Energy in Depth

TWO WEEKS NOTICE?

14 Days After Praising America’s Shale Gas as a “BIG Source of New Electrical Generation,” U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) Seeks Out Platform from Which to Smear It

REP. MARKEY, TWO WEEKS AGO …

Rep. Ed Markey Praising Development of Marcellus Shale

Carter Wood
NAM’s ShopFloor.org
December 2, 2009

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and a sponsor of the House-passed cap-and-trade legislation, participated in a good public discussion yesterday at the Capitol sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute and Newsweek magazine.

Given the astonishing expansion of natural gas in the United States thanks to hydrofracturing and directional drilling making shale deposits accessible, it was encouraging to hear Chairman Markey’s comments in support of its development.

Rep. Ed Markey: “Ninety percent of all new electrical capacity in America since 1990 has been natural gas, and it’s going to continue on that way as a base load with the new mandates for renewable electricity in the states having a higher percentage increasingly coming from that source. But natural gas is going to do very well in the future, and the discoveries from the Marcellus Shale all the way through Barnett, that is all the way from New York down to Texas, are going to be big source of new electrical generation.”

NOTE: Click HERE to listen to an audio file of Congressman Markey’s comments.

REP. MARKEY, TODAY …

Markey calls for Exxon/XTO merger hearing

Tom Fowler
Houston Chronicle
December 15, 2009

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee is calling for a special hearing into the planned merger between Exxon Mobil and XTO Energy:

“This proposed merger also raises a number of issues with respect to the future direction of the U.S. domestic oil and gas industry, competition within the industry, and the potential environmental impact of increased unconventional natural gas development.”

But there’s also the issue of natural gas as a power plant fuel which, as a helpful reader at EnergyInDepth.org pointed out, Markey believes is a key fact of life moving forward. Quoting Markey from a Newsweek-sponsored event earlier this month:

“Ninety percent of all new electrical capacity in America since 1990 has been natural gas, and it’s going to continue on that way as a base load with the new mandates for renewable electricity in the states having a higher percentage increasingly coming from that source. But natural gas is going to do very well in the future, and the discoveries from the Marcellus Shale all the way through Barnett, that is all the way from New York down to Texas, are going to be big source of new electrical generation.”