State's energy future lies offshore, McDonnell says

RICHMOND

Virginia's future as a leader in energy production remains linked to indefinitely delayed plans for oil and natural gas drilling miles off the state coastline, Gov. Bob McDonnell said Wednesday at an energy conference he convened.

That exploration "is a part of American s' energy future that should go forward," McDonnell said, one day after federal officials lifted a ban on deepwater drilling imposed after the Gulf oil spill last spring.

In March, McDonnell, an offshore drilling advocate, celebrated a federal decision to advance plans for leasing ocean floor tracts for drilling.

But his excitement was short-lived - those plans were shelved after the April explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite that disappointment, McDonnell said he believes "Virginia will be an offshore energy leader."

The governor's message echoed many of the themes he's previously stressed, including the need to produce more energy in Virginia, a state he said imports nearly one-third of its electricity.

Meeting that demand requires a strategy that relies on traditional fuels, nuclear power, and biological and renewable alternatives such as offshore wind, McDonnell said.

"The best winds in the country anywhere outside of the United States Congress are off the shores of Virginia," McDonnell said, taking a jab at federal officials. "What we've got to do is find a way to harness it in a commercially practicable way."

He also called for an easing of federal environmental regulations and bureaucratic red tape, which he said can hinder private investments in energy technology that would lead to increased production and spur job growth.

Virginia Sierra Club Director Glen Besa was unmoved by the governor's message.

"He offered no new initiatives whatsoever," Besa said, calling the energy summit a "conference in search of a purpose" that provided the governor a chance to repeat "his blame game of the federal government."

If McDonnell wanted to do something meaningful, Besa added, he would push for mandatory energy efficiency standards and implement a weatherization program to put jobless laborers back to work.

Asked why he didn't unveil any new energy proposals, McDonnell said the intent of the conference is to bring together various energy experts, not launch new initiatives.

The governor said some new energy proposals may be unveiled during next year's General Assembly session.

Delivering the keynote address on the second night of the three-day conference was Texas oil and gas magnate T. Boone Pickens, who advocates an energy plan based on weaning America off foreign sources.

America consumes 21 million of the 86 million barrels of oil produced daily around the globe, said Pickens, calling that rate "unsustainable."

"We have plenty of energy in America to get us off the oil that is coming from the dangerous area, which is the Mide ast," he said. "We are buying oil from the enemy."

To end the nation's dependence on foreign energy exports, Pickens advocates mining vast reservoirs of natural gas contained in coal shale deposits.

He also supports offshore drilling and energy generation from renewable sources, such as offshore wind.

"I'm a real simple guy," Pickens said. "I'll take anything that's American."

Pickens said one way to start the transition is for public officials to commit to purchasing only government fleet vehicles that run on domestic energy sources.

Another is to educate the American public about the energy situation, said Pickens, who advised McDonnell to add energy instruction to the state's education curriculum.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com