Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) says the U.S. is ready for natural gas vehicles, and presents some surprising new statistics about natural gas. (0:50)

 

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By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) held a press conference Wednesday with billionaire clean energy advocate T. Boone Pickens to present the bipartisan New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (NAT GAS), which aims to provide financial incentives for the use of natural gas.

“Our economic crisis has shined a spotlight on the urgent need for alternative, cleaner, and cheaper sources of energy that we don’t have to import,” Menendez said. “By making it easier and cheaper to own a vehicle that runs in natural gas, we can help families save money on energy, create new manufacturing jobs and clear our air.”

According to Pickens’ website, www.PickensPlan.com, the U.S. possesses a secure and abundant supply of natural gas, with estimated domestic reserves nearly twice that of petroleum. The website also claims that natural gas is 85 percent cleaner and 75 percent cheaper than petroleum.

“We have dramatically increased our nation’s natural gas reserves. We have much more natural gas than we thought we had just a few years ago. And there is a sufficient supply to significantly increase the use of cleaner, greener fuel, as a transportation fuel,” explained Hatch.

The NAT GAS Act will extend and increase tax credits for natural gas vehicles and refueling for state and local governments, as well as manufactures.

Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

T. Boone Pickens Says he doesn’t actually own any natural gas, but it is a necessary bridging fuel for “the next twenty-five years or longer.”

Ellen Ratner speaks with T. Boone Pickens on his energy plan. Pickens advocates switching to natural gas for many current oil consumers. (5:28)

 

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Coffee Brown, University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News

Entrepreneur T.Boone Pickens points out the advantages of natural gas, the ease of conversion, and the possibility of ending dependence on foreign oil.

 

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Coffee Brown University of New Mexico, for Talk Radio News Service

During two energy conferences in Washington, DC, Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu said that a new, expanded, robust, and smart electric grid is the big ticket item for his department in the just-signed stimulus bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).

We are moving away, he said from locally produced power in pursuit of alternative energies, such as wind and solar, which are favored by geography in sparsely populated areas. As energy is produced in a fluctuating pattern due to local weather, and then sent farther away, a computerized grid which can direct, even out, monitor and store power will be needed. This coordination will extend even to homes, where fluctuations in use or peak draws can be managed to limit brown- and black-outs. he described circadian pricing, rewarding users who shift usage away from peak hours, and buy-back credits for homes which actually produce power as examples of smart distribution at the home level.

Chu noted that the new grid could be a target, so robust design was a security priority.
While wind power is as high as 20 percent in some areas, it is only three percent of overall production, and will need to mature and expand over a decade or more to compete on a cost-per-kilowatt basis.

Chu has made a priority of streamlining funding of shovel-ready projects, which were facing delays of up to two years for approval.

At the second conference, chaired by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and attended by entrepreneur and hedge fund manager T.Boone Pickens, the question of new regulatory agencies came up, as power distribution became less regional and more interconnected. Reid said that he thought it could be handled administratively.

Pickens said that there are vast reserves of natural gas at several fields in the U.S., far more than would be needed to bridge the gap to non-carbon pumping energy production. Trucks, he said, can never run on batteries but can easily be converted from gasoline to natural gas, which is 30 percent cleaner and would create many American jobs and businesses.

Chu concluded by saying that carbon capture and climate change are important topics that will be addressed in later stages of the program.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) spoke today at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. Reid spoke about the momentum in the utility industry to invest in renewable generation has come about because of states passing renewable portfolio standards. Reid says that if 20 percent of the nation’s power came from renewable energy by 2020, the United States would create 200,000 new jobs and save consumers $10.5 billion in lower electricity and natural gas bills.
(0:49)

 

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