From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. –

Former Gov. Tony Knowles was one of nearly a dozen Alaskans in Washington D.C. today to talk alternative energy at an Interior Department conference.

Knowles, a Democrat who was Alaska governor from 1994 to 2002, was invited to the event in his capacity as the head of the Tulsa, Okla.-based National Energy Policy Institute. The institute is working with the Washington D.C.-based think tank Resources for the Future to develop a ranking system for various energy alternatives. When they’re finished with their work next year, Knowles said they hope to have a standard for assessing the cost-effectiveness for various types of energy – as well as their potential for reducing imported oil and greenhouse gas emissions.

Monday's discussion focused on the Interior Department’s role "in the changes necessary in getting a clean energy economy," Knowles said.

Other Alaskans at the event included Chris Rose of the Renewable Energy Alaska Project and Meera Kohler, president of Alaska Village Electric Cooperative. The clean energy forum, in the Executive Office Building next to the White House, attracted people from 39 states and was broadcast on C-SPAN2.

"Alaska was well represented," Knowles said, joking, "We must have been given representation on a square-foot basis."

And as for the rumor about an appointment in the Obama Administration's Commerce Department? Nope, Knowles said Monday afternoon, no truth to that.