HOUSTON ̶ Former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood gave the ending keynote address at Hart Energy’s recent World LNG Fuels conference, and he used the time to speak to what he calls an ongoing revolution in LNG fuels.
“We’re all here because you are in the vanguard of a revolution,” he said. “A revolution in where America gets its energy, a revolution in what we do with it, and a revolution in how we extract and transport it.”
LaHood touted LNG’s benefits in the economic, manufacturing, and transportation sectors. He pointed out that many shippers are upgrading their fleets to use LNG as a fuel.
“When we took office, you could count the number of LNG-powered ships around the globe with your fingers,” he said. “Today, there are scores more on the waters, and many more beyond that in design or construction.”
The railroads, including Burlington Northern, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and CSX, are all shifting from diesel to LNG, he said.
“And soon,” he continued, “the evolution of LNG transportation will be most pronounced on America’s roadways. UPS is in the process of introducing 1,000 LNG trucks into its fleet—60 of them right here in Houston. They’ll replace diesel engine trucks, and save more than 24 million gallons of diesel fuel. And Clean Energy is in the process of remaking the I-10 corridor from Los Angeles to Houston into America’s first natural gas highway.”
The revolution is already taking place, he argued. When faced with that fact, he suggested a few questions for the industry.
“Today, the operative questions are: Number one, what can we do to speed this process along? And number two, how can our elected officials be a help, not a hindrance?”
The answer was simple and “timeless,” he said. “We need fewer regulatory bottlenecks, not more.”
He suggested the Department of Energy should complete its reviews of projects more quickly. President Obama is working with Congress, in which, LaHood assured, there was plenty of room for compromise.
LaHood also urged a healthy balance between exports and domestic use.
“We obviously should export enough LNG to support jobs and growth today, but we should also steward enough to support our domestic manufacturing and transportation sectors over the long term.”
LaHood ended his keynote address by comparing the explosion of the industry to what occurred after Edwin Drake famously struck oil after persevering through long odds and drilling a well 69 feet deep near Titusville, Pa., in 1859. LaHood suggested the shale revolution is America’s most significant energy discovery since that time. But he also saw a new generation of Drakes out in the audience.
“Pioneers, dreamers, troublemakers, revolutionaries. And I’m here to tell you, Washington will follow where you lead—if you push, if you persevere, if you persuade.”
In answering questions, LaHood acknowledged that the Highway Trust Fund has a tight budget.
“I think that everyone from here and everybody across America know that America’s one big pothole,” he said. “The Highway Trust Fund is broke. The taxes that are paid into the Highway Trust Fund have not been raised since 1993. That’s two decades. I don’t know if anyone in this room can think of anything that hasn’t been raised in two decades.”
LaHood doesn’t see any carbon taxes or carbon credits for the LNG industry on the horizon.
“I do think the explosion of LNG and the explosion of our own energy in our country—you all need to get in the mix to make sure Congress doesn’t muck it up and slow it down. But I don’t see the administration doing much in terms of executive orders.”
Moreover, there’s a fundamental lack of understanding about LNG in Washington, he said.
“I don’t think it’s understood very well; that’s why it’s very important that everybody in this room, everybody that’s sitting there, is an expert. You know more about it than your own congressman does. For most members of Congress, they don’t have a good understanding of LNG and they don’t have an understanding of the explosion that has taken place and what a revolution is going on in the industry.”
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