May 19th, 2023

• American natural gas is the world’s Cleanest, most Affordable, and most Reliable Energy Source. Natural Gas CARES.
• Manchin abruptly tanks Biden nominee picked to oversee crackdown on gas stoves.
• Automakers find a tax credit loophole to boost EV sales.
• Why some countries find it hard to move away from fossil fuels.
• Rep. Troy Balderson: Biden’s rush to green agenda endangering electrical grid.
• Biden vetoes a bid by Congress to reinstate tariffs on solar panel imports.

Ohio Senate Resolution 121 was introduced last week by Sen. Michael A. Rulli. Its purpose is to urge continued much needed investment in natural gas infrastructure.

We need a Clean, Affordable, Reliable Energy Source (CARES). Simply put, we need natural gas in Ohio and in America in order to remain energy independent and to provide affordable energy for residents and business owners.

Let’s be clear. Natural gas is:

CLEAN: Ohio already is a leader in clean energy technology and natural gas has been a leader in reducing emissions. Natural gas has reduced U.S. emissions 50% more than wind and solar power combined since 2005.

AFFORDABLE: To keep providing savings for Ohio families and business owners, with the average family saving about $2,500 annually in total energy costs. Small business owners and farmers also benefit from this low-cost fuel.

RELIABLE: Ohio is the sixth largest natural gas producer in the United States. The U.S. is now the world’s largest producer of natural gas and has enough natural gas to supply the nation’s needs for nearly 90 years.

Natural gas will continue to have a major economic impact and provide jobs in the Buckeye State.
Consider these facts:

• The natural gas and oil industry supports over 375,000 jobs in Ohio, at an average salary of $65,832.
• Nationally, the industry supports nearly 11.3 million jobs and produces $892.7 billion per year in labor income.
• To serve as a catalyst for further growth and development with the state’s infrastructure.

This belief was reinforced at the national level last week when House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered an address stating that the American people need affordable and reliable energy, not a reliance on OPEC and foreign nations.

Bottom Line: Natural Gas is a Clean, Affordable, Reliable Energy Source (CARES). The CARES resolution goal is simply for Ohio to become the low-cost energy capital of the nation and serve as a model for other states to follow.

Wake up, America. This is a catastrophe in the making, as noted author and energy expert Robert Bryce points out here.

A week after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission warned about a looming “catastrophic reliability failure,” the EPA issued rules that could devastate the Mother Network.

• The commissioners pointed to several factors for the reliability crisis, including numerous coal plants that are being retired prematurely.
• Inadequate pipeline capacity to assure natural gas can be delivered to power plants.
• Insufficient high-voltage transmission capacity, and distortions in the electricity market caused by massive federal subsidies for weather-dependent renewables.

Exactly one week after that May 4 hearing, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed rule that could force the closure of every coal-fired power plant in America as well as most of the natural gas plants if they cannot cut their emissions by 90%.

Here’s how Politico reported on it: The new rule will require, “most fossil fuel power plants to slash their greenhouse gas pollution 90% between 2035 and 2040 — or shut down.”

Thus, at the same time FERC commissioners are warning of catastrophic failures on the U.S. electric grid, the EPA under President Biden wants to implement rules that could — repeat, could — force the closure of 90 percent of the hydrocarbon-fueled power plants in the country.

That would be catastrophic. Currently fossil fuels generate 60.2% of US electricity with natural gas a primary provider.

This administration seems intent on destroying American energy at every opportunity.

Biden and his cohorts are certain to face legal challenges from both GOP-led states that embrace fossil fuels and from the conservative Supreme Court that curbed EPA’s authority over the power sector less than a year ago.

Bottom Line: As Bryce points out, it’s time for rational thinking about our energy and power networks. We need an affordable, reliable, and resilient electric grid and not green-at-any-cost schemes that rely on promises and government subsidies.

Gas prices are like a group of climate protestors blocking a major highway – they’re not moving. The national average of $3.54 per gallon didn’t move over the past week. However, with Memorial Day right around the corner, don’t expect this trend to continue. An estimated 42 million Americans are expected to hit the road for the holiday weekend, and this increased demand will surely have an impact on the price you’re paying at the pump.

Hearing On The Energy Supply Chain: On Tuesday, May 23, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will have a hearing on “Growing the Domestic Energy Sector Supply Chain and Manufacturing Base.”

Hearing On Gas Stoves: On Wednesday, May 24, the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs will have a hearing on “Consumer Choice on the Backburner: Examining the Biden Administration’s Regulatory Assault on Americans’ Gas Stoves.”

“There’s a potential catastrophe coming because Biden’s administration is retiring current sources of energy much, much faster than you can get the new sources — the renewable energy they want — online.” 

— Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.),
Energy and Natural Resources Committee