Kansas Senator Sam Brownback is a Leader in Helping America Establish Its Energy Security
It sounds like Kansas is going to be a big winner in this new energy economy.
I certainly think we’re going to be a big winner, and I think if we play it right we can be a big winner. I think we can be a big winner in base-load power generation. I think we can be a big winner in renewable power generation. I think we can be a big winner in fuel generation, whether it’s oil and gas or ethanol and even cellulosic ethanol. I just think it’s a key part of our future to provide the energy our country needs in a form, with the security, and at a price that people can afford.
When it comes to energy legislation, what are some of the key points that you and your colleagues are considering?
At the end of the day everybody’s very sensitive to cost. That’s the dividing issue. “Yes, I’m interested. Now what’s the price?” And that’s where most people end up focusing. “What do the people of my state have to pay for this?” A very legitimate question.
So I think we’ve got to do these things in a cost-competitive way, and if we do that and are sensitive about that and try to build things in over a time frame where people can do it at the best opportunity, not by forcing it, I think we can move the ball a long way.
What about our country’s transmission grid? It’s out-of-date and incapable of bringing wind and solar from remote areas such as Western Kansas to major population centers.
That’s one of the real tricks. This has to be adequately addressed, and we have to pay for the transmission. I think that’s going to be the big thing that we’re all looking at because everybody’s very sensitive to the cost of utilities. It’s one of those things that needs to be phased in over a period of time so people have normal costs, only you do it on a renewable instead of a fossil-fuel basis in some cases. Or you just look more toward the renewable and you don’t force it over a time period that drives your cost up. I think that’s the key. We’ve got to watch how it’s done and bank into it, not force it on a hard turn.
That’s quite a balancing act.
It is. My focus at this point in time has been how we can take practical steps and balance our economy with energy and the environment. The three E’s. Getting those balanced to where they can all move forward together. That’s what you’ve got to do.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED, CONDENSED, AND EDITED BY ERIC O’KEEFE