risk of falling behind China and other countries in the race to develop clean energy if Congress fails to adopt cap and trade legislation.

A Quality Start Is Better Than No Start

All in all, I think the level of dialogue throughout the Symposium was first-rate, and so, too, was the exceptional Western hospitality extended by the Wyoming hosts. Here are a few more  nuggets of  what the leader of Wyoming’s Executive Branch had to say because, well, it’s timely and interesting, regardless of where you stand on energy issues.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, not their own facts,” Gov. Freudenthal said. “Get the facts such as on electric transmission lines, and understand that no state will yield sovereignty to regional organization unless they can be assured of its benefits.”

The Governor went on to say, “The media wants quick solutions and politicians to rapidly take positions. As legislaturers, you have to be realistic about what you come up with and about such questions as cost allocation and cooperation. A cost allocation model for power line construction is critical.”

Now, how about Jackson Hole? As a skier, myself, it looks as though you better eat your Wheaties if you want to tackle the extremely challenging yet rewarding terrain of this famed locale.

Not unlike the challenges facing western energy policy, to be sure.