By Matt Joyce, Staff Writer
Could the United States be described as a “BANANA” republic?
At least by one definition, says Karen Aldermen Harbert, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy.
“Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone,” Harbert explained in a Thursday interview.
“It’s not just, ‘I don’t want a coal plant or a nuclear plant.’ It’s, ‘I don’t want a transmission line, I don’t want a wind turbine, I don’t want a solar farm.’ And we can’t continue like that with electricity demand going up,” she said.
Harbert, who visited Dallas to address the World Affairs Council, said the nation’s energy policies and regulatory structure are hurting investment in the industry.
She said the U.S. Chamber advocates for measures including: more drilling access to restricted onshore and offshore federal resources; streamlined permitting for transmission infrastructure (which would facilitate solar and wind development); tapping coal resources through clean-coal technologies; and expanding the use of nuclear power.
“Whether it’s Dallas or Denver or Des Moines, there’s one thing they all share in common, which is the capital investors in those places all want to see some predictability,” Harbert said. “They put their money in, they want to be able to get it out, and what we are doing is disrupting that. Without that predictability, people don’t invest.”