WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nexstar) — Less than a week after she was sworn in as Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm is already putting her clean energy plan into play.
She says she’d like to get to a zero-carbon world by 2050 — and that means cutting back on fossil fuel and focusing on clean energy sources. But what does this mean for the oil and gas industry?
West Texas Republican Congressman Jodey Arrington, whose district produces a large portion of the state’s energy, says the transition will hurt these industries and the millions of Americans it employs.
“It is not going to just have a crushing effect on our economy, it will compromise our energy independence, which is a national security issue,” said Arrington.
But Granholm says the department plans to work with the oil industry as they transition to clean energy and says no worker will be left behind.
“These technologies when deployed will create millions of good paying jobs for people in every pocket of the country,” she said.
Granholm says the plan is to help those workers translate their skills to fit the new technologies.
