Support seems to be from both sides of the aisle. This is coming from an AZ Congresswoman who wants to turn the desert into "Solarcon Valley". She obviously realizes the connection between natural gas and any potential future success in solar and/or wind.


August 26, 2009





Thank you for contacting me about H.R. 1835, the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act of 2009. I appreciate your interest in this critical energy policy topic.



As you probably know, this bill would support natural gas transportation initiatives. The key provisions of the bill include:



o Incentives to purchase and use natural gas vehicles (NGVs) with an emphasis on heavy duty vehicles and fleet vehicles

o Incentives for manufacturers to produce NGVs

o Incentives to install natural gas fuel pumps and service stations and depots

o A requirement that by 2014 at least 50 percent of all new vehicles purchased by the US government shall be capable of operating on natural gas



I believe there is an important role for natural gas as a "bridge" fuel to a low-carbon future. Compared with coal or oil, natural gas produces significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants to generate a given amount of energy. Substituting natural gas for other fossil fuels offers an excellent way to reduce emissions and pollution rapidly.



In addition, recent advances in drilling technology, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have opened up significant new natural gas supplies from shale formations in the United States. Until recently, it was assumed that increased use of natural gas would require a significant increase in imports. That would not have made sense from the perspective of trying to reduce our dependence on foreign energy. It now appears, however, that there are ample domestic supplies. There are some legitimate concerns about the environmental impacts of these new drilling techniques, but it appears those issues can be responsibly managed. For these reasons, I believe our national policy should create incentives to use of domestic natural gas.



However, while I do not oppose using natural gas as a transportation fuel, I do not believe we should create incentives for widespread use of natural gas for that purpose. Instead, I believe natural gas should be used to generate as much electricity as possible, ideally as a substitute for other fossil fuels. This is a simple issue of getting the most bang for our buck and stretching the resource as far as possible. The average natural gas-powered electrical plant in the United States is approximately 39 percent efficient meaning that 39 percent of the energy contained in the fuel is converted into electricity. The newest natural gas power plants are even more efficient than that, at approximately 60 percent. This is more efficient than the use of natural gas in an internal combustion engine, which is about 15-20 percent. Internal combustion engines are so inefficient that it would be far better better to transition to electric vehicles and run them on electricity from natural gas than to run vehicles on natural gas directly. Considering that numerous automobile manufacturers are planning to introduce all or partial-electric powered vehicles within the next year or two, I believe that is a better strategy.



In addition, natural gas provides an ideal complement to solar and wind power. Natural gas can effectively "firm" the output of these renewables, filling in the gaps in production when the wind drops off or a cloud passes over the sun. The combination of natural gas and renewables can be an effective source of baseload power.



Some people point out that you can't run an 18-wheeler on batteries, which is true, at least for now. However, we can't forget the problems we are trying to solve. We want to reduce energy imports and reduce environmental impact. Using domestic natural gas for electricity and transitioning to electric transportation would achieve those goals. We can continue to run heavy vehicles on diesel for the time being, giving efficiency, biofuels, and battery technologies more time to improve. This would avoid the expense of investing in a natural gas transportation infrastructure that will ultimately be obsolete anyway when we transition away from fossil fuels completely, as we must.



H.R. 1835 was introduced on April 1, 2009 and has been referred to House Ways and Means Committee, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the Science and Technology Committee. Should this bill come to the House floor for a vote, I will keep your thoughts in mind.



Solving our energy problems is essential for the sake of our economy, our environment, and our national security. I sincerely applaud the authors and cosponsors of the NAT GAS Act for all they are doing to raise awareness of these critical energy issues and of the potential for natural gas to contribute solutions. However, I do not agree that natural gas should be used as a widespread transportation fuel - it is too valuable and more effective in other applications. Instead of burning natural gas in our vehicles, we should use it where it will have the greatest impact-generating electricity-as we work to electrify transportation, improve efficiency, and develop effective biofuels as quickly as possible.



I always appreciate hearing from constituents, like you, who are informed and interested in the important issues affecting Arizona and the nation. My job as your representative is to help you connect with federal agencies, access services and get your questions answered thoroughly. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if you require assistance


Sincerely Yours,



Gabrielle Giffords
Member of Congress