Former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who’s now a senior coverage advisor for the legislation agency Van Ness Feldman and co-chair of the Pure Allies Management Council, is eager on pure fuel and believes it’s a part of the answer to reaching each home and international local weather targets.
“Pure fuel in America will not be the enemy,” Landrieu mentioned as a visitor on The POWER Podcast. “Nearly all of the emissions reductions of the USA within the final 10 years are straight attributed to extra pure fuel getting used and fewer coal,” she mentioned.
But, that doesn’t imply Landrieu is against renewable power. She believes in an “all-of-the-above” technique. “As pure fuel has changed coal because the primary producer of electrical energy on this nation, our emissions have been decreased considerably, that’s, as well as and in collaboration with—in partnership with—the rise in wind [and] the rise in photo voltaic,” mentioned Landrieu.
There are numerous causes to assist pure fuel, in keeping with Landrieu. For one, America has loads of it. “Now we have over a hundred-year provide,” she claimed. “Quantity two: we’ve a tremendous pipeline infrastructure that may transfer fuel from the place we discover it to the those that want it,” she added. “But additionally, what’s so necessary is pure fuel, as a result of it’s comparatively cheap, we are able to hold the price of electrical energy decrease. So, it’s obtainable, it’s plentiful, it’s reasonably priced, and when linked with wind and photo voltaic, we are able to actually construct a contemporary and low-emissions electrical grid for the nation.”
Landrieu has a sound foundation for her views, having served three phrases within the U.S. Senate (1997–2015) the place she chaired the distinguished Senate Vitality and Pure Assets Committee and the place she advocated for her dwelling state of Louisiana, which is America’s fourth-largest energy-producing state. Nonetheless, Landrieu pushes again when individuals counsel she solely promotes pure fuel as a result of Louisiana produces it. “No, I promote pure fuel as a result of we produce it, however we additionally use loads of it. So, my aim is to maintain it plentiful [and] hold the worth low and steady,” she mentioned.
One other type of power that Landrieu helps is nuclear energy. “Though our coalition doesn’t promote nuclear, we acknowledge the facility of nuclear energy. We wish to see extra nuclear energy on this nation,” she mentioned. “Nuclear supplies about 18% of our electrical energy—it was about 20—if we may get that as much as 25 and even 30%, it will actually assist. Pure fuel can present loads, extra wind, extra photo voltaic, and as batteries come alongside, that’s going to be, I feel, the mix we’re on the lookout for.”
The Pure Allies Management Council calls itself “a coalition of stakeholders that acknowledge the important function pure fuel and its infrastructure should play within the power combine.” The group says pure fuel partnered with renewable power “can speed up our path to a clear power future—guaranteeing affordability and reliability whereas decreasing carbon emissions domestically and internationally.”
Landrieu co-chairs the group with Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), who served southern Florida in Congress from 2002 to 2010; Michael Nutter, who served as Philadelphia’s 98th Mayor from 2008 to 2016; and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who served 10 phrases in Congress from 2003 to 2023. “We’re speaking to Democrats—we’re blissful all the time to speak with Republicans as effectively—however we’re speaking to Democratic leaders and saying, ‘If you would like costs low, if you need your individuals employed, if you need jobs in your neighborhood, pure fuel is for you.’ And we’re blissful to accomplice with renewables, nuclear, batteries, and let’s construct a future collectively,” mentioned Landrieu.
To listen to the total interview with Landrieu, which incorporates extra about the advantages of pure fuel, the significance of bipartisan cooperation, the necessity for extra pipelines, the errors some European nations have made of their power insurance policies, the significance of liquefied pure fuel exports, and way more, take heed to The POWER Podcast. Click on on the SoundCloud participant under to pay attention in your browser now or use the next hyperlinks to succeed in the present web page in your favourite podcast platform:
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—Aaron Larson is POWER’s govt editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine).
