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Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are needed as a “bridge” to meet rapidly growing energy demand in the U.S. with near-term obstacles to increasing natural gas capacity, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) CEO John Ketchum said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The CEO told the Politico Energy Summit that 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.
“We need a bridge to get ourselves to 2032 when that gas shows up… and when that gas shows up, it’s going be three times more expensive than it’s ever been,” Ketchum reportedly said, adding that “If we take renewables off the table, we are going to have a real power shortage problem in this country.”
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation bill last month which is now being debated by the Senate; Ketchum aid it shortens the window for developers to start and complete new clean energy projects to qualify for tax credits, and makes the incentives unworkable.
Reuters said Ketchum’s comments reverse a common defense of natural gas in the fossil fuel industry, which has long framed the fuel as a bridge to a renewables-driven carbon-free energy system.