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Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — Energy — where it comes from and how we get it — may be the biggest challenge to America’s economic security in the 21st century, according to Karen Alderman-Harbert, executive vice president and managing director of the Institute for 21st Century Energy.

The institute is an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest lobbyists in the nation. Alderman-Harbert, a former Bush administration energy policy adviser, spoke before the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting this week in Fairbanks.

Demand for energy is increasing and is expected to grow by 50 percent worldwide by 2030 and by 70 percent in the developing world, Alderman-Harbert said. New exploration isn’t keeping pace. Aging infrastructure needs major upgrades — an estimated $20 trillion by 2030 — to handle the demand. And environmental sustainability is a growing concern, as more than 70 percent of current anthropological greenhouse gas emissions are energy related.

Easy reserves are long gone, and new oil and gas reservoirs are difficult to develop. Some are geographically challenging, while others are in countries that have nationalized production or are hostile to foreign investment. And most people are resistant to development in their own backyards, an issue that Alderman-Harbert anticipates will grow in importance.

But public opinion is changing as well, which could force lawmakers in Congress to stop politicizing and start developing solid solutions, she said.

When oil prices maintained record highs this summer, Alderman-Harbert said America hit a tipping point. People started changing their habits and driving less, while building their energy IQs and asking who was to blame for the crisis at hand.

“That’s a real hard thing to explain,” she said. “The forecasters can’t even forecast these types of things.”

Growing economies, a decision made 10 years ago by the OPEC oil cartel to slow production, delays in bringing new sources online, refining bottlenecks and more are to blame, she said. And how about speculation?

She said speculation is impacting high prices but is not to blame and neither are the big oil companies.

“There is no easy culprit here,” Alderman-Harbert said. “There’s a whole host of reasons, and that’s why we have to have a much more comprehensive fix to this.”

The fix could take the form of a workable, national energy policy, something the country has only in name, she said.

“They are doing the wrong thing in Washington, because they are being driven by a political agenda,” she said. “The political pressure is up.”

A practical energy policy will have to address certain things, she said, pointing to a list of goals set forth by the institute to increase and diversify supply, improve efficiency, boost technological advances, develop alternatives and renewables, enhance environmental stewardship and modernize infrastructure. The end goal, Alderman-Harbert said, is to direct solutions without harming the economy.

Chambers of commerce can help, she said, by adding their endorsement to the institute’s plan and pressuring policy makers to make decisions.

Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker offered some introductory remarks to conference attendees. He said energy is a priority issue for Interior Alaskans, and one that cannot wait.

“We have a problem here, and we need to deal with it,” Whitaker said, urging his audience to press their state legislators to approve a state energy plan expected this fall from the Alaska Energy Authority.