Lisa Murkowski: “I support renewables, as does virtually every Member of this body. But the question in my mind, of increasing to the…”

“I support renewables, as does virtually every Member of this body. But the question in my mind, of increasing to the point that the Senator has suggested--an aggressive 10 percent to 20 percent--will cost an extraordinary amount of money when you consider that nonhydro renewables make up less than 4 percent of our total energy needs and less than 2 percent of our electricity consumption. So we need a realistic national energy strategy that includes renewables as part of a balanced energy portfolio. But let's not fool the public into thinking that renewable energy can replace coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear anytime soon. Even if we adopt an aggressive 10- to 20-percent RPS, where will the other 80 to 90 percent of our electric needs come from? Fossil and nuclear, clearly. Even with 3 to 5 percent renewable fuels, the other 95 to 97 percent would still come from oil. Let's move it. Let's recognize the world moves on oil.”