Murkowski named ranking member of U.S. Senate energy subcommittee

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was selected to serve as the ranking member on the subcommittee on energy for the U.S. Senate committee on energy and natural resources, Murkowski’s office said Jan. 11.

The subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes oversight and legislative responsibilities for the following: coal and synthetic fuels research and development; nuclear and non-nuclear energy commercialization projects; nuclear fuel cycle policy; DOE National Laboratories; global climate change; new technologies research and development; nuclear facilities siting and insurance program; commercialization of new technologies including, solar energy systems; federal energy conservation programs; energy information; liquefied natural gas projects; oil and natural gas regulation; refinery policy; coal conversion; utility policy; strategic petroleum reserves; regulation of trans-Alaska pipeline system and other oil and gas pipeline transportation systems within Alaska; Artic research and energy development; and oil, gas and coal production and distribution.

“As we look to increase and diversify energy development in the United States, I will use my position as ranking member of the energy subcommittee to advocate for Alaska’s role in meeting our energy needs,” Murkowski said in a press release.

“Alaska has more to offer than oil on the North Slope. We are the Saudi Arabia of coal, and I will continue to promote investments in new clean coal technologies to find ways to bring this resource to market. Additionally, Alaska is rich in sources of renewable energy. From the wind in the west — to our tremendous tides in Southcentral — to our geothermal springs throughout the state, Alaska has potential to be a leader in alternative energy development. We must invest in the technologies necessary to develop these resources.”

—Petroleum News