Facebook Instagram Linkedin RSS Twitter Youtube

Consumer Energy Alliance Supports Michigan Energy Production

Consumer Group Speaks Out Against Proposed Hydraulic Fracturing Ban


Chicago, IL – In case you missed it, more environmentalists are gunning to ban hydraulic fracturing.  The Michigan State Board of Canvassers recently approved a six-month period of signature gathering for a petition by a radical environmental group that wants to ban all hydraulic fracturing (HF) in Michigan.

“With Michigan’s unemployment exceeding the national average over the past 10 years, the state cannot afford to eliminate potential economic development and job creation opportunities that increased energy production would create,” said Consumer Energy Alliance Midwest Executive Director Ryan Scott.

“Development of natural resources is creating thousands of jobs, tax revenue and economic growth in other states across the country, and it will likely continue. A ban on hydraulic fracturing in Michigan would result in an export of more jobs to other states and eliminate any hope of turning around the state’s economy,” said Scott.

Environmental groups in Michigan who failed to gather enough petition signatures to place a ban on hydraulic fracturing on the 2012 ballot have a clear objective: stop the development of all fossil fuels, no matter the cost and no matter the facts. Their main argument is that hydraulic fracturing threatens drinking water.

However, they would rather that the public did not know that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a study assessing the potential for contamination of Underground Sources of Drinking Water (USDW) due to the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids. The study concluded that hydraulic fracturing posed little or no threat to drinking water. Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said her agency has found no confirmed cases or evidence of contaminated drinking water linked to fracturing fluids.

Moreover, fracking has been conducted safely in Michigan on over 12,000 wells over the past 60 years. More recently the practice resulted in mineral lease sales of more than $178 million at the state mineral lease auction in May, 2010, the most lucrative mineral sale in Michigan history. As fracking in Michigan and around the country is on the rise, do the anti-development groups really think that after a 60 year track record, we need to ban the practice now?

Public opinion in other states where HF is booming is solidly in favor of the industry. A recent study by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Social and Urban Research asked residents of Washington County, Penn., an area 25 miles south of Pittsburgh where there are about 600 gas wells in operation developing the Marcellus Shale, about their perceptions of HF drilling. Of those surveyed, only 10 percent were strongly opposed to drilling, more than 76 percent said drilling offered significant or moderate economic opportunities, and nearly 32 percent had a family member who had signed a lease with a gas drilling company.

With those facts as a foundation, CEA believes Michigan has the opportunity to further develop the Antrim and Collingwood Shale. As in other states this kind of development can help the state diversify its economy and create much needed jobs for Michigan citizens who have experienced the worst of the national economic slowdown.

The development of natural gas resources will also spur additional economic growth, particularly in the manufacturing sector which accounts for 21% of Michigan’s GDP and creates nearly half a million jobs. By providing less expensive sources of energy shale development can greatly improve the Michigan economy. For the state that brought the country the assembly line, Michigan has an opportunity to increase its competitiveness by embracing a new, safely developed source of energy to run manufacturing plants and power the economy.

Washington Post editorial board backs Natural Gas development

The Washington Post editorial board puts strong support behind Natural Gas exploration.  Urges Democrat elected officials, both federal and state, to get behind its development.

Washington Post Opinion:

The president is right. The United States sits atop seas of natural gas, a fuel that drives electric turbines, warms homes, heats water and even powers some big trucks. Much of this gas is in unconventional deposits that drillers have only begun to tap. Now that they have, the price of the fuel has plummeted and the United States has gone from a gas importer to a potential exporter, with decades of supply left.

 

President Obama: No Area Holds More Promise

In his fifth State of the Union Address given Tuesday evening President Obama paired an “all of the above” energy plan with his proposed efforts to combat climate change.  He gave exploration a very strong endorsement stating “no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy.”

Excerpt from President Obama’s ’13 State of the Union remarks:

Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy. After years of talking about it, we’re finally poised to control our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years.

(APPLAUSE)

We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar, with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than ever before, and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen. But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change.

(APPLAUSE)

Now…

(APPLAUSE)

Now, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods, all are now more frequent and more intense.

We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science and act before it’s too late.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, the good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct…

(APPLAUSE)

I will direct my cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.

Now, four years ago, other countries dominated the clean-energy market and the jobs that came with it. And we’ve begun to change that. Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America. So let’s generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper by the year. Let’s drive down costs even further. As long as countries like China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we. Now, in the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. We need to encourage that. That’s why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits.

(APPLAUSE)

That’s got to be part of an all-of-the-above plan. But I also want to work with this Congress to encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner and protects our air and our water. In fact, much of our newfound energy is drawn from lands and waters that we, the public, own together.

So tonight, I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good. If a nonpartisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we. Let’s take their advice and free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we’ve put up with for far too long. I’m also issuing a new goal for America: Let’s cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years.

(APPLAUSE)

We’ll work with the states to do it. Those states with the best ideas to create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings will receive federal support to help make that happen. America’s energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair.

Ask any CEO where they’d rather locate and hire, a country with deteriorating roads and bridges or one with high-speed rail and Internet, high-tech schools, self- healing power grids. The CEO of Siemens America — a company that brought hundreds of new jobs to North Carolina — has said that if we upgrade our infrastructure, they’ll bring even more jobs. And that’s the attitude of a lot of companies all around the world. And I know you want these job-creating projects in your district; I’ve seen all those ribbon- cuttings.

 

 

 

HOLT: Policy Makers Should Focus on Infrastructure

HOUSTON, TX – CEA President David Holt said it was “encouraging” that President Obama’s referenced an all of the above energy plan in his fifth State of the Union address but Holt continues to be concerned about the pace of energy infrastructure construction.

“Our energy infrastructure is struggling to keep up with supply, new federal proposals hostile to energy development threaten to derail our progress, special interests are working overtime to halt responsible resource development and we are essentially flying blind as a national energy policy continues to remain elusive.”

The U.S. Department of State is currently reviewing a cross-border permit which would allow construction of a second leg to the Keystone XL pipeline to go forward.   Construction is already underway on a southern leg.  If completed the pipeline would transport oil from Alberta, Canada to Houston, TX.

Beyond Keystone, Holt noted the nation’s electrical transmission grid needs modernization along with streamlining the permitting process federal agencies require.

Making immediate improvements to our energy infrastructure including approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline and upgrading our transmission grid; approving a national energy policy; streamlining federal permitting for resource development; expanding access to oil and gas resources while increasing funding for research and development of renewable energy systems and continued advancement of efforts to support U.S. energy efficiency.”

 

Jobs Piped in From Canada

Writing at RedState.com, blogger Brad Jackson points to CEA’s Michael Whatley discussing the job impact of the Keystone XL pipeline.

In a letter to President Obama from ten governors and Canadian Premier Brad Wall, they said the Keystone Pipeline was “fundamentally important” to the long term prosperity of the Canadian and American economies. 

“With the Keystone XL Pipeline, U.S. imports from Canada, a democratic friend and ally, could reach 4 million barrels a day by 2020, twice what is currently imported from the Persian Gulf,” the letter states.

Michael Whatley, Vice President of the Consumer Energy Alliance noted recently that approval of TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline could provide 20,000 jobs to the U.S. and pump as much as $20 billion into the U.S. economy.

By embracing the energy industry in Texas, we’ve reaped the positive economic effects that Obama has denied nationally.

Afternoon Energy: Explain Heating Oil Prices

Jake from Massachusetts said, “Heating oil prices are at an all time high. Can you explain why and what can be done to get prices down?”

 

State of the Union: CEA Applauds Progress and Notes Challenges Lurk on the Horizon


CEA notes much has been achieved but federal leadership is required to avoid forthcoming challenges.

HOUSTON, TX – In response to the President’s State of the Union address, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) President David Holt issued the following statement:

“It was encouraging to hear the President note that advancing an “all of the above” energy policy is resulting in real improvements to our economy and environment.  In the past year alone, oil production has reached a twenty year high, we surpassed Russia as the world’s leading producer of natural gas and greater use of this fuel has enabled the U.S. to lead the developed world in reducing its carbon footprint.  Certainly, there is much to celebrate.

“However, while much has been achieved more work remains to be done. Our energy infrastructure is struggling to keep up with supply, new federal proposals hostile to energy development threaten to derail our progress, special interests are working overtime to halt responsible resource development and we are essentially flying blind as a national energy policy continues to remain elusive.”

“For all of these reasons, we must remain vigilant in pursuing a science-based “all of the above” energy strategy that will greatly benefit the U.S. economy and consumer. Immediate next steps that should be taken to advance this goal include: Making immediate improvements to our energy infrastructure including approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline and upgrading our transmission grid; approving a national energy policy; streamlining federal permitting for resource development; expanding access to oil and gas resources while increasing funding for research and development of renewable energy systems and continued advancement of efforts to support U.S. energy efficiency.”

“Given the President’s desire to lead on energy issues, CEA is hopeful that these modest proposals will be advanced in the President’s second term.  At this juncture, our nation needs improved and streamlined regulatory oversight and more domestic energy production.  Indeed, that increased production is one of the main factors that helped lead the U.S. out of the recession and has the power to transform the U.S. economy – empowering consumers while creating jobs, revenue, and additional economic opportunity – as well as to improve U.S. energy security.”

Gulf Coast Anxious for Keystone Approval

CEA President David Holt discusses the economic impact of building the Keystone XL pipeline.

Edmonton Sun:

Over a plate of steaming crawfish at Houston’s Ragin’ Cajun, David Holt, president of the North American-based Consumer Energy Alliance, says hope for the Keystone’s a bi-national thing: Canadian crude is already America’s number one energy partner, so a conduit to bring the safe, abundant, reliable supply of energy — and some needed job revitalization — into the Gulf Coast is essential.

“The bottom line is not only jobs being created in the energy sector from the Keystone pipeline, potentially, but jobs being created in all sectors of the U.S. economy and particularly on the Gulf Coast. We’ve seen over the last several decades a decline in jobs, so there’s a lot of folks who are very anxious to get the pipeline approved, to have these jobs brought back to Texas and keep the economy going,” he says.

Afternoon Energy: An Update on Keystone XL

John from South Dakota asked, “Can you give me an update on the Keystone XL pipeline and where you see the project going in the near future?”

 

Infrastructure Bottleneck Pushing Up Prices

 

Refineries are turning into traffic jams of crude oil supplies.  Business Week magazine has another reminder why it is important to advance infrastructure as North America increases its production.

North Dakota’s Bakken Oil Finally Hits the East Coast:One of the consequences of the U.S. oil boom is that all that crude gushing out of the Midwest has outpaced our ability to move it around. The result is a series of bottlenecks like the one in Cushing, Okla., where there are now more than 50 million barrels of oil stuck in tanks the size of 747s. That’s about a three-day supply of oil for the U.S., just sitting there.

This glut has led to big disparities in gasoline prices across the U.S. Right now, drivers are paying about $3.75 for a gallon of gasoline in New England, vs. $3.55 in the Midwest. While refiners on the East Coast are stuck paying higher prices for internationally priced Brent crude, imported mostly from West Africa, their Midwestern counterparts have access to abundant supplies of cheap domestic oil priced against West Texas Intermediate, which is about $20 cheaper per barrel than Brent. Not only are their margins better as a result, they’re passing some of the savings on to drivers.

Full article

1...275276277...338Page 276 of 338

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

© Consumer Energy Alliance