ARDOCH, N.D. -- North Dakotans have a clear choice between Earl Pomeroy and Duane Sand on who can best deal with America's energy problems.
A Pomeroy billboard in Grand Forks pictures him with a few windmills in the background. The implication is that he supports this form of energy production and, indeed, his Web site states:
"According to the Department of Energy's Wind Energy Program, North Dakota has the potential to supply 36 percent of the electricity of the lower 48 states through its wind supply alone, but we have just been scratching the surface in terms of harnessing this potential."
Pomeroy vastly overstates the potential for wind, both in time and degree.
A Department of Energy document, "20 percent Wind Energy by 2030," published in July, states:
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"A 20 percent wind scenario in 2030, while ambitious, could be feasible if the significant challenges identified in this report are overcome."
If 20 percent wind energy from all sources will take at least till 2030, how long does Pomeroy expect us to wait for North Dakota alone to produce 36 percent? Can we afford to wait that long?
Pomeroy's energy page praises North Dakota's wind, coal, biofuel and oil production capabilities, but fails to mention his position on total American energy production.
We need not look far for the answer. On Sept. 16, Pomeroy voted with the Democrat majority in favor of HR 6899 -- the poorly named Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act.
Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, described the bill this way:
"This Democratic bill permanently locks away some 88 percent of the best American oil resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. It blocks valuable and job-creating energy production on Alaska's North Slope and Inter-Mountain West. And it stops efforts to produce more and cheaper energy through emissions-free nuclear and coal-to-liquids technologies."
Sand's Web page, on the other hand, clearly addresses the problem:
"We need a comprehensive energy plan now -- a plan that uses all the resources available to our state and nation in an environmentally friendly manner, including oil, natural gas, wind, solar, clean coal, nuclear and renewables."
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Sand is a nuclear engineer and Naval Reserve commander. He has the required first-hand knowledge and experience to properly evaluate the costs and benefits of energy production.
Richard Schmidt
