Energy is Only Supporting Role in President's State of the Union Speech Last Night, House Reps Want FERC in Charge of Keystone

In last night's State of the Union Speech, President Obama devoted a far smaller portion to energy than in the past.  Energy had a starring role in the last three SOTUS, however energy and environment played a supporting role in this year's speech.  Indeed, the President took the middle Ground on energy calling for an "all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy".

Pointing out that the United States is less dependent today on foreign oil than we have been for decades, the President outlined initiatives that would enable US to tap fossil fuel reserves as well as wind and solar power.  Addressing our newly found abundance of natural gas, extracted by hydraulic fracking, Obama asked for a disclosure of chemicals used to extract natural gas from federal land.  While this might sound good, there was no muscle behind this disclosure, disappointing the enviros and just the idea of 'disclosure of chemicals' will raise the ire of the oil patch. 

He committed the Department of Defense to purchase 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy.  In addition the President recommitted his longtime promise of 10,000 megawatts of renewable projects on public land in 2012.  Both of these would be a huge boast to the wholesale and commercial market for renewable energy. The President re-cycled last year's 'Clean Energy Standards' which will include natural gas and nuclear in addition to wind, solar, biomass and thermal.

Important to the wind industry, Obama called for permanent extension of federal tax credits for wind energy.  These tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year.  More to the point, Obama made it clear that renewable energy needs same support that fossil fuels have received for decades. 

As expected, the President never mentioned the Keystone Pipeline nor did he bring up the Solyndra company.  However, in a thinly veiled sentence that addressed these two issues, Obama said, "Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail.  But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy."  

The House Subcommittee on Energy and Power holds a  hearing today on  H.R. 3548, the North American Energy Access Act, legislation that would transfer authority to approve the Keystone XL pipeline to FERC. This is part of the Republican strategy to do what it will take to make the Keystone Pipeline a reality.