Living In Energy Reality, Not Green Fantasy

• Check out TEA’s new and improved website for the latest in energy news and opinion — sorting Common Sense from the Nonsense.
• West Virginia coal industry decline exacerbated by power plant switch to natural gas.
• Most LNG exports head to Europe amidst cold weather, strong prices.
• Transportation Secretary rescinds Biden memos regarding climate change.
• How much states will pay in electricity bills after Canada tariffs.
• Supreme Court rejects red states’ bid to quash climate cases.
• Third climate nonprofit takes Citibank to court.
• How natural gas became America’s most important export.
• Trump EPA announces 31 ‘historic’ actions to overturn Biden, Obama-era regulations.
• EPA lifts ban on federal contracts for Dakota Access developer.

The issue: U.S. oil and gas leaders were promised a faster track to industry development by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Why it matters: Wright said he intended to speed up permitting and support the industry. At the CERAWeek meeting on Monday, he signed the fourth LNG export approval, this one for offshore Louisiana.

Wright and others in the administration are rightfully focused on energy production. It’s clear that common sense energy policies which benefit America and its allies are back, Wright said, adding: “Our goal is lower cost and higher performance.” The solution is more production — and more infrastructure — to support drilling and delivery.

These policies are firmly aligned with The Empowerment Alliance’s “Build, baby, Build” mantra.

Consider: 

• The U.S. is going to need an increasing amount of electricity in the future as artificial intelligence and other technology places demands on our grid.
• Wright also said renewables can’t replace natural gas, and he vowed to reverse Biden’s climate policies.
• Obviously, natural gas is the answer to help power growing our AI needs.

One company, Microsoft, understands that. Vice President of Energy Bobby Hollis said the tech company would consider natural gas with carbon capture as a power solution for data centers. The tech sector has largely relied on renewable power, but the industry is increasingly turning to more reliable energy sources as data center electricity consumption rises.

Bottom line: By expediting approvals for new energy projects and working to streamline our outdated permitting system, Sec. Wright is bringing the ‘Build, Baby, Build’ agenda to life. He knows we need a lot more energy, and wind and solar alone won’t cut it.

The issue: It is truly amazing the damage that President Biden and his administration did to American energy in four short years. Honestly, it seemed much longer, didn’t it? It’s equally impressive how  President Trump and his team, within a couple of months, have taken the proper measures to fix those horrific mistakes.

Why it matters: The Department of Government Efficiency leaders are looking to defund a $3 billion EV postal truck ‘boondoggle.’ This green scam was a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.

All this damage, thanks to Biden’s irresponsible and dangerous policies, is now being targeted by Trump and his energy Dream Team, plus the work being done by DOGE, whose goal is to expose and eliminate fraud, waste and abuse.

Consider:

• A bill is in the works to claw back $3 billion authorized under former President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which was designated to create an electric vehicle fleet for the United States Postal Service.
• The USPS was to receive an initial order of 50,000 EV delivery trucks from defense contractor Oshkosh within three years, but only 93 had been produced by November, according to a Washington Post investigation.

Bottom line: From EV charging stations to EV postal trucks, the Biden admin wasted billions in taxpayer money on an inefficient, unproven emerging technology. Now the Trump admin is cleaning up the mess.

The issue: It will take $20 billion and years to refill the SPR. This posed a direct threat to our national security.

Why it matters: Biden draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for purely political reasons put our national security interests at stake. This needlessly put America at risk and made it beholden to foreign regimes for its energy needs. Call it begging the Saudis for oil.

Consider:

• Wright estimates it would take $20 billion and years to accomplish President Trump’s goal of refilling the SPR to its maximum capacity.
• That’s because the administration sold nearly 300 million barrels from the reserve, including a 180-million-barrel sale in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.
• Those sales pushed the SPR to its lowest level in 40 years.

The reserve was created in 1975 in the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo and is intended to curb the impact of supply disruptions, such as natural disasters or war in producers’ countries. Trump has rightfully criticized Biden for tapping the reserve to bring down the price of gasoline. Of course, it was just an election year display of smoke and mirrors.

Bottom line: Four years of terrible energy policy being corrected in a matter of weeks is truly remarkable. It’s refreshing and reassuring to have leaders who live in reality, not in green fantasies.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT

FERC Open Meeting:On Thursday, March 20, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold an Open Meeting of the Commission.

“Natural gas is 25 percent of global primary energy, and in absolute terms, the fastest growing energy source on the planet. So we want to grow America’s production of it, which grows jobs and economic activity in the United States, and have the ability to ship that to our allies around the world.”

— Energy Secretary Chris Wright at CERAWeek.