Recent technology advancements make affordable
the development of unconventional natural gas resources. This creates an
unprecedented opportunity to use gas as a bridge fuel to a 21st-century energy
economy that relies on efficiency, renewable sources, and low-carbon fossil
fuels such as natural gas.
Despite the potential energy, economic, and
security benefits of natural gas, the recently House-passed American Clean
Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454, does not include enough opportunities to
expand its use. The Center for American Progress and the Energy Future
Coalition therefore propose a number of policies that would increase the use of
natural gas and low-carbon energy sources while providing additional protection
for our climate and communities, including:
- Establishing incentives to retire aging,
inefficient, dirty coal-fired power plants, and replace them with
renewable and low-carbon electricity.
- Creating
a renewables integration credit to offset specific costs associated with
producing high levels of renewable energy and to reward going beyond the
renewable electricity standard.
- Requiring
that the carbon price and other costs are included when determining the
dispatch order for moving electricity onto the grid to prioritize natural
gas and other clean electricity.
- Expand
the market for natural gas as a heavy-duty transportation fuel by
increasing incentives for gas-powered buses and heavy trucks.
- Conducting
a comprehensive analysis of the impact of natural gas production on air,
water, land, and global warming. Include a compilation of best practices
and recommendations for new state safeguards
- Supporting
public disclosure requirements on the release of toxic chemicals used
during the production of natural gas
- Expanding
the Natural Gas STAR program where natural gas producers voluntarily
capture and resell methane instead of releasing it
into the atmosphere.
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