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U.S. Energy Secretary: Oil sands to remain part of U.S. energy portfolio

Chu meets with Stelmach, warns the sands must be made cleaner

Acknowledging that America’s appetite for energy will require all that’s on hand—from coal-fired power plants to nuclear energy—U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu yesterday said Alberta’s controversial oil sands will stay part of the mix too. He cautioned that the sands must be cleaned up, however. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, who met with Chu as part of the Western Governors’ Association meeting in Park City, Utah, later spoke hopefully of the energy secretary’s curiosity about the province’s carbon capture and storage initiatives, for which the province has committed $2 billion. Chu has for some time signalled he is a great believer in technology. Still, as Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, told the Calgary Herald: “There’s a lot of concern, frankly, about the environmental footprint associated with the oil sands.”

Calgary Herald

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