Natural gas is a cleaner, smarter option
Blind promotion of wind, solar sources is shortsighted strategy
The Biden administration’s “Clean Energy Standard” would require electric utilities to produce a set amount of emissions-free power with the goal of 80% clean energy power by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, unveiled a budget that doesn’t consider natural gas a clean energy and taxes methane.
These plans are heavy on wind and solar, but they don’t account for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Europe currently is in crisis for this very reason. Energy prices there have hit record levels and are climbing.
They’re climbing here, as well. This is great if you’re trading commodities but terrible if you’re a single mom trying to pay utility bills that keep your kids cools in summer and warm in winter.
Anyone remember last February when we suffered the worst ice storm on record and energy prices soared? Many consumers faced bills they couldn’t pay, forcing legislative solutions.
Oklahoma is an energy state. For decades we’ve relied on oil and gas to power not only our homes, businesses and vehicles, but also our state’s economy. It’s estimated the oil and gas industry drove $57.7 billion in gross domestic product in 2019 and supplied 389,800 jobs across Oklahoma.
But I and my peers in the Legislature are also very aware we must diversify our economy and embrace renewable and clean energy sources, as well.
I currently co-chair the state’s Hydrogen Task Force, which is studying how to bring Oklahoma to the forefront of this emerging field and capture federal dollars allocated to its research.
We’re also looking hard at discoveries of lithium that could help power the next generation of electric vehicles. To achieve such a fleet, however, we would need much more lithium than we’ve currently discovered domestically. Unfortunately, the world’s richest lithium deposits are abroad and in territories hostile toward the U.S.
Then there’s the president’s recent request to increase OPEC production. One might ask why we wish to rely on foreign oil instead of utilizing resources from our nation.
And for the record, natural gas is a clean burning fossil fuel. It’s the cleanest 24-7 resource we have next to nuclear from an emissions/greenhouse gas perspective. The EIA reports it results in fewer emissions of nearly all types of air pollutants and carbon dioxide than other petroleum products.
According to SoCalGas, natural gas burns 90% cleaner than gasoline. Natural gas vehicles can reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and reactive hydrocarbons, which form ground-level ozone — the principal ingredient of smog — by as much as 95%.
People may argue the production of natural gas isn’t green, but lithium mining has a huge environmental impact, as do solar and wind.
The fact is, America is blessed to have all the above listed energy resources, and the preservation of being able to use them is critical for energy security and reliability. The blind promotion of intermittent sources such as wind and solar without natural gas to support for reliability is plainly shortsighted.