PHOENIX - By some estimates, the U.S. is growing close to its "energy independence day," when the nation no longer needs to import energy from foreign sources. Oil and natural gas production are booming, along with new sources of renewable energy.

However, an Arizona clean-energy advocate warns that ignoring the effect of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels can cause environmental chaos in the long run. According to Amanda Ormond, managing director of Western Grid Group, the evidence is plain to see.

"In Arizona, talking about climate, people don't want to talk about it," she said. "But it is going to get hotter and drier in our state. So it's really not smart to not be talking about climate and working to mitigate climate impacts."

Ormond said increasing the share of energy produced from renewable sources is the best strategy, along with increased energy efficiency, which she said is the cleanest energy source and also the cheapest, because it's the electricity you don't use.

She said energy security is an important part of energy independence.

"If you're producing wind and solar energy on our soil that needs no fuel from foreign sources, that I think is energy independence that we want," she said. "It doesn't mean we're never going to import something, but it means that we are developing as much of our own technology as we can."

Ormond is troubled that the Arizona Corporation Commission is reconsidering the state's renewable energy standard, which requires 15 percent of electricity to be generated by renewable means by the year 2025. She noted that Arizona Public Service company has already exceeded the standard, years early.

"There are thousands of new rooftop systems, and people understand that they can put solar on their roofs and have a little energy independence," she said.

Last week, President Obama praised what he called "cleaner-burning natural gas" as a safe and cheap source of power that he said will help reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

Ormond however isn't so sure, noting that in many production areas natural gas is being flared off instead of being contained.

"Natural gas is an important component of our energy future, but it still releases a lot of carbon dioxide," she pointed out. "And if we're concerned about climate, I think we have to be concerned about greater and greater uses of natural gas, because it's still a fossil fuel."

Ormond gained a degree of fame during Arizona's alt-fuels scandal in 2000 when she correctly warned that a generous tax credit for converting vehicles to propane and natural gas could potentially bankrupt the state. She was fired from her state job as a result.



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A round of public testimony wrapped up this week as part of renewed efforts by a company seeking permit approval in North Dakota for an underground pipeline carrying carbon emissions. Economic benefits were again touted but the plan still has opponents.

Last year, North Dakota's Public Service Commission denied a permit request from Summit Carbon Solutions, which wants to build a maze of pipelines in several Midwestern states. Emissions from ethanol plants would be captured for underground storage in North Dakota.

Skott Skokos, executive director of the Dakota Resource Council, said they remain unconvinced it would be a worthwhile project.

"It felt like déjà vu," Skokos observed. "I don't think Summit did anything to relax the concerns of the public."

Company officials have submitted a new application with a revised route as they try to ease concerns about safety and landowner rights. During comment periods, Summit leaders and other speakers discussed how the project would provide economic boosts, including corn prices. However, skeptics restated their concerns about potential ruptures and lasting negative effects on the landscape.

Skokos pointed out large carbon-capture projects like these have yet to prove themselves, noting smaller initiatives are not as likely to rile up opponents. He pointed to the Red Trail ethanol plant in North Dakota.

"They're storing it, basically, almost on-site, next to the facility and they're not affecting a bunch of landowners in the process," Skokos emphasized.

The Summit regulatory case has two upcoming public hearings in North Dakota, one scheduled for May 24 and the other on June 4. The company has run into similar opposition and permitting headwinds in other states, including South Dakota.

Leaders concerned about pollution and climate change are raising awareness about a ballot measure this fall on whether the state should mandate buffer zones around new oil and gas wells.

Voters will be asked to uphold or revoke Senate Bill 1173, which would require a 3,200-foot setback around any new well near schools, neighborhoods and hospitals.

Meghan Sahli-Wells, former mayor of Culver City and a leader with the group Elected Officials to Protect America, fought to phase out the Inglewood oil field and said no community should be a sacrifice zone.

"A study from Harvard found that in California, 34,000 people died in 2018, prematurely, from fossil fuel air pollution," Sahli-Wells pointed out. "These figures are three times higher than other studies."

The Stop the Energy Shutdown campaign, supported by the California Independent Petroleum Association, opposes the setback rule, arguing it could constrict local supply and cost jobs in the industry. A court put the bill on hold pending the outcome of the November election. A "yes" vote would keep the setbacks. A "no" vote would rescind them.

Clean energy advocates are also speaking out against companies operating older low-producing wells rather than pay to shut them down and seal them up properly.

Ahmad Zahra, a city council member in Fullerton, said Assembly Bill 2716 would incentivize their closure by charging companies $10,000 a day to operate so-called "stripper wells."

"We have over 40,000 oil wells currently sitting orphaned or idle, leaking methane and volatile organic compounds into the air, water and soil," Zahra emphasized.

Other states are following California's lead. Rep. Debbie Sariñana, D-Albuquerque, New Mexico, is sponsoring a bill to require setbacks near sensitive locations since more than 32,000 children in the state attend school within a mile of an oil and gas extraction site.

"Over 80 schools in northwestern New Mexico - the San Juan Basin and southeastern New Mexico, the Permian Basin - are within one mile of an oil and gas well," Sariñana noted. "Some schools are surrounded by dozens and even hundreds of wells within a single mile."

The construction of more solar farms in the U.S. has been contentious but a new survey shows their size makes a difference in whether solar projects are favored by neighbors.

South Dakota's largest solar installation, the Wild Springs project in New Underwood, began operations in March and covers more than 1.5 square miles. The survey showed projects under 100 megawatts are generally favored by neighbors, while larger ones like Wild Springs are unpopular.

Kristi Pritzkau, finance officer for the City of New Underwood, said the construction traffic was tough on the town of just over 600 but the project's builder, National Grid Renewables, is giving back to the community.

"They had to use our well, so they paid for the water, and they paid for a new pump for it, too," Pritzkau pointed out. "They've been really great with the city."

Prtizkau noted the company donated to the town's pool and Lions Club and has created a school scholarship program, all part of the more than $500,000 of charitable giving it has promised in the project's first 20 years of operation. It is also expected to bring in $12 million of tax revenue to the county in the same time frame.

Sioux Falls-based Missouri River Energy Services has plans to build a new solar project near Brookings and build a transmission line from South Dakota into Minnesota.

Tim Blodgett, vice president of member services and communications for the company, said federal grant programs and tax credits provide incentives and South Dakota produces more energy than it can use.

"With the development of more wind, the development of solar, there's a lot planned right now to get these resources out of this area," Blodgett explained. "Into Minneapolis and other places where there's larger demand for the energy."

Currently, more than half the state's power generation comes from wind, followed by hydropower.


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