Energy summit says plan is needed

Now that the days of cheap energy are over, it's time to come up with a strategy to develop new technologies, including ways to cut consumption, participants at the first-ever Utah Energy Summit were told Monday.

"This is way too important an issue to be stalled on," Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said during a governor's roundtable that linked Western and Eastern leaders via a live video conference.

Huntsman called for increased support of research and development into alternative energy sources as well as into ways of cleaning up problems left behind by more traditional industries.

He also said the United States must become energy self-sufficient, a message that needs to be delivered loud and clear to policymakers in Washington, D.C. "It's high time we sent a signal to Washington that it needs to be a priority," Huntsman said.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal was blunt in his assessment.

"We need to be honest," Freudenthal said, especially with citizens who are already "beginning to understand the era of cheap energy is gone" and costs will continue to rise in the coming years.

The federal government needs to step in and create a plan for coordinating all of the different energy options, including coal, nuclear, solar, wind and conservation, Freudenthal said, making it clear he's usually no fan of federal intervention.

"We have to end the tension between the different energy options. We have to use everything at our disposal," he said, adding that no one yet is talking about the problem on a scale that's large enough.

For example, the Wyoming governor said the nation spent some $100 billion to put a man on the moon. Gaining energy independence through coordinating the country's resources could cost much, much more, he suggested.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer warned that "if we don't get it right, we'll lose this country" and asked that the industry itself contribute. "It's time for you to invest," Schweitzer said, noting they have all done well financially.

Two other governors participated from their home states via video conference, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin. Gibbons said the tremendous growth in his state has made the challenge of providing energy even more difficult.

Manchin, who hosted a panel in West Virginia that including several coal industry officials, said the focus of any efforts must be to lessen dependence on imported oil. "This is a national problem that we have to work together to solve," he said.

Utah can do a lot more when it comes to generating renewable energy, especially wind, like its neighboring state of Colorado, according to industry experts at the summit.