February 2nd, 2024

• Stay up to date on all things energy by visiting the TEA Newsroom.
• Natural Gas CARES: It is the world’s Cleanest, Affordable, Reliable Energy Source.
• Toyota’s chairman is skeptical, forecasts EVs to peak at 30%.
• How the far right aims to ride farmers’ outrage to power in Europe.
• New Jersey plastic bag ban goes bust.
• Biden’s LNG pause has Asian fuel buyers hunting other options.
• Texas’ grid has gone 3 years without a crisis. Will it last?

The issue: President Biden, with the recent LNG export limit, revealed the latest of his policies that hurts our energy consumption and jeopardizes America’s energy independence. He may pay a political price come Nov. 5 when Americans go to the polls.

Why it matters: His administration announced last week that it’s putting a stop to the permitting process for several liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal projects in the name of climate change. Many energy industry leaders and top elected officials from both parties voiced their concerns over this decision, with none louder than those coming from Louisiana, where a major project is in jeopardy.

Consider: 

• Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Louisiana Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy blasted President Biden’s decision to pause pending LNG terminals, including one in their home state.
• Senators Cassidy and Kennedy joined 23 other senators in issuing a letter to Biden calling his actions “reckless.” 
• Kennedy has said he will block some of President Biden’s nominees as a result of the president’s policy on exporting natural gas.
• Led by Louisiana, US LNG exports soared in 2022. A major project, Calcasieu Pass 2, is in the works and, if built, it would be the largest export terminal in the U.S., exporting up to 20 millions tons of LNG per year.

Tommy Faucheux, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, said Biden’s order creates “unnecessary hurdles” for the industry. He reiterated that the LNG exports not only aid our allies, but support our climate goals.

Noted energy expert Alex Epstein agrees, saying “Biden has halted LNG expansion, which the world needs for low-cost, reliable, secure energy. He pretends it’s to lower prices or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it will do neither. Halting LNG is pure electioneering. And we’ll all pay the price.”

Even the liberal Washington Post took exception in this opinion piece. But the 81-year-old Biden, in a desperate attempt to win over younger voters, allowed a TikTok climate influencer to guide his energy policy.

Unleashing LNG is one of the bedrocks of TEA’s path to a Common Sense Energy Agenda.

Bottom Line: We live in a growing world that needs more energy. Natural gas can dramatically help because it is among the cleanest, most abundant and reliable energy sources. It would help if our president would recognize this.

The issue: President Biden, facing mounting pressure in an election year, released scaled back gas stove rules after receiving tons of backlash.

Why it matters: The Department of Energy’s rules will make gas stoves less energy-intensive, the administration touts. This rule is a watered-down version that reflects a compromise with U.S. manufacturers. It said in a press release that 97 percent of gas stoves and 77 percent of electric stoves on the market already meet the requirements it is proposing.

So they revised the regulations to appease the public outcry.  A year ago estimates were that the DOE rule would block half of all stoves in use. They may say they aren’t out to get your gas stove or dictate what refrigerator is in your kitchen, but we know better.

This administration obviously believes in big government mandates more so than in the rights of individuals. This latest effort is a futile attempt at the proverbial putting lipstick on a pig. They even admit it’ll cost you more to purchase the stove now, but promise you savings down the road.

Consider:

• The controversy over gas stove regulations boiled over in January 2023, when a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in an interview that he had not ruled out a ban on the appliances.
• The commission later backtracked and clarified that it was not planning a ban, although it was studying possible ways of curbing gas stoves’ emissions.
• Biden administration officials have also repeatedly disavowed their desire to ban the appliances, even as numerous Democratic officials have sought to restrict gas use at the local and state levels from California to New York.

Bottom Line: Biden’s EPA is continuing down the green-at-any-cost path that ultimately impacts consumer choices and market prices. Government interfering in the free market is never good – it limits choices and drives up prices for average Americans.

Hearing On LNG Exports: On Thursday, February 8, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will have a hearing to examine the administration’s pause on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals and the Department of Energy’s process for assessing LNG export applications.

“Right on the heels of Europe’s lack-of-natural-gas emergency, Biden is not just failing to continue the policies that saved Europe; he’s copying the policies that almost doomed Europe (which is now scared of winter like its Game of Thrones).”

—Energy expert and commentator Alex Epstein, on Twitter/X.

JOIN THE NATURAL GAS IS GREEN MOVEMENT

Calling all legislators! In case you missed it, Ohio and Tennessee recently became the first states in the nation to pass bills that recognize natural gas as a clean, “green” energy source, opening up investment in natural gas production and infrastructure. We encourage other states to follow suit. Learn more about the “Natural Gas is Green” legislation and the research supporting its benefits by visiting our new landing page, created for legislators from the local to federal level!