[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 123 (Friday, August 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9076-S9077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 NATURAL GAS IN A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I wish to discuss why we need a 
clean energy economy and how natural gas will be a critical component 
of our future energy mix.
  We need legislation to move forward, to the President's desk, this 
year. To compete in a 21st century global economy, the United States 
must take immediate action to transition to a clean energy market, one 
that allows us to take advantage of the many different clean energy 
sources that our country has to offer.
  Some have asked why we need to act on clean energy legislation.
  Several of my colleagues this week have eloquently discussed the 
impacts of carbon pollution. In the West, we are already seeing 
indications of climate change through warmer winters and drier summers. 
This is a global challenge that we must address and not ignore. But, 
irrespective of the impacts of carbon pollution to our communities and 
environment, clean energy legislation really comes down to two things--
our economic and national security.
  Clean energy legislation will create millions of new jobs here at 
home and provide the basis for America's 21st century economy. Clean 
energy economy legislation will spur innovation in and accelerate the 
shift to clean and domestic energy sources. It will create a new 
industrial sector employing millions of Americans in the research, 
development, manufacture, sale, installation, and servicing of new 
energy technologies. With the U.S. leading the way, we will sell our 
new technologies to other countries throughout the world.
  Clean energy legislation will also help strengthen our national 
security. The most obvious reason, of course, is that switching to 
clean, domestic sources of energy will reduce our dependence on foreign 
oil by shifting America toward cheaper, cleaner alternative energy 
sources like natural gas and wind power. Our current economy 
unfortunately depends on the importation of foreign oil from nations 
that do not have our best interests at heart, which creates threats to 
America's national security and puts our troops in harm's way.
  Where does this leave us?
  We need to jump-start our clean energy economy, and that means we 
need to invest in the wide range of energy sources that are available 
now, as well as research and development of future energy sources.
  This is not about a silver bullet answer to our energy problems: it 
is, rather, like silver buckshot.
  On the ground, that means we should encourage energy development of 
new renewable energy sources, find cleaner ways to use traditional 
energy sources like coal and oil, and expand our use of clean, mature 
technologies like nuclear and natural gas.
  Natural gas, in particular, often does not get the attention that it 
deserves among our diverse portfolio of clean energy sources.
  Natural gas will be the bridge between today's economy and our clean 
energy future.
  It is the cleanest of the fossil fuels and has the lowest greenhouse 
gas emissions per unit of energy, emitting about half of the 
CO2 of coal when burned for electricity generation.
  Furthermore, the technology is already being used by utilities across 
the country. Let me emphasize again--this is mature technology that is 
already in use across the country to power our homes and businesses.
  In fact, natural gas accounts for 24 percent of the energy 
consumption in this country and approximately 98 percent of U.S. 
natural gas consumption originates right here in North America, 
principally from the United States and Canada.
  Using natural gas means that we do not have to depend on foreign 
governments determining the cost of our energy or whether or not we 
even have access to it. And increasing natural gas production and use 
means that we are creating jobs and supporting families here at home.
  Natural gas is an abundant resource across our country.

[[Page S9077]]

  In recent years, natural gas production from conventional resources 
has continued to decline, but production from unconventional resources 
such as coal beds, tight gas sands, and particularly from natural gas 
shales has increased.
  These are in regions--such as the Northeast--that are not 
traditionally thought of as gas-producing States. In fact, expanded 
drilling in tight gas sands and gas shales helped increase total U.S. 
gas production by about 9 percent in 2008 after a decade of its being 
roughly constant.
  We also have natural gas reserves, particularly off our coasts, that 
have yet to be fully explored.
  Now, let me be clear in that I do not support drilling for gas 
anywhere and everywhere. I believe certain areas, both on and offshore, 
should be placed off limits to development.
  But we also need to take advantage of this domestic resource and 
develop some of these resources in an environmentally friendly way. 
That is why, during consideration of the clean energy bill in the 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I supported Senator Dorgan's 
efforts to open up the Eastern Gulf of Mexico to development.
  Between recent discoveries of new domestic natural gas reserves and 
untapped reserves offshore, natural gas can continue to be a vital 
energy source for our country. The latest estimates indicate that we 
have enough reserves to sustain our current consumption rate for almost 
100 years--and that is without new technology development or new 
reserve discoveries.
  It is also important to understand how natural gas interacts with 
other energy sources, particularly renewable energy, like wind and 
solar. Many here in the Senate know that I am a strong proponent of a 
national renewable electricity standard, or RES. Colorado already has a 
State RES and it has been very successful in both increasing our use of 
renewable energy sources and bringing new jobs to our State. However, 
renewable energy sources alone will not be enough to fulfill our 
country's energy needs, especially in the short term, and electricity 
powered by natural gas will play a critical role in adjusting to the 
variability of renewable energy generation.
  We can take these steps to decrease our carbon emissions and promote 
our domestic energy sources without increased energy costs for 
consumers. New natural gas combined-cycle plants are competitive with 
new coal plants. Natural gas plants have lower capital costs and 
shorter construction times than coal-fired powerplants. For example, 
the National Academies of Sciences recently released a report 
``America's Energy Future: Technology and Transformation'' as part of a 
comprehensive look at our energy policy. The report found that, at a 
price of $6 per million Btu, natural gas plants have the lowest 
lifetime cost of electricity of comparable energy source.
  While there has been concern in recent years over price fluctuation 
in the natural gas market, the Energy Information Administration 
projects that prices will range from $6 to $9 per million Btu or lower 
for natural gas for decades.
  Yet natural gas is not just for producing electricity. Clean natural 
gas is already being used as an alternative fuel for vehicles. 
Developing a stronger and wider market for natural gas vehicles will 
reduce our dependency on foreign oil, create jobs, and benefit the 
environment.
  As of 2006, there were about 116,000 compressed natural gas vehicles 
and about 3,000 liquefied natural gas vehicles in the United States. 
About two-thirds of these natural gas vehicles are passenger vehicles.
  The benefits of creating a natural gas fuel system akin to the 
current petroleum system would be immediate. Average consumers would 
save about $800 in fuel costs by switching to natural gas. And, again, 
not only is natural gas cheaper for powering vehicles but it would also 
emit fewer greenhouse gases than gasoline vehicles and natural gas 
could be produced domestically.
  These facts seem almost too good to be true, but they are just that: 
facts. What we need now is to invest in natural gas and support 
creating a viable natural gas vehicle industry.
  So natural gas--a clean, domestic fuel source that powers mature 
technology--is already a force in our electricity market and is a 
growing factor in our transportation system. Yet the current--the bill 
that the House passed does not include appropriate encouragement for 
this energy source.
  As I work with my colleagues here to pass clean energy legislation 
this year, I will continue to push for incentives for natural gas 
powered electricity and clean natural gas vehicles. America--and 
Colorado--can become the world leader in clean energy, exporting our 
expertise, intellectual property, and products worldwide, just as we 
have done repeatedly throughout our history. With our budding renewable 
energy industry and strong support for traditional energy sources, 
Colorado has a tremendous opportunity to lead the clean energy 
revolution, and I do not want us to miss it. But that means we must 
take action now and that is why we need to get clean energy legislation 
passed this year.

                          ____________________