oil and gas
CEA Commends Administration, Department of Energy for Issuing First Loan Guarantee to Build Nuclear Power Plant
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
HOUSTON – February 17, 2010 Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) applauded the Administration’s announcement yesterday that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will soon be issuing its first loan guarantee to build two new nuclear reactors.
“In a future where carbon will increasingly be constrained, nuclear power generation needs to play an increasingly central role in contributing to the energy mix of the United States — providing baseload capacity and an affordable supply of electricity to power our homes, our businesses and our industries,” said CEA president David Holt.
“More important,” added Holt, “is that the advancement of nuclear energy and other clean energy technologies will also help create thousands of new jobs and provide substantial benefits to consumers, the economy and the environment, all while strengthening our national energy security.”
Pursuant to the president’s announcement, DOE is expected to grant an $8.3 billion conditional loan guarantee for the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia by Southern Company. The construction of these new reactors is estimated to generate roughly 3,000 construction jobs and more than 800 permanent operations jobs.
CEA has actively supported policies important to the nuclear energy industry, particularly as they relate to financing support and efficient licensing for new nuclear facilities.
“It is important that the federal government encourage the continued development of nuclear energy, as well as oil, natural gas, wind, solar, hydro, and biomass. These resources must all play a role in meeting our energy needs,” said Holt.
Tags: alternative energy, alternatives, American energy, balanced energy, Department of Energy, DOE, domestic energy, nuclear, nuclear power, nuclear reactors, oil and gas
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More about that letter writing campaign
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Last year, CEA launched a successful campaign, which we later reported, sent a bundle of letters supporting responsible drilling to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. More, recently, we’ve highlighted reports confirming what we said: That those in favor of expanded drilling outnumbered opponents by a two-to-one margin.
Seemingly a cause for celebration, except that no one from Interior is focused on this issue. This disparity between what the public wants and what is happening in Washington is increasingly cause for concern.
The latest to weigh in on the injustice is the Heritage Foundation, which cites that same gaping two-to-one margin (how often is any election won by so much?) and asks the very reasonable question How about some transparency on offshore drilling?
“Government inaction simply doesn’t make sense,” notes Heritage, which last year also sponsored a successful Free Our Energy campaign. “Offshore drilling will create jobs and increase energy supply without cost to the taxpayer. It will create revenues for financially strapped state government and increase revenues for federal governments. President Obama said in his State of the Union address that we should make tough decisions about offshore drilling. It sounds like a pretty easy decision.”
In view of such disregard of overwhelming public opinion, it seems that making your opinion heard – while still vital – is no longer sufficient. In 2010, there will be battles over energy policy, but we will also need to get the word out that the public has spoken and that their views are being discarded. In the coming weeks and months we will provide more information about how to keep the pressure on lawmakers to do the right thing with regards to national energy policy.
In the meantime, keep in mind that two-to-one ratio. It’s a remarkably strong vote of confidence for the policies we at CEA promote. Two out of three people support expanded offshore drilling: The more those numbers are shared, the more pressure the Interior Department will come under to remove some of that red tape that stands in the way of sensible policy.
Tags: American energy, balanced energy, Department of the Interior, domestic energy, domestic oil, drilling, Interior, Ken Salazar, offshore drilling, oil and gas
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CEA: New Study Reveals Economic Consequences of Continued Inaction on American Energy Exploration
Monday, February 15th, 2010
NARUC study finds U.S. economy has much to gain from responsible onshore and offshore energy exploration – and much to lose under restrictive status quo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 15, 2010 America’s reliance on foreign countries for its energy will grow by 19 percent over the next 20 years, accelerating the transfer of U.S. wealth to members of OPEC by more than $600 billion. That’s just one of the startling conclusions found in a new report issued today by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) at the group’s winter meeting in Washington – all, assuming a scenario in which policy-makers keep intact decades-old restrictions on accessing America’s abundant, available energy resources.
“It’s easy to measure how the positive development of energy contributes to the creation of jobs, the generation of government revenue, and the stabilization of energy prices,” said David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), and a presenter at NARUC’s meeting this week. “It’s a lot harder trying to assess the opportunity cost we’re forced to pay by not producing that energy – how many jobs we stand to lose, how much additional money we’d have to send to OPEC. Now, thanks to this NARUC study, we have such a relative indicator. And let me tell you: It’s not pretty.”
The NARUC study, assembled by experts from the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and the Gas Technology Institute, broadly examines the social, economic and environmental impacts associated with the continuation of a policy that has for generations kept billions of barrels of American oil and trillions of cubic feet of American natural gas under statutory (and de facto) lock-and-key. To do that, the study first provides the most up-to-date assessment of America’s onshore and offshore oil and natural gas resources. It then uses the well-respected National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) to render a quantitative summary of the jobs, revenue and even number of “housing starts” Americans should expect to surrender in the future under the status quo energy policies of today.
“Higher energy prices, greater volatility, expanded foreign dependence, and $2.3 trillion less for everyday Americans to spend – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” added Holt. “The good news is that this report describes a scenario for the future that we don’t have to accept – and mustn’t. The bad news is that, despite overwhelming support for new energy exploration among the American people, the inertia of inaction that has defined this debate will be difficult to reverse. With the help of this report, though, it’s my hope that it’s an effort about which we will finally get serious.”
The following represent some of the key findings contained in the study – again, modeled under a scenario that assumes energy resources on federal lands (onshore and offshore) currently locked away continue to be denied to the American people in the future:
- American production of crude oil: Projected to decrease – relative to a scenario in which we decide to produce our offshore energy resources –by 9.9 billion barrels, an average annual decrease of nearly 15 percent;
- Imports of oil from OPEC: Projected to increase by 4.1 Billion barrels, an average annual increase of nearly 19 percent, resulting in increased cumulative payments to OPEC of $607 Billion;
- American production of natural gas: Projected to decrease by 46 Tcf – an average annual decrease of nearly 9 percent;
- Employment (energy intensive industries): Projected to decrease by nearly 13 million jobs;
- Housing Starts: Projected to decrease by nearly 200,000;
- Annual average natural gas prices increase by 17 percent;
- Annual average electricity prices increase by 5 percent;
- Real disposable income: Projected to decrease cumulatively by $2.34 trillion;
- Energy costs to consumers: Projected to increase by $2.35 trillion – an annual average increased cost of 5 percent;
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Projected to decrease by $2.36 trillion;
- Real Consumption: Projected to decrease by $1.44 Trillion.
For more information, visit www.naruc.org.
Tags: American energy, balanced energy, NARUC, national association of regulatory utility commissioners, oil and gas, OPEC
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Washington, offshore drilling, and you
Monday, February 15th, 2010
In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama got a lot of people excited when he mentioned that it was time to “make tough choices on offshore drilling” in a sentence that initially seemed to suggest he was open to considering some new projects. That sense of hope may be short-lived, however, when you examine all of the recent decisions by the Administration that indicate a reluctance to fully encourage access to our domestic resources. All you had to do was look at the current Interior Department’s track record to conclude that, much like previous Administrations, it has been more focused on setting up barriers than to helping responsible drilling proceed.
This blog argues that, far from suggesting he might be open to more drilling on the country’s Outer Continental Shelf, Obama may have meant the exact opposite:
“Maybe by ‘tough choices’ (the President) meant deciding not to open up the OCS for more exploration. That’s exactly what Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been doing for the last year.”
CEA has repeatedly highlighted past and present Interior Departments’ uses of stall tactics and red tape that has resulted in a historically low number of lease sales for oil and gas development, which, in turn, leads to reduced revenues for the federal government, fewer jobs and a worsening economy.
But we are also doing more than just keeping track of what has been going on in Washington for the past decade. By rallying support for responsible drilling onshore and off, as well as advancing expanded use of alternative energy, we’ve made considerable progress against opponents who are often more vocal and visible than we are. And by encouraging our company members and individual supporters to make their voices heard in various letter writing campaigns to Interior Secretary Salazar and others, we’ve demonstrated that a majority of Americans are on our side.
The Wall Street Journal recently reached the same conclusion, reporting that public comments supported expanded offshore drilling by a margin of two-to-one.
We have to believe this groundswell of support means that hope is not lost and that we must continue to work with the Administration on ways to improve our national energy policy. Obama might not have meant that he’d support more drilling when he alluded to the “tough decisions” that awaited him. But with a growing demand for more domestically-produced power, for more jobs and for a swifter economic recovery, it is time that we ask our leaders in Washington to review our national energy policy and listen more closely to what we have to say. We all need to work together to redouble our efforts and get the word out about the urgent need for responsible domestic energy production.
Tags: administration, balanced energy, domestic resources, Obama, offshore drilling, oil and gas
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Our blog bots don’t like red tape blocking access to domestic energy.
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Tags: American energy, balanced energy, domestic energy, oil and gas
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CEA February 2010 Newsletter
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
CEA Newsletter
Issue 35
Message from CEA President David Holt
In recent days, President Barack Obama delivered his first State of the Union address which focused on an increase in government action to combat the nation’s existing economic problems. The President called for assertive development of safe, clean nuclear power as well as increased energy efficiency and renewable energy.
CEA is in complete agreement with the President’s emphasis on these areas of American energy production, but stand strong on our stance that responsible development of these resources must occur as part of a balanced, all-of-the-above energy policy that includes traditional resources, such as oil and natural gas, in addition to alternative sources.
Currently, actions are speaking louder than the words of the President’s recent speech. Over the past year, the Administration has put the brakes on many essential American energy developments, including production of oil shale in the western United States and American offshore resources. The Administration has revoked many oil and gas leases which had already been issued resulting in the potential loss of millions of dollars in royalties for the nation and numerous jobs for its people.
Numerous other initiatives promoted by the Administration would have negative impacts on the economy, including hiking taxes on America’s oil and gas companies – a policy that would lower domestic energy production at a time when the nation needs increased energy sources.
When the nation is calling out for more energy, the Administration is taking action to restrict its development. During the past year, fewer onshore and offshore acres have been leased than in any previous year on record and the government brought in less than 1/10th of the revenue from oil and gas lease sales in 2009 than the year before.
Words are only as strong as the actions behind them. Right now, the United States needs robust and stable energy policy that will encourage economic recovery and job creation. The Administration’s actions are in direct conflict with progress in these areas.
The United States must not unreasonably restrict development of traditional energy sources, such as oil and natural gas. Unnecessary restriction of American resources would put a heavier burden on an already struggling economy and hinder the future success of the United States and her citizens while forcing a stronger national dependence on unstable foreign resources.
The focus of our nation’s energy policy should be balance – a balance between concerns over the environment and climate with the responsibility of ensuring the well-being of the American people, job creation and economic growth. To keep the nation’s interests in balance, it is essential that U.S. energy policies reflect an all-of-the-above approach that includes reasonable and responsible development of traditional resources as well as alternative sources, including solar, wind, wave and more.
As the Administration develops its energy initiatives, CEA is working hard and moving forward in promoting policies and education that will benefit all American consumers. We recognize the importance of American energy development of all types of energy and are working with lawmakers and stakeholders to develop policies favorable to domestic production of renewables and traditional sources.
Thank you for being an active part of CEA. Working together, we will meet our nation’s energy challenges and help secure a successful economic future for America. Your support is critical.
David Holt
President
Ensure a Balanced Approach to America’s Offshore & Ocean Resources!
Currently, the federal government is considering a plan for our nation’s oceans that, if implemented, would significantly impair our nation’s ability to safely develop its own offshore energy, including oil, natural gas and renewable energy. To help ensure that the Administration and the Ocean Policy Task Force adopt a framework that will strengthen the American economy and improve energy security, please submit a comment in support of the safe and responsible development of U.S. offshore resources. Send in your comments today!
Help Defeat Efforts to Ban North American Energy and Increase Prices at the Pump!
The Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is being sold to the American public as a way to blend transportation fuels with low-carbon alternatives so that tailpipe CO2 emissions can be reduced. But the fact is that affordable and reliable lower-carbon fuel options are not yet available. As a result, an LCFS simply will increase the cost of diesel fuel and gasoline and will place certain domestic supplies of transportation fuels off limits. Increasing the cost of transportation fuel and U.S. dependence upon foreign sources of petroleum is simply unsound energy policy.
Join our effort to defeat these measures, which would put an economic stranglehold on America and leave U.S. consumers stuck with higher prices at the pump. Send in your comments today!
Visit the CEA Store – Show your support!
CEA recently launched an online store complete with CEA and domestic energy development-themed merchandise. We’ve included many unique items that will appeal to every taste and budget, such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, yard signs, buttons, mugs and even a doggie-sized T-shirt for your four-footed friend. Help CEA spread the word regarding the necessity of a balanced energy policy for America! Visit the CEA Store today.
CEA Welcomes New Affiliate Members
CEA is proud to announce the addition of several new affiliate members who have joined our alliance in recent months: American Public Power Association, Association of Oil Pipelines and Nucor Steel. For a complete list of CEA’s valued affiliates, click here.
CEA Blog: One Year Later, Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Check out CEA’s recent blog entry about the actions and restrictions of the Obama Administration during 2009 related to American energy development. Join the conversation at CEA’s website. Read blog…
Consumer Corner: Bring Your Green To WORK!
Maybe you’ve already made your home energy-efficient – now it’s time to take your green to work! EnergyStar.gov is currently promoting a nationwide campaign that encourages all Americans to practice energy efficiency not only in their homes, but also their workplaces.
First things first – create a “Green Team” at your office that encourages others to make an effort when it comes to saving energy. Then, follow a simple checklist to implement green tips. Included on the list are: 1. Set your computer and monitor to automatically enter “power save” mode when not in use, 2. Use a power strip as a central turn-off spot, 3. Unplug laptops, cell phones and chargers after use – leaving them plugged in wastes energy!, 4. Swap out old-fashioned light bulbs for new Energy Star qualified bulbs – last 10 times longer and use 75% less energy!, and 5. Keep air vents unblocked so that air can flow freely. Start your Green Team today!
China Surging Ahead With Clean Energy Development
Over the past year, China has greatly expanded clean energy development efforts, including attaining the position of the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, sparking concern that the United States is falling behind. Read article…
Federal Government Announces Energy Efficiency Plans
The White House recently announced plans to reduce the federal government’s energy use and emissions by 28 percent (from 2008 levels) by 2020. Read article…
Opinion: Highway Users & Energy Companies: Where do our interests meet?
By Greg Cohen, American Highway Users Alliance
With motorists, bus drivers, truckers, RVers, and motorcyclists dependent on reliable and affordable energy, the inseparable relationship between highway users and energy is clear and unquestionable. Thus, it is not surprising that both the highway and energy industries often support the same policies, including support for additional, stable supplies of fuel and maintaining a strong user fee principle for highway funding.
Both highway users and the energy community agree that an excise tax on gas is necessary to maintain our roads. And as long as the tax on petroleum is seen by politicians and the public as a user fee specifically for highway usage, legislators cannot use it as a blank check to pursue broad ideological agendas. With this in mind, as long as the user fee is maintained, the United States will continue to have among the lowest taxes on petroleum among industrialized nations. For highway users, this means a cheaper and safer trip. For energy companies, this means limits to taxation and a better bottom line.
Every day, energy companies and highway users encounter many of the same painstaking issues as we attempt to make the improvements and innovations necessary to keep America moving. Despite incredible engineering advances that make our modern projects overwhelmingly beneficial for people and the environment, we face the same adversaries. Both energy and highway projects are routinely delayed for decades by bureaucratic red tape, and opponents remain ever hungry to target our industries for taxation and regulation. Our consumers are also targeted by those who wish to change our behaviors – sometimes through coercive measures developed by unelected bureaucrats. We therefore share a unique set of challenges and typically share the same supporters and opponents.
Politically active highway users recognize this, and have reacted to many of these challenges by cooperating hand-in-hand with the energy industry to raise awareness of the benefits of each other’s projects. Often, the solutions to project delays in the highway and energy fields are similar.
On the nation’s most prominent topic of energy discussion, “cap-and-trade”, the American Highway Users Alliance has joined with some energy companies and many other partners to oppose legislation that places a disproportionate burden on the oil industry. While we envision a cap-and-trade bill that could garner our support, we have not found one in either the House Waxman-Markey bill or the Senate Kerry-Boxer bill. We continue to look for Senators who are open to a plan that would exempt downstream fuels from the cap and apply fuel cost increases to highway project funding. And we have worked tirelessly to publicize the damaging effects that the Waxman-Markey bill would have on fuel prices.
The mutual interests of the highway and energy communities will continue to intersect, just as they do at every gas pump in America, and we will continue to work together on these issues to help make America safer and more mobile. As two industries that are so vitally important to America’s economy and culture, it is a great relationship to be in.
For more information on the American Highway Users Alliance, visit www.highways.org.
Affiliate Spotlight: Independent Petroleum Association of America
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the leading, national upstream trade association representing 5,000 independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies located throughout the United States.
“IPAA is dedicated to ensuring a strong, viable oil and natural gas industry in America, recognizing that an adequate, reliable, affordable and secure supply of American energy is essential to the national economy,” says President and CEO Barry Russell.
From its roots 80 years ago when IPAA began protecting the business interests of America’s independent oil and natural gas producers, the organization continues its mission today. Independent producers currently develop 90 percent of the oil and gas wells in the U.S., produce 68 percent of American oil and produce 82 percent of American natural gas.
“Independent producers are the small, high tech businesses that employ on average 12 employees and drill nine out of every ten wells across the country today. Our members are in the business of energy, which is why America’s national energy policy is of great concern to our association,” explains Russell.
IPAA believes that policymakers should encourage the growth of all energy sources.
“When you reduce investment in American energy resources the result is less American production, lost jobs, more foreign dependency, weakened national security and higher prices for Americans. This is the wrong course for America, especially during an economic recession when American oil and natural gas production has proven to be a job creator and revenue provider for decades,” he emphasizes. “American oil and natural gas investment can be a real economic stimulus package if federal policies would encourage its production here at home.”
IPAA believes that America must embrace conservation, efficiency and all forms of American energy for the future.
“Today, oil and natural gas provide two-thirds of our nation’s energy needs, as well as the fuel for many alternative energy projects. The fact remains, that for the foreseeable future, oil and natural gas will be our main fuel source,” Russell notes. “We urge the administration to move forward with commonsense, long term solutions that encourage domestic energy production. American jobs and our national security are at stake.”
IPAA is an affiliate of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) because it brings together industries representing diverse sectors of the U.S. economy who are concerned about securing reliable, affordable, American energy for consumers all across the country.
“IPAA believes there is strength in numbers, and playing an active role in CEA affords IPAA a stronger voice on Capitol Hill,” Russell concludes. “We all agree that the United States needs to find commonsense, long term energy solutions that will benefit the economy and strengthen our national security. This can only be done by promoting an all of the above approach to developing America’s energy resources.”
For more information on the Independent Association of America, visit www.ipaa.org.
Tags: Barack Obama, CEA newsletter, consumer corner, February 2010 newsletter, highway users, IPAA, issue 35, LCFS, oil and gas
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CEA IN THE NEWS: Salazar-oil industry war escalates as Interior announces leasing changes
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Consumer Energy Alliance was in the news on January 6, 2010, in The Hill: “Salazar-oil industry war escalates as Interior announces leasing changes” by Ben German. Read more …
Tags: american resources, domestic energy, oil and gas, oil industry, Salazar, The Hill
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CEA: California LCFS Bad for Consumers, Bad for Producers, and Violates Federal Law
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Consumer Energy Alliance files complaint with District Court in Fresno asking for immediate injunction on Low-Carbon Fuel Standard
FRESNO – February 2, 2010 California’s recently implemented Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) violates federal law by attempting to regulate “commerce and conduct” outside of the state, while imposing a mandate that even regulators admit will result in “little or no net change” to the carbon intensity of fuels on “a global-scale.” Such is the formal complaint filed by Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California today, asking the court to suspend the imposition of a statewide LCFS until a number of substantive legal concerns can be addressed.
“The practical outcomes of the California LCFS are higher fuel costs for consumers, dramatic reductions in the availability of those fuels, and a rapid expansion of the state’s already unacceptable level of dependence on foreign, unstable regimes for its energy,” said Michael Whatley, vice-president of CEA and former chief counsel for the U.S. Senate subcommittee on clean air and climate change. “More relevant to today’s filing, the California LCFS also actually violates federal law – and stands in direct contravention of key consumer protections and safeguards enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.”
Formally adopted last month after the state’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL) issued its final approval, the California LCFS, according to its authors, seeks to reduce the carbon-intensity of fuels included in the state’s transportation mix “while stimulat[ing] the production and use of alternative, low-carbon fuels.” But under the bizarre accounting methodology of the plan, energy sources with physically identical chemical properties and carbon contents can – and, in fact, must be – treated differently under the law, with in-state sources significantly advantaged over resources that are found and produced outside California.
“Perhaps it wasn’t the state’s intent, but as written, the California LCFS is an example of parochial protectionism run amok,” added Whatley. “But make no mistake: This isn’t the type of protectionism that will benefit California consumers; it’s the type that will ensure sources of essential energy are harder to find in the future, and much more expensive to purchase.”
In support of that statement, Whatley pointed to a recent analysis of the proposed state LCFS completed by California-based Sierra Research. In that study, analysts from Sierra found that an LCFS will increase the cost of fuel in California by $3.7 billion over the next decade – all while producing “no detectable change in climate.”
With more than 260,000 grassroots supporters and 130 affiliates representing both the major consuming and producing segments of the U.S. energy sector, CEA has been an active contributor to the national debate on LCFS – including the proceedings in California – for the better part of the last two years.
Last August, the Washington, D.C.-based Center for North American Energy Security, a CEA member, sent a letter to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) detailing the myriad short-comings with the LCFS, and several CEA members (including the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association and the American Trucking Associations – which joined CEA in filing the complaint today) have lodged formal comments with CARB objecting to the plan as well. In addition, CEA wrote directly to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in October identifying several significant consequences that consumers should expect to encounter under the initiative.
What follows are several key excerpts taken from the CEA complaint filed in Fresno this morning:
42. Because “carbon intensity” is designed to account not only for a fuel’s physical characteristics, but also the energy necessary to bring the transportation fuel to market in California, chemically identical fuels are assigned different carbon intensities under the LCFS. LCFS § 95486(b), Tables 6–7.
44. By regulating the “fuel pathway” of transportation fuels – i.e., the manner in which transportation fuels are produced and ultimately reach the California market – the LCFS directly regulates interstate commerce and conduct occurring outside of California.
47. CARB has admitted that, because no other states have adopted a similar standard, “fuel producers are free to ship lower-carbon-intensity fuels to areas with such standards, while shipping higher-carbon-intensity fuels elsewhere.” CARB, California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard: An Update on the California Air Resources Board’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program (Oct. 2009) at 1.
48. According to CARB, “[t]he end result of this fuel ‘shuffling’ process is little or no net change in fuel carbon-intensity on a global scale.” Id.
49. In fact, the “fuel shuffling” promoted by the LCFS likely will lead to an overall increase in GHG emissions, because it will mean redirecting fuels and feedstocks destined for California to other states through less efficient and redundant supply lines. Id.; see also CARB, Final Statement of Reasons (Dec. 2009) at 234–35.
50. The burdens imposed by the LCFS on the interstate market for transportation fuels and fuel feedstocks in California are clearly excessive when measured against the putative local benefits of the LCFS in California.
More from Consumer Energy Alliance’s Secure Our Fuels campaign:
- Memorandum of Understanding: Draft NESCAUM MOU dated Nov. 17, 2009
- Analysis: CEA comments to NESCAUM on draft LCFS plan
- Study: LCFS would do nothing to lower global GHG emissions; it may even increase them
- PowerPoint: Carmen Difiglio presentation on LCFS
- Interactive Map: See which states stand to lose the most under an LCFS
- Column: Why Are We Conceding Canadian Oil to China?
- Issue Alert: Happy Birthday, China
Tags: carbon footprint, climate change, domestic energy, emissions, Fresno, GHG emissions, LCFS, Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, oil and gas, Secure Our Fuels, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
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CEA: Interior’s Delay on VA Offshore Energy Exploration Could Cost Jobs, Econ. Growth
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Consumer group says safe, responsible offshore energy exploration presents “tremendous economic opportunity”
HOUSTON – January 27, 2010 The Interior Department will not proceed with a long-scheduled offshore energy lease sale in areas 50 miles and beyond the coast of Virginia either this year or next, Reuters reports — despite a request from Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell that commonsense efforts be made right now to ensure that work can finally begin. Following the revelation today from the Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS), Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) president David Holt issued the following statement:
“When the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia asks the federal government to partner with his administration in an effort to convert the abundant reserves of energy off his shores into jobs, revenue and energy security for Virginians, you’d hope to see a sensible process move forward. If news today out of MMS is any indication, the federal government appears ready to delay that critical work for at least another year, meaning additional delays in creating jobs, reducing energy costs and getting the U.S. economy moving again.
The Administration should do more to show that it recognizes the tremendous economic opportunity that safe and responsible offshore energy exploration presents to the citizens of Virginia, and the nation at large.
“We’re talking about thousands of high-wage jobs here, and billions in annual revenue that can be raised without imposing a single new tax. When it comes to promoting alternative energy resources offshore, the Administration has compiled an impressive record – and we applaud those efforts. This announcement signals that the Administration may not be looking to maximize our nation’s enormous oil and gas potential offshore with the same enthusiasm. Those who support a balanced, commonsense national energy strategy look forward to continuing to work with the Administration to create jobs, improve our national and energy security and responsibly allow access to our abundant resources.”
NOTE: Identified by the Interior Department as an area for future lease in 2008, the Virginia lease sale, scheduled currently to take place in 2011, has been delayed for at least another year, according to reports.
Late last year, then-Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell of Virginia (now formally the governor) wrote Secretary Salazar a letter suggesting that “[a]ny effort to remove or delay Virginia’s participation in the lease sale would significantly hamper our efforts to create jobs, eliminate much-needed new revenue, and undermine support for President Obama’s stated commitment to make the United States more energy secure.”
Tags: balanced energy, domestic energy, energy policy, Obama, oil and gas, Reuters, VA Offshore, Virginia offshore
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SEA: Salazar Delay on Virginia OCS May Run Afoul of the Law
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Fredericksburg, Va. – January 27, 2010 The decision on the part of the Interior Department to delay administrative action on a scheduled and critically important lease sale more than 50 miles off the state of Virginia may not be consistent with the orders of a federal court, the Southeast Energy Alliance charged today.
“The decision by the Department of the Interior is contrary to the expressed wishes of the state of Virginia and appears to violate an order from the US Court of Appeals,” said Michael Whatley, executive director of the Southeast Energy Alliance and former staff director and chief counsel for the U.S. Senate subcommittee on clean air and climate change. “We are deeply concerned about the Department’s decision to take this lease sale off the table — despite strong public support, and clear instructions from a federal court.”
The 2011 Virginia lease sale was included in the 2007-2012 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program published by the Department in 2007 following a three-year development process. The 2007-2012 Program has been the subject of lawsuits regarding the environmental sensitivity rankings used by the Department in developing the program. However, on July 28, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals issued a clarification order that limited any changes to the program arising from the litigation to leasing areas in Alaska.
“The Virginia lease sale was included in the Five Year Program at the request of Virginia following years of careful, thorough consideration by the Department of the Interior,” added Whatley. “Public support for the lease sale is extraordinarily strong and Governor McDonnell has stated that he wants to see the lease sale take place in 2011.” Whatley also pointed to a statement posted today on the website of U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), indicating that both Sens. Webb and Mark Warner (D-Va.) support prompt action on the Virginia lease sale.
The Interior Department’s revisions to the 2007-2012 Program are taking place solely because of the ongoing litigation over its Alaskan provisions, and the federal Court of Appeals has ruled that any changes to the plan during the Department’s reconsideration of the Program must be limited to Alaska. “For the Department to strip it out of the schedule under these circumstances is a direct hit on the families, farms, factories and businesses of Virginia,” Whatley concluded.
SEA is the Southeastern regional affiliate of the Consumer Energy Alliance.
Tags: domestic energy, michael whatley, offshore development, oil and gas, SEA, Southeast Energy Alliance, Virginia leases
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A pattern of delays
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Is the Interior Department really giving a fair and balanced review of the properties up for consideration for oil and gas leasing? Or, as the data we posted earlier this week suggest, is it engaged in a pattern of blocking any progress with repeated delays and endless red tape?
In support of the second theory, you might want to submit the recent delays to allow drilling off the coast of Virginia as Exhibit A. Except that there have been so many other instances of stalling tactics all around the country, that it’s getting hard to count them all. Far from an isolated example of the country’s Interior Department blocking responsible development of natural resources, this latest delay — in what would have been the first Atlantic coast drilling project to get underway since the ban ended in 1998 – suggests more of the same. Ban or no ban, lots of projects are still being blocked.
You don’t necessarily think Big Oil when you think of the state of Virginia. But like so many states all around the country, Virginia’s estimated reserves are substantial. The three million acre swath located 50 miles offshore that was to have been leased next year, holds an estimated 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Now, the Interior Department says any lease sales will be delayed until at least 2012, and may not go forward at all.
Tags: American energy, domestic production, Interior Department, Obama, offshore resources, offshore Virginia, oil and gas, virginia
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One year later, actions speak louder than words
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
A few weeks ago, when we were basking in a festive holiday spirit, we made a long list of all the things CEA and its supporters had achieved in 2009. But holiday cheer inevitably gives way to the reality of the cold dark winter months, when optimism is replaced by a pressing sense of all the work yet to be done.
This year, mid-January has also brought the anniversary of President Obama’s first year in office, and as the Institute for Energy Research recently concluded, the new policies set over the past 365 days have clearly not supported a strong domestic energy industry.
For instance:
–In 2009, the Interior Department collected only a very small fraction of oil and gas lease sales it had completed in 2008.
–Less than 3% of the available public lands are leased for oil and gas development. Under Obama’s Interior Department fewer acres – both onshore and off – were leased in 2009 than in any previous year.
One story that covered these new findings quoted CEA’s David Holt blaming excessive red tape. “No administration in history has done more to ensure producers do less,” Holt said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Pyle, who heads the Institute for Energy Research, stresses that energy policy cannot be viewed in a vacuum. In this review of Obama’s first year in office, Pyle notes that the President’s efforts to create jobs have suffered from a focus on “unproven technology that is not economically viable.” Such investments have created only a small number of jobs, compared to what could be created by loosening the restrictions on oil and gas exploration and production, he said.
Just how many jobs can a strong domestic energy industry support? As American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard outlined in a recent speech, the U.S. oil industry directly supports 9.2 million American jobs and created millions of new jobs over the past decade.
As Obama enters his second year with unemployment higher than it has been in a generation and growing cries for aggressive job creation efforts, let’s hope that his administration starts to see the devastating economic impact of its energy policy and works to help ensure that Americans can have both jobs and affordable energy.
Tags: Barack Obama, David Holt, domestict energy, Institute for Energy Research, Interior Department, Jack Gerard, oil & gas, oil and gas, oil leases, public lands, Thomas Pyle
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Marcellus bids underscore growing interest in shale
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Last month, Exxon Mobil made a major investment in XTO, one of the largest shale gas producers in the U.S., and the in the weeks since then, a number of other major oil companies have moved aggressively to establish or expand their presence in the shale sector.
Earlier this week, five companies submitted bids totaling $129 million — twice as much as the amount forecasted — for the rights to drill in the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation in northern Pennsylvania. This growing interest comes amid mounting evidence of the vast volumes of shale gas, which by some estimates, on a global basis, exceed the world’s oil reserves.
Other shale areas, such as the Haynesville Shale in Texas and Louisiana, are also seeing strong interest from energy producers.
The last time we wrote about shale, we noted that improved production technologies would be key to generating a steady supply of shale gas, and helping to ensure mass production. Of course, this path to mass production is never a smooth one, even for the most promising and abundant energy resources. In addition to the technology challenges associated with production challenges, regulatory challenges are also likely. Already, shale producers in New York say that onerous regulations are driving them out of the state.
We’re not sure what the coming year has in store for the shale gas industry, but we do know that it’s an area we all must watch closely. We’re encouraged by the growing interest in these sites and we need to make sure that the projects, which could contribute significantly to our domestic natural gas supply, are allowed to proceed.
Tags: domestic energy, exxon mobil, marcellus shale natural gas, oil and gas, pennsylvania, shale gas
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In California, progress is … complicated
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Last year, a severe budget crisis in the country’s most populous state made California the site of a lively – and unexpected — debate over reviving offshore drilling.
Now Governor Schwarzenegger has drafted a new budget, which does indeed include proposals to revive drilling in a large and controversial site, known as the Tranquillon Ridge, off the coast of Santa Barbara. It’s a site that by some estimates could generate $4 billion in revenue for the California. It seems a budget crisis is just what was needed to trigger serious policy discussions about offshore drilling as a source of new revenue.
Of course, as we’ve said again and again, we’re all for healthy debates that might lead to more coastal waters being opened to responsible exploration and production. Still, it is difficult to watch this particular debate unfold without being reminded of how far we still need to go, at least in some parts of the country.
Out west, the prospect of additional drilling is too often regarded as a move of last resort rather than a logical energy and economic policy. Schwarzenegger says that revenue from the Tranquillon site will go directly toward the state’s parks, sparing them additional cutbacks. In addition, it appears broad support for the project hinges on an agreement from the project’s developer to stop oil production there after 14 years.
If you think this all sounds a little funny — dangling the future of the state’s parks systems in order to win approval for the project, while exchanging oil now for no more oil in the future — you’re probably right. Some critics have equated the terms of this proposed project to blackmail.
This is not to say that a happy conclusion is out of the question. If it takes state budget crises to get states interested in their offshore resources, that’s a good thing. Even opponents of the project may come to support it once they see the economic upside.
But it shouldn’t have to be so complicated. Hopefully, when other offshore projects come up for review around the country, it won’t be.
Tags: budget crisis, California, domestic energy, drilling, offshore drilling, oil and gas, santa barbara, tranquillon ridge
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Frozen Out of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Permafrost, as everyone who has worked in the oil sector in Alaska knows, describes soil that remains frozen year round. Back in the 1970s, when a group of oil companies collaborated on the groundbreaking (no pun intended) project of building the 800-mile-long Trans-Alaska-Pipeline, permafrost was just one of a multitude of daunting challenges engineers faced. They also had to transport large numbers of workers to highly remote regions, and find a way to secure the pipeline from everything from temperature swings to gunshots. (Because of the permafrost, long stretches of the pipeline were built above ground.)
It was a project on a scale that had never been attempted and the reason so many people saw it through to a successful completion in 1977 is that they knew it was worth the effort. Establishing a reliable means for transporting crude from Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope to points south was a sort of insurance policy for companies that explored in the region that their oil would find a way to market.
Interestingly, the pipeline project was born at a time of severe recession for the country and drew support both for the well-paying jobs it created and the promise of more reliable oil prices from home-grown sources.
It is ironic, then, that today the pipeline is facing an early demise even though estimates of proven oil reserves in Alaska continue to grow. The Anchorage Daily News recently published an extensive analysis of the massive investments that are already required to sustain the pipeline in the face of diminished shipments, and the growing concerns that it will soon not be economically feasible to operate the pipeline at all.
We’ve noted this problem in the past: how the health of Alaska’s oil industry impacts the health of all sorts of other industries on which the state’s economy depends. But as concerns mount about the future of the key vehicle for moving oil through the state, you also have to wonder how a weakened or entirely shut pipeline would affect production and exploration.
It’s a chicken-and-egg argument. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built because the demand existed to transport large volumes of oil. But if the pipeline were to go away, would producers have any incentive to stay, let alone, expand in Alaska? Political climates, of course, change with the seasons, but you can’t always patiently wait for a new, more welcoming climate, to blow in. As the saying goes, you must use it or lose it.
There have been some recent victories allowing responsible drilling in Alaska, but there are many more unresolved disputes that are critical to maintaining throughput on the pipeline, and in turn ensuring that Alaska’s oil infrastructure that was installed with great effort just a generation ago, remains intact.
Tags: Alaska, alaska pipeline, Anchorage, domestic energy, oil and gas, trans-alaska pipeline
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Getting serious about shale
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Exxon Mobil this week announced plans to buy the independent gas producer XTO Energy for $41 billion – by far the largest deal for the company since the merger between Exxon and Mobil a decade ago.
Clearly this purchase signals a deeper commitment to developing natural gas: XTO has about 14 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves. But it also shows a clear focus on producing gas from shale. A large portion of XTO’s reserves are located in so-called unconventional sources, such as shale rock. Shale has long been recognized as a major source of oil and natural gas, but the technological challenges of getting to it have left much of that fuel untapped.
The New York Times offers a good overview of the Exxon Mobil’s systematic strategy in recent years to accumulate unconventional natural gas sources including shale. By adding XTO to its mix of existing properties, the company shifts shale gas production from a niche business to a core one.
In all likelihood, the acquisition will probably set off a race among many oil producers to develop natural gas and oil from shale on a much larger scale. Already, there are many sizable shale development projects underway, such as Range Resources’ Marcellus Shale project in Pennsylvania that produces 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day – enough to power about 500,000 homes. Chevron has hinted that it is interested in making an acquisition that would give it a base of shale gas reserves large enough to make development economically feasible.
The importance of shale to the global energy industry and to domestic energy independence can hardly be overstated. Recent estimates suggest the world’s supply of shale oil resources exceeds its supply of conventional oil reserves. And the largest deposits are right here in the U.S. Of course, accessing more of that oil, and natural gas, will depend on finding technologically and economically feasible ways to do so.
As more money is committed to this promising source of domestic fuel, the technology used to develop it will inevitably improve, putting more volumes of shale oil and gas on the market. This steady supply tends to lead to greater price stability and that, in turn, increases demand. It’s a cycle by which a commodity comes to be mass produced and all signs suggest that for shale rock, that moment has come.
Tags: domestic energy, exxon mobil, oil and gas, oil shale, XTO Energy
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Alaska in balance
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
To fully appreciate the significance of the Interior Department’s long-awaited decision earlier this week to allow Shell Oil to drill three exploratory wells in the contested Chukchi Sea, you need to keep in mind the recent struggles and uncertainties that the oil industry in the state of Alaska has faced.
Last month, ConocoPhillips announced that for the first time in 40 years, it had no plans to drill new exploratory wells in Alaska. BP, meanwhile, reportedly cut its 2010 development budget for Alaska by 15%. Volume on the trans-Alaska pipeline is way down from its 1988 peak, reflecting a failure of newer fields to offset the decline from Prudhoe Bay. And as capacity approaches the point at which operating the pipeline would no longer be feasible, thousands of jobs, as well as the future of the state’s main industry hang in the balance.
All of these developments are part of a general uncertainty over the future of the Alaskan oil production. The uncertainty comes not from any doubts about large volumes of untapped reserves in the state: By conservative estimates, Alaska’s coastal waters hold 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Rather, questions persist over our ability to access those reserves.
The December 7 Interior Department ruling allowing Shell to drill in Chukchi resolves a longstanding dispute in one of the state’s most oil rich regions. An appeals court ruling earlier this year had allowed some other oil and gas projects in Alaska that had been initiated during the Bush Administration, but then held up under Obama, to go forward.
The Chukchi Sea is considered one of the most underdeveloped sources of oil in the U.S. Shell is eager to begin drilling. Alaska Governor Sean Parnell is also looking forward to the project getting underway. “Alaskans need these jobs and Shell is well prepared to explore for and develop oil and gas basins critical to our nation’s security,” he said in a statement.
However, it is worth stressing, as we’ve said before on this blog, that oil majors in no way regard this, or any other favorable ruling, as a license to drill with abandon. In fact, Shell won approval to drill in Chukchi only after it presented a proposal that addressed environmental concerns, in part by tightening the pollution controls on its drill ship. It was a costly and time consuming investment that should underscore the industry’s interest in Alaskan oil and gas, but its desire to do right by the state over the long haul.
Tags: Alaska, CEA, Consumer Energy Alliance, domestic energy, drilling, Interior Department, oil and gas, Shell Oil
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CEA July 2009 Newsletter
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
CEA Newsletter
Issue 28
Message from CEA President David Holt
As summer continues in full-swing, Consumer Energy Alliance is also moving forward with a brand-new initiative – the CEA Journal, an online blog on our website dedicated to exploring current energy issues and effects on American consumers.
Through CEA Journal, we will highlight issues that are vital to all Americans. Some of these issues include the development of a comprehensive Five-Year Program for development of oil and gas resources as well as supporting utilization of Alaska’s vast resources. We need your help with these important concerns.
With the increased page views and reader comments we’ve received, CEA Journal is a hit, providing website visitors with information that they need and want to know about America’s energy situation.
Recent entries include: “Beyond Staycations,” “(Part of) the Answer is Blowing in the Wind,” “Small Businesses Rising to the Challenge” and “For Truckers, It’s Been a Long Haul.” In addition, the blog explores such diverse topics as the rising prices at gasoline pumps nationwide, energy-conscious car-buying and home weatherization. Energy hot points are also discussed, including: the debate over domestic drilling, greenhouse gas emissions and utilization of solar power.
In keeping with Consumer Energy Alliance’s mission of promoting a balanced American energy policy that includes ALL resources, the information provided in the CEA Journal is fair and the scope is wide.
Have an insight or comment that you’d like to contribute? CEA Journal enables readers to post messages about blog entries and issues important to them. We urge you to join in the discussion and make your voice heard. Every person in the country can play an essential role in shaping America’s energy policy and aid in formulating common solutions to stabilize energy prices and secure resources for America.
Take the first step to engaging in the open dialogue on America’s energy issues from the comfort of your home or office by visiting the CEA Journal today. View the CEA Journal online blog at CEA’s website here. Also, feel free to send us an e-mail or post a comment to the blog with suggestions about topics or simply to find out more about a certain piece of the American energy puzzle.
Consumer Energy Alliance’s goal is to achieve an American energy policy that works for Americans. We could not accomplish this without your strong and faithful support as well as your input on the issues that are important to you.
Want to receive timely updates? Follow CEA on Twitter, a free web-based networking site that allows users to receive instant updates of information. If you do not have a Twitter account yet, simply sign up here and begin following CEA.
We hope you enjoy CEA Journal and participate actively. We look forward to introducing many more interesting and useful initiatives, such as the blog, in the months to come.
David Holt
President
Support Development of Alaska’s Offshore Oil & Gas Resources!
At a time when the American public is crying out for more domestic energy, Alaska has enormous untapped oil and gas potential, especially in its offshore areas. The waters off Alaska’s coasts hold about 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, estimates MMS.
To begin producing energy from these resource basins, the federal government must take action. Join us in our effort as we build public support for offshore minerals exploration and development in Alaska. Send in your comments today!
Support the Five-Year Draft Proposed Program to Develop Offshore Oil & Gas Resources!
A significant domestic supply of energy can be safely and efficiently found right here off of America’s shores. The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) currently administers the considerable energy resources contained in our offshore waters and wants to hear from you about offshore oil & gas and alternative energy development.
Opposition to offshore energy development is mounting. We need you to let Washington know you support reasonable access to America’s offshore energy resources. Send in your comments today!
Consumer Corner: Efficient Lighting Strategies
Did you know that the electric light bulb was invented just 130 years ago? Thomas Alva Edison invented the carbon-filament lamp in 1879. This invention ushered in an era of inventions and progress that led to our present-day world of technology and electricity dependence.
In the United States, about 15 percent of household electricity is used for lighting – mostly through the use of traditional incandescent bulbs. We use artificial light to meet all types of needs, including: ambient, task and accent lighting.
Using new technologies, you can decrease the electricity used for your lighting needs by 50 to 75 percent. Not only does that save you money, but it is also wise utilization of America’s resources.
Make use of these tips:
- More light is not always better – match your lighting needs to your tasks
- Use a dimmer switch to reduce costs
- Use energy-efficient light bulbs and systems to save energy
- Try “daylighting” – using natural light, when available, through the use of windows and skylights
Find out more about efficient lighting strategies from the U.S. Department of Energy here.
Nuclear Energy Institute: History of Nuclear Power & Industry Standing
The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) welcomed CEA into its offices in downtown Washington, D.C. for the July 18 meeting. NEI is the policy organization for the nuclear technologies industry and participates in both the national and global policy-making process. NEI’s objective is to ensure the formation of policies that promote the beneficial uses of nuclear energy and technologies in the United States and around the world. NEI joined CEA’s efforts last year and has developed a strong partnership with the Alliance on several initiatives.
Marshall Cohen, NEI’s Senior Director of State and Local Governmental Affairs, presented to the group of 40+ participants on the history of nuclear power and where the industry currently stands. Given the nation’s projected increase in electricity demands, the need for expanding our energy portfolio has never been more evident. Nuclear energy is a clean, reliable, and safe source of energy that currently provides the nation with almost 20 percent of its electricity. The nuclear power industry is working to re-license the existing fleet of reactors in the United States as well as develop projects to build a number of new reactors.
Mr. Cohen addressed questions regarding the issues surrounding the Nuclear Renaissance including the financial hurdles utility companies are facing, the new plant build preparation coming from the manufacturing community, the on-going “waste” issue, concerns over staffing the wave of new plants and national security issues associated with the fuel cycle.
NEI hopes to bring to CEA’s membership opportunities for economic expansion and support its programs. “NEI recognizes that CEA is a very important organization that represents a variety of groups consumed with the energy crisis throughout the U.S., and NEI is pleased to be working with them on energy policies important to companies, communities, and individuals,” said Marshall Cohen.
U.S. Western Public Lands to be Used for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development
U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar recently announced consideration of dozens of areas of western public lands for large-scale generation of solar electricity. Read article…
Multi-Millions in Government Funds to be Used for Expansion of American Hydropower
Modernization of existing hydropower facilities within the United States will be funded with $32 million, recently announced U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Read article…
Affiliate Spotlight: American Chemistry Council
Representing leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) truly is the voice of the U.S. Chemical Industry.
“ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products and services that make people’s lives better, healthier and safer,” says Vice President of Federal Affairs Marty Durbin, noting that the business of chemistry is a $664 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation’s economy.
ACC’s mission is to deliver business value to its members through exceptional advocacy based on enhanced member performance, high quality scientific research, communications, effective participation in the political process, and a commitment to sustainable development through member contributions to economic, environmental and societal progress.
“Every day, we advocate that the chemistry industry is essential to America,” Durbin maintains.
Energy issues are important to ACC, according to Durbin, because the American chemistry industry is energy-intensive. In fact, American chemistry is the largest of the energy-intensive U.S. manufacturing industries engaged in global trade.
“American chemistry uses energy to save energy. A forthcoming study will show that use of chemistry products saves three units of greenhouse gases for every unit emitted during the manufacturing process. From biofuels to hydrogen technologies, chemistry is at the heart of creating new and diverse energy sources.”
To compete effectively in global markets, ACC needs affordable, available, efficient and diverse energy, Durbin emphasizes.
“We use large amounts of oil and natural gas, not just to heat and power our facilities but as raw materials, or ‘feedstocks.’ The products of chemistry go into 96 percent of U.S. manufactured goods. Significantly, our feedstock consumption of energy does not emit greenhouse gases. We’re also a leading producer of clean electricity using combined heat and power systems.”
ACC supports the responsible development of clean and affordable American energy resources.
“That’s because public investments and other policies that support clean energy solutions drive demand for chemistry – speeding economic recovery – while helping us help the nation reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our industry is a major contributor to clean and renewable energy applications that reduce emissions,” explains Durbin.
“Chemistry goes into energy-saving and renewable energy products such as building insulation, solar panels, wind turbines, lightweight vehicle parts, compact fluorescent light bulbs, lithium-ion batteries, automotive and industrial lubricants, energy-efficient appliances, and many more.”
In terms of energy goals, ACC promotes several initiatives, Durbin points out.
“We support the development of a comprehensive energy policy built on energy efficiency and conservation, energy diversity (e.g. alternatives, renewables, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear, combined heat and power) and expanded domestic oil and natural gas development. The United States will need each of these elements to bring about a more affordable, secure and diverse energy future, a globally competitive manufacturing sector and a lower-emission economy.”
Climate policy is a key issue for the American chemistry industry, particularly because of the energy link to climate solutions.
“A poorly conceived climate policy has the potential to encourage a significant increase in the price of feedstocks, reductions in the supplies available to energy-intensive manufacturers, and a shift of natural gas resources into electricity generation. We need well-conceived and integrated policies on both climate and energy.”
As a member of Consumer Energy Alliance, ACC recognizes that energy consumers are an important voice in the energy policy debate and education is one of the keys to sound policy.
“Working together, we can help educate policymakers and the public about the critical role energy plays in American manufacturing, and the consequences of energy policy for our national economy, security, and standard of living. We believe CEA is a key resource on the most important energy issues and can help encourage the development of a thoughtful, comprehensive national energy policy,” explains Durbin.
For more information on the American Chemistry Council, visit www.americanchemistry.com.
Tags: 5YP, ACC, Alaska, American Chemistry Council, CEA Blog, efficient, hydropower, July 2009, lighting, minerals management, MMS, newsletter, Nuclear Energy Institute, oil and gas, resources, solar
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