The most recent presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spanned a wide array of topics. One question from the audience, however, caught the attention of CEPI. One astute attendee asked the candidates:
What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs, while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job loss for fossil power plant workers?
While this question has largely gone un-discussed during the campaign, it is nonetheless an important one, underscoring the concerns that many Americans share over where the future of the energy industry may lead. Secretary Clinton responded in the following manner:
We are, however, producing a lot of natural gas, which serves as a bridge to more renewable fuels. And I think that’s an important transition.
We’ve got to remain energy-independent. It gives us much more power and freedom than to be worried about what goes on in the Middle East. We have enough worries over there without having to worry about that.
CEPI could not agree more with Secretary Clinton’s position regarding the importance of natural gas in the future of U.S. energy production. As the country takes major steps to reduce its reliance on coal and develop renewable resources of energy, natural gas presents itself as a clear option to fill that gap – it is both cleaner burner than other fossil fuels and readily available in deposits such as the Marcellus and Utica shale.
Projects like the Rover Pipeline, then, stand to make critical contributions to this movement. While natural gas is increasingly easily produced, major regions in the U.S. – including the Midwest – lack the means to access those resources. Rover will provide this access, ushering in new possibilities for the production of energy in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. CEPI applauds Secretary Clinton for her underscoring of this important transition, and looks forward to future developments in the presidential race on the role of natural gas in the U.S.