Republican candidate for United States Senate, Shane Osborn, says the U.S. can achieve energy independence in the next five years.
“I put a plan out that talks just about that; how we can get there through fracking and having a diversified energy portfolio with liquefied natural gas. Stop the war on coal. The EPA’s war on coal is going to really hurt Nebraskans, considering that 70% of our power comes from coal-fired plants,” Osborn tells Nebraska Radio Network.
Though Nebraska is highly dependent on coal to produce electricity in the state, many question whether coal-fired plants produce too much pollution for coal to continue as a major energy source.
“We already have clean coal. We burn it cleaner than anybody else in the world and it is a good, reliable, cheap source of power,” Osborn responds. “And what we need is cheap energy and infrastructure and that’s how we get the jobs back from overseas; the manufacturing jobs that we’ve lost. That’s what we need to do. People are going to burn the coal and we’re doing it the cleanest of anyone in the world.”
The Osborn energy plan states the federal government should entrust the states to regulate offshore drilling and fracking, the country should increase the export of natural gas, the U.S. should rely on North American energy producers until it achieves energy independence, nuclear power should be expanded, and the free market should determine investments in wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal power.
Osborn adds the Keystone XL oil pipeline needs to be approved. Osborn criticizes President Barack Obama for again delaying a decision on Keystone.
“It just shows Obama’s doublespeak and how he says he’s for energy independence and for diversified energy portfolio, but his actions speak louder than his words,” according to Osborn.
The State Department has announced it will not make a recommendation on Keystone until legal issues in Nebraska are resolved.