EIA Outlook Optimistic on Natural Gas & Renewables, Obama to Emphasize Energy Jobs in SOTUS

The Energy Information Agency rolled out its much anticipated 2012 Energy Outlook on Monday and says that the United States  will reduce its dependence on foreign oil and become a net exporter of natural gas by 2021.   Howard Gruenspecht, Acting EIA Administrator, said natural gas and renewable energy sources will gain “an increasing share of U.S. electric power generation, with domestic crude oil and natural gas production growing, and reliance on imported oil decreasing."  The EIA report also adds that projected decreases in dependence on foreign oil are predicated on estimates that the economy will grow at only a moderate pace.

Look for President Obama, in his State of the Union Address,to lay out his plans for an economy that’s “built to last.”  The President is expected to link energy policies to the broader economic blueprint and will highlight steps the administration has taken to encourage oil and gas development and investments in clean energy. Those steps, the officials say, create far more jobs than approval of Keystone would have.  This blueprint will be supported by four pillars: American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers and American values,” according to WH press secretary Jay Carney.  The speech gives Obama a major opportunity to define his energy record following months of GOP attacks over the Solyndra, and controversy over the Keystone XL oil pipeline.