(Reuters) – Renewable energy sources like wind and solar power are needed to meet rapidly growing energy demand in the United States amid near-term obstacles to increasing natural gas capacity, NextEra <NEE.N> CEO John Ketchum said on Tuesday.
Competition and high costs to obtain gas turbines, a construction labor shortage, and the costs associated with tariffs mean that it will take at least seven years to get new gas-fired power plants online, Ketchum said at the Politico Energy Summit.
Florida-based NextEra operates solar and wind energy centers, as well as natural gas-powered plants and nuclear plants.
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“We need a bridge to get ourselves to 2032 when that gas shows up,” Ketchum said. “And when that gas shows up, it’s going to be three times more expensive than it’s ever been.
“If we take renewables off the table, we are going to have a real power shortage problem in this country.”
The Trump administration opposes renewable energy subsidies and wants to expand production of oil, gas and coal. President Donald Trump has declared an “energy emergency” to spur more fuel and electricity production, in part to meet growing demand for power for data centers and artificial intelligence, which excludes renewable energy.
Jarrod Agen, deputy assistant to the president and executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council established by Trump, said the president excludes renewables because the power produced is intermittent and the supply chain relies on China.
“Because the sun doesn’t shine all day, it goes down at night,” Agen said of why renewables are not a part of the Trump agenda, dismissing the idea that battery storage can make solar and wind available at all times of the day. “A lot of what their business model is based on getting handouts from the U.S. government, and we want to put it towards projects that are economically viable,” he said.
Agen said the administration plans to direct federal loans from renewable energy technology to oil and gas infrastructure.
U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill last month that would rapidly phase out clean energy tax credits, slash spending on renewables, and claw back other climate-related funds.
The House bill, which is now being debated by the Senate, shortens the window for developers to start and complete new clean energy projects to qualify for tax credits, and makes the incentives unworkable, Ketchum said.
Ketchum’s comments reverse an oft-repeated defense of natural gas in the fossil fuel industry during previous administrations seeking to fight climate change that had framed the fuel as a bridge to a renewables-driven carbon-free energy system.
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