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U.S. Must Protect Energy Supply, Environmental Advantage With Robust Leasing Program

Offshore oil rig at sunset

Harming Offshore Leasing Will Hamper Net-Zero Goals

HOUSTON  – Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, issued the following statement as the public comment period for the Department of Interior’s next five-year program for offshore leasing reached its conclusion. CEA’s comment letter is available here. The statement below is attributable to CEA President David Holt.

“The United States needs to protect its oil and gas supply, and avoid the ideological trap of adopting energy policies like those which have wrecked the economies of the UK, Germany and other European allies. Only a robust, economically competitive federal offshore leasing program can protect our supply over the near term, and maintain our environmental advantage of having one of the lowest-carbon basins in the world.”

“Shutting down or severely curtailing leasing will hamper net-zero targets by adding up to 100 million metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere every year through 2040, the same as if we added roughly 21 million cars to the road annually. It will also kill over 100,000 jobs and reduce Treasury revenue by $30-40 billion, according to a new McKinsey study.”

“It will also expose us, once again, to the whims of OPEC+. The Gulf of Mexico could help offset more than half of the 2 million barrel per day cut announced by OPEC+ members, at a far lower environmental cost. It could also easily help refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which is at its lowest level since 1984.

“It is curious that the Biden Administration, instead of calling on U.S. companies, for months has been offering OPEC+ a deal to buy 200 million barrels to refill the SPR, if they did not cut production. The Administration always looks elsewhere when the solution is here at home, thereby further harming American workers and American families who are witnessing gas prices rising toward $4 a gallon again.”

“The Biden Administration should view Gulf of Mexico leasing through the lens many prior administrations have: the fastest way to boost supply and deliver to Americans the enormous economic value of affordable, reliable energy. It ought to be a no-brainer in economic, national security and environmental terms, and we urge the Biden Administration to seize this moment.”

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

Run, Don’t Walk, to Tell Government We Need Affordable Energy

Electric meters for apartment building

With Europe reeling from high energy costs and rationing the usage of natural gas, CEA’s David Holt examines how misguided energy policies are producing the same results here at home.

Our country’s energy policy is broken. Families and small businesses are losing ground to raging inflation caused by energy supply shortages, Europe is suffering untold economic ruin due to its energy policies and yet, we still have some in the country and our federal government saying “everything’s fine, let’s enact the same energy policies as our European allies.”

Read more – Real Clear Energy

Consumer Energy Alliance 2022 Annual Report

2022_Annual_Report_FINAL

White House Touts Clean Energy Economy, but Oil and Gas Experts Skeptical

Oil and Gas Refinery Workers

CEA President David Holt sat down with KTRH to discuss the importance of supplying more American oil and natural gas to help ease the burden consumers are facing as a result of historically high energy costs.

Listen here – KTRH AM 740

Honestly Evaluate NJ Clean Energy Plan

Liberty State Park

CEA Mid-Atlantic Executive Director Mike Butler acknowledged the reporting by The Press of Atlantic City highlighting the inadequacy of New Jersey’s Master Plan to address the real environmental issues facing New Jersey and the cost borne by New Jersey residents and businesses.

Bravo to The Press of Atlantic City for highlighting the fact that Gov. Murphy’s administration will not come clean about the proposed Energy Master Plan’s cost, despite two taxpayer-funded cost studies — one kept secret from the taxpayers that paid for it and another that excludes big-ticket costs.

Game-changing Natural Gas Needs Support

Small Coffee Shop

CEA’s report Everyday Energy for Pennsylvania examining how increased production of natural gas in the Marcellus has allowed Pennsylvania’s families and businesses to experience tremendous cost savings while improving our shared environment was recently discussed in the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

The abundance of natural gas has also led to lower energy costs for both residential and commercial consumers. According to testimony from a joint Senate hearing held last fall, a report by the Consumer Energy Alliance found that due to the commonwealth’s vast natural gas reserves, “Pennsylvania consumers had saved over $30.5 billion with lower energy prices” over a 10-year period.

Read more – Williamsport Sun-Gazette

America’s Energy Future Depends on Cultivating the Next Generation of Talent

Larimer Street in Denver Colorado

CEA’s Andrew Browning talks about the importance of developing a workforce that can tackle to challenges of ensuing the affordable, reliable, and resilient energy Colorado’s families and businesses need to thrive.

The energy industry, a sector that has long fueled Colorado’s labor force, has seen a recent shortage of its own: an insufficiently skilled workforce committed to the continued safe and responsible development of energy. And on the heels of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, a skilled workforce will be more important than ever.

Read more – Colorado Biz Magazine

As Global Energy Crisis Grew, Biden Slashed New Lease Sales

Man putting gas in car

As Pennsylvanians continue to see their energy costs increase, CEA’s Mike Butler looks at the impact restricting offshore energy development has had on pushing up the price we pay at the pump.

“Unfortunately, the federal government keeps limiting energy production to essentially put the Gulf of Mexico out of the oil and gas business, even though it provides 15 percent of our oil. The failed energy policies of Europe are the very path some in the government seem to want Americans to follow. Just look at California, which has Europe-style policies that can barely keep the lights on, strangle its economy with insane energy prices, all while backtracking on its environmental progress. No American should accept this kind of situation. Congress and the White House need to focus on creating a national energy program Americans can believe in.”

Read more – Delaware Valley Journal

Just One Piece of New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan Would Cost Households More Than $28,000 – CEA Analysis

Downtown Clinton, New Jersey

Trenton, NJ – Banning natural gas service and use could cost Newark households more than $28,000 each, a Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) analysis found. “The Hidden Costs of a New Jersey Natural Gas Ban,” examines the high cost to New Jersey families and businesses if New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan (EMP), is enacted. New Jersey’s EMP outlines goals of becoming 50% carbon neutral by 2030 and 100% carbon neutral by 2050 by transitioning to renewable energy sources. The plan, unfortunately, takes the unnecessary and counter-productive step of all but eliminating affordable and reliable natural gas as an option for New Jerseyans.

CEA’s review is one of the few third-party cost analyses available to New Jersey residents that examines the big-ticket costs of the EMP. Two taxpayer-funded reports have been carried out, but the first was hidden from public view and the second excluded major costs including tax- and ratepayer funded subsidies, the cost of buying electric vehicles and the cost to retrofit homes to all electric appliances.

The CEA analysis helps fill this gap. It examines the cost implications of banning natural gas, depending on household appliance models, home configuration, labor and reliance on natural gas. It also examined the additional transmission line infrastructure that would be required to fulfill the EMP’s requirements to “electrify everything.” Using open-source consumer data, CEA developed a cost calculator to provide an estimate of what a typical household in the Newark area could expect to pay if natural gas bans are put in place.

“With three out of four New Jersey households relying on natural gas for home heating, banning it would be an unnecessary, costly blow to working families and small businesses. The average cost of $28,000 to buy and install new appliances at home is enormous, and unfortunately, it is only the tip of the iceberg of costs the EMP would bring,” CEA Mid-Atlantic Executive Director Mike Butler said.

“This report hopefully sheds more light on the EMP’s cost, which still remains a mystery nearly three years after its introduction. New Jersey families and small businesses deserve to know the kind of bills they will be forced to pay. Banning natural gas will only lead to higher prices, lower reliability and an undue burden on the 1 in 10 New Jerseyans living at or below the poverty line.”

The report also highlights data from the Environmental Protection Agency, which shows that from 1990 to 2020, New Jersey is already making tremendous progress reducing emissions across the board, including:

  1. 82% reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx)
  2. 79% reduction in volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  3. 99% reduction in sulfur dioxide (SO2)

“New Jersey has achieved remarkable reductions in emissions even as natural gas use increased and pipeline infrastructure expanded, and the state’s economy surged. Misguided attempts to ban energy services will only work against our economic and environmental goals,” Butler said.

“CEA supports diverse energy options and efforts to thoughtfully reduce our emissions while keeping in mind the energy needs of New Jersey’s families and businesses – especially those disadvantaged communities that can least afford it. Consumers should retain the right to choose how they heat their homes, cook their food and power their business operations. Natural gas serves an important role as a reliable and affordable energy option, ensuring consumers have the power and heat they need, when they need it. It is critical that our officials and lawmakers recognize the opportunities for natural gas and related infrastructure to play an important, complementary role in reaching net-zero objectives,” Butler said.

To read the report, click here.

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About Consumer Energy Alliance
Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.

Contact:
Bryson Hull
(202) 657-2855
bhull@consumerenergyalliance.org

America’s Broken Policies Put Our Energy and Environmental Futures at Risk

People dining in restaurant

CEA President David Holt examines how the lack of a coherent energy policy is negatively impacting American families and businesses and what we must do to ensure affordable prices and abundant supplies while advancing our commitment to improving our shared environment.

We must demand sound energy policies that keep energy reliable and affordable, and require constant environmental improvement. They must be worked on as a single, three-sided challenge, and not a battle of one against the other.

 

What we should demand Congress and the White House focus on is creating a national energy program Americans can believe in.

Read more – Real Clear Energy

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