With world on cusp of energy transformation, Alaska has critical role to play

Editor’s note: Gov. Mike Dunleavy was a keynote speaker at a major critical minerals conference last Monday and Tuesday at University of Alaska Fairbanks. The conference, which included speakers from the university and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Services, was held to draw attention to Alaska’s potential for supplying critical minerals to world markets. The following is from Dunleavy’s speech.

Alaska has a vital role Alaska to play in securing our national security and economic growth by providing the critical minerals needed for the energy transition we can all see is well underway. At the same time, we are an oil and gas giant, and we will be for many years to come.

We aren’t going to transition overnight. Policies that attempt to eliminate fossil fuels faster than the market will allow are not only destined to fail … but they hurt the people of the least means here and around the world.

That doesn’t mean we aren’t all-in with every form of energy that can make Alaska a more affordable place to live and a more attractive place to do business. We aren’t just rich in oil and gas. We are rich in potential for tidal, geothermal, hydro, pumped hydro, on and offshore wind, and solar.

Alaska embraces renewable and alternative energy.

We already produce more than 30 percent of our utility-scale power from renewables, and we know we can do more as technologies in batteries and storage are advancing. Kodiak has proven we can make great achievements in renewable power, and even communities north of the Arctic Circle like my former hometown of Kotzebue are benefitting from the advancements in solar technology with the new farm that just came online.

None of this progress has happened by accident … and none of it has happened without mining. These advanced technologies depend on critical minerals like cobalt and graphite … rare earths … and traditional mineral commodities like gold and copper. And it just so happens Alaska has an abundance of all of them. Graphite One near Nome is the largest graphite prospect in the country, according to the US Geological Survey. The Ambler Mining District is rich in cobalt and copper … two minerals that an electrified future can’t do without.

The Bokan Mountain prospect on Prince of Wales Island is equally rich in heavy rare earths vital to both our personal technologies like smart phones and the chips that control our fifth-generation fighter jets. And that’s just scratching the surface. The bottom line is Alaska has everything we need to achieve these ambitious goals, and this summit will highlight all of it. Unfortunately … the only thing standing in our way many times is our own federal government.

Consider this. In June 2021, the White House released a report on the demand for critical minerals.

It said, and I quote: “The United States can develop secure and resilient supply chains for clean technologies with a broad value-based policy approach, including continuous research, primary production, downstream manufacturing, and recycling.”

I agree with that. Here’s the problem.

That report references Australia 60 times. Canada is referenced 32 times.

However, that same 250-page report mentioned Alaska only once:

In a footnote.

Alaska is not a footnote when it comes to what we can contribute to the mineral supply chain.

Critical minerals. Rare earths. Copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead. Everything we need is here in Alaska.

We welcome the fact that President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act with a focus on lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel back in April.

But just a month earlier, his same administration took action to halt the road to the Ambler District and revoke the federal right-of-way that would access these critical minerals.

This administration must speak with one voice.

It wants critical minerals, or it doesn’t. It wants to lower energy prices, or it doesn’t. It wants to create jobs in the U.S., or it doesn’t. It wants to protect the environment, or it doesn’t. It cares about human rights, or it doesn’t.

There’s a lot of talk about “ESG” (Environmental, Social Governance) nowadays, but Alaska has been doing ESG before ESG was a “thing”. Here in Alaska, we protect our environment. We have stricter standards than the federal government.

Here in Alaska, we have improved our quality of living, and increased lifespans in the North Slope and Northwest of Alaska by greater margins than anywhere on the planet in the last 45 years. Here in Alaska, mining is the highest-paying job on average. Here in Alaska, mining isn’t an entry-level position for a child who should be learning to read instead of learning to work an underground mine in Congo owned by the Chinese Communist Party to produce a battery for a $75,000 electric vehicle.

Here in Alaska, we have governance at the Tribal, local, and state level that all work together for the benefit of all Alaskans. That’s why you can’t be pro-ESG and anti-Alaska. By every measure, Alaska does it better than anyone.

This disjointed federal permitting process doesn’t just hurt Alaska, either. It hurts every industry in every state. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards joined our Sustainable Energy Conference this past May and, like me, he embraces renewable energy such as Louisiana’s vast offshore wind and its carbon capture potential.

And, like Alaska, when it comes to any energy production, Louisiana has some of the same problems we do. He made one comment regarding the permitting system at the federal level that resonated with me. He said that it doesn’t matter if you set a goal for net zero by 2050 if you don’t issue the permits until 2048.

If we set ambitious goals for EVs (Electric Vehicles) or renewables without permitting the production of critical minerals here … those minerals will still be produced. They just won’t be produced here.

They’ll be produced by child labor. They’ll be produced without any environmental standards. They’ll be produced at the expense of American workers to the benefit of our adversaries. For that reason, at every chance we get … we must deliver this message loud and clear: If you care about the environment, we need to produce resources in Alaska.

If you care about social justice, we need to produce resources in Alaska.If you care about enriching people and not dictators, we need to produce resources in Alaska.

We will repeat this message every chance we have, and this event is one of those times … We can do it in Alaska … and we will do it better than anyone!