MORGANTOWN — U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette described the role of American innovation and the shale economy must play in the nation’s energy transition, and the dangers of precipitously banning fracking during his keynote address on Tuesday, the first day of the 2020 Shale Insight conference.
And Fossil Energy Assistant Secretary Steve Winberg outlined the role of natural gas in moving to a green hydrogen-fuel future.
When we emerge from COVID, Brouillette said, “We must ensure our energy delivery and security.” We must pursue innovation polices over regulation-driven prescriptions. “There’s no reason to ban a single fuel we have. We can produce every fuel safely while lowering emissions.”
The annual conference is put on by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association and the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. In recent years it’s been held in Pittsburgh and this year was set for Erie, Pa., until COVID-19 led it to go all virtual.
Brouillette repeated the message that America has moved from energy dependence to the world’s leading natural gas producer and a net exporter or liquefied natural gas for the first time since the Eisenhower administration. Natural gas exports lowered the 2019 trade deficit by $309 billion.
To continue on a successful path, he said, the government must continue removing unnecessary regulation and continue making innovation a cornerstone of its policy. Opponents would rather enact programs to suppress or even ban forms of energy and wipe out everything besides renewables.
American energy independence and dominance, he said, requires us to take what we produce and deliver it reliably. We see the consequences of failing to do that in places such as New England, where energy rates are 60% higher than average and New York’s pipeline blockade forced the region to import Russian gas; and California, where rates are 46% higher and rolling blackouts are common.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Brouillette said, has warned that a fracking ban will wipe out 19 million jobs and reduce national GDP by $7.1 trillion. “No amount of so called green transition is going to mitigate that disaster.”
Worldwide, he said, fossil fuels supply 84% of energy needs and any form of green transition will be slow. But the U.S. Has distinct advantages in that transition through research as universities, national labs [such as NETL in Morgantown] and private sector partners.
Carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, artificial intelligence and U.S. Manufacturing prowess will all play roles moving forward, he said. Already, the U.S. Leads all of the Paris Accord signatories in lowering carbon emissions and we are on the way to zero-emission carbon fuels technology. Meanwhile, we must use every form of energy we have to remain globally competitive.
Winberg said the transportation sector is the single-largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions and not everyone can drive a Tesla. “We need an alternative and that’s hydrogen.”
Hydrogen can be derived from natural gas, he said, via carbon capture and storage technology. So natural gas infrastructure provides the bridge.
Another fossil fuel, coal, also can play a major role in the green transition, he said. Rare earth elements are needed for windmills, fuel cells, solar panels; and virtually all of those elements come from China and Africa.
But they can also be found in fly ash and mine drainage.
“The amount of minerals and materials we’re going to need is mind boggling,” he said. “Supply chains are so very important to us.” So a domestic supply is crucial to move down the path to greenhouse gas reduction.
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