Rodney White
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry believes America is entering a "new era" in energy, giving him and the rest of the DOE "a front-row seat to some of the most astonishing examples of cutting- edge innovation."
"We are approaching the dawn of what I will call the 'New American Energy Era' -- an era of vastly improved energy choices for the world, where we embrace new and smarter ways to reach our energy and our environmental goals," Perry said recently as the keynote speaker of CERAWeek by IHSMarkit, held recently in Houston.
"The signs of this new era are everywhere," he continued. "Last year at this time, the U.S. was the world's No. 1 natural gas producer. Now we're the world's No. 1 oil producer as well. And between now and 2025, the United States will contribute an estimated one-half of the world's growth in oil and gas production.
"Recently, I joined Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil for their announcement of a joint investment exceeding $10 billion for an LNG export terminal in Golden Pass. This one investment alone has the ability to generate nearly $35 billion in economic gains over the life of the project and is expected to create over 45,000 direct and indirect jobs.
"Today, we export our LNG to 34 countries spanning five continents ⦠And we expect to become a net energy exporter next year -- and for the next 30 years. Thanks to innovation, we have more than enough energy to share with the world, and with it comes freedom of choice for energy consumers everywhere, including places where it had never existed."
For such countries, Perry said, choice means not being bound to just one nation or resource for their energy needs -- and that's "just the beginning."
"What we offer is true energy choice, borne out of innovation and marked by diversity of supply," Perry noted, adding that energy choice in turn strengthens "energy security, economic security and national security."
"For decades, some have claimed we are running out of resources like oil," he said. "In response to these assertions, innovation has spoken ⦠We are not running out of energy; we are producing it more abundantly than ever -- and more cleanly as well.
"As a result, we are not constricting energy choice; we are preserving and expanding it. Rather than driving down fuels that produce emissions, we've been driving down emissions while producing those same fuels. And because we did, we can lead the world in producing electricity from all fuels with near-zero emissions."
Perry said it's helpful to think of energy policy opposition as "competition" rather than criticism, because "when competing ideas are discussed and debated, we open the door to progress."
"We need to embrace, not reject, the science and the evidence that support the smart use of our technologies that drive down emissions or -- like nuclear energy -- don't even produce them in the first place," he explained. "From carbon capture utilization and energy storage to small modular nuclear reactors, we need to support more innovation, not less of it.
"We need to apply that innovation to expand our energy usage and create real-world progress like bringing the life-changing benefits from electricity to the world's poorest people trapped in energy poverty.
"Energy independence used to be a sound bite; now it's a reality. This New American Energy Era will move forward, bringing unprecedented benefit to the world and unleashing greater innovation than ever, so that sovereign nations will share in the benefits of prosperity, freedom and security for this generation and for generations to come."
