In a speech at the University of New Hampshire, Huntsman used as an example the experience of that institution -which built a cogeneration plant using processed landfill gas- to talk about his administration’s agenda, where energy security is a key part.
“Today we import 60 per cent of our oil”, stated the candidate, and added: “Every year we send $300 billion – half our trade deficit – overseas for oil; and 10 of our last 11 recessions were preceded by sharp spikes in the price of oil. When prices rise, and motorists and truckers have no choice but to pay more at the pump, it depresses economic growth”.
To solve that critical point, Huntsman proposed that the country must increase domestic production of natural gas by Hydraulic fracturing and parallel drilling that made the United States surpassed Russia as the world’s leading producer of natural gas. “As president, I will break down barriers to the continued, safe use of fracking, which could increase America’s production of natural gas by 25 percent,” he assured.
During his speech, the Republican presidential aspirant highlighted the use of CNG for vehicles: “The current system of transportation fuels is essentially closed to competition because of gasoline’s monopoly for light-duty vehicles and diesel’s near-monopoly for heavy-duty vehicles.” According Huntsman, the problem lies in EPA’s rules, which impose costly ones to converting cars to natural gas. “Rolling back these and other similar rules will be an immediate priority of my administration,” he indicated.
“When I was governor of Utah, we made great strides in natural gas. We designated a natural gas corridor through our state, and partnered with the private sector to build a network of fueling stations”, he said to conclude.
