Oil executives did their best to dampen enthusiasm for renewable power at CERAWeek, a massive energy conference held in Houston, Texas.
Both Khalid Al-Falih, CEO of Saudi Aramco, and James Mulva, Chairman of ConocoPhillips used their speaking platforms to caution against unbridled optimism about renewable energy as an immediate replacement for fossil fuels.
Mulva said it is impossible for renewable energy sources to develop quickly enough to replace fossil fuels. In fact, he contends that 40 years from now most electricity will continue to be provided by non-renewable sources.
Similarly, Al-Falih said too much focus on investment in clean energy could diminish the amount of capital needed to continue to produce fossil fuels. He explained that subsurface energy sources remain plentiful, and if investment in renewable energy sources is not done prudently it could create a bottleneck in energy supply.
Mulva went even further in his damning of renewable energy sources. He stated that wind, solar, and biofuel sources suffer from multiple ailments including cost, reliability, visual impact, land use, bird strikes, intermittent power supply.
Mulva declared the United States must "overcome the opposition of 'hydrocarbon deniers' [who] believe that renewable energy will quickly and easily replace hydrocarbons and cure all that ails us." Coincidentally, ConocoPhillips was the third largest oil and gas lobbyist in the United States in 2009.
Read the full story at the New York Times: Oil Execs Chortle as Obaama Admin Promotes Renewables
Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has been immersed in the areas of renewable energy and climate change for two years. Before joining EnergyBoom, Nathanael was the Director of Research for the DeSmog Blog. In this role his services included providing research to the New York Times and The Economist.
Energy Boom content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be advice regarding the investment merits of, or a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of, any security identified on, or linked through, this site.
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Oil execs are right about replacing fossil fuels quickly . . .
...and the rest of this story about the rise of renewables is being written. 20 years from now, the energy landscape will be VERY different. Those that lead the way will profit handsomely. Consumers -- residential, commercial, institutional and industrial -- who reduce their expose to fossil fuels already are reaping measurable dividends.
Fighting It
I agree, but the oil industry is going to fight tooth-and-nail to slow and hinder the clean energy revolution because at the end of the day oil is not only the bigger business at the moment, but also the business they know best.