Jon Huntsman wants to “break oil’s monopoly” by promoting alternative fuels and launching federal probes into the nation’s fuel production system, he said at a speech Tuesday.
“We cannot simply drill our way to energy security; we also need to use the power of the marketplace,” the former Utah governor said at the University of New Hampshire. “This means breaking oil's monopoly as a transportation fuel, and creating a truly level playing field for competing fuels.”
Comparing the dominance of gasoline and diesel to the breaking of networks’ power in the 1970s, Huntsman advocated for converting some of the nation’s fleet to natural gas.
He also called for the FTC and Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the nation’s fuel distribution system.
Rolling back subsidies would be another hallmark of a Huntsman administration, he said — even threatening to scale them back via fiat.
“I will systemically begin to eliminate every subsidy for energy companies, whether it be oil, natural gas, wind or solar,” he said. “Under my presidency, the United States will get out of the subsidy business. And if necessary, I will use my executive authority to act unilaterally.”
That money would instead go to energy research.
While calling for increased domestic fossil fuel production and limiting regulations, Huntsman said he supports hydraulic fracturing as a method of natural gas extraction.
His experience — in natural gas and state-run energy development — comes from his time leading the Beehive State.
“When I was governor of Utah, we made great strides in natural gas. We designated a natural gas corridor through our state, and partnered with the private sector to build a network of fueling stations. I even drove a natural gas car,” he said.
The final leg of his plan calls for innovation led by states.
He cited California’s geothermal resources, hydroelectric power in Washington and Oregon and wind in Iowa.
“States are laboratories of innovation, yet federal rules handcuff them with red tape,” he said. “Washington needs to give states more flexibility to develop unique energy solutions.”
He also reiterated support for a “smart grid,” small modular nuclear reactors and “noncommercial research” at ARPA-E.
Many Republicans have said ARPA-E’s involvement in product development is a poor use of government resources and that the market can handle that end of energy innovation.
“However, we must not confuse pure research with politically driven industrial policy such as we saw with Solyndra,” Huntsman said. “We must have a level playing field, with the federal government setting fair rules, but investing only in basic research.”
