Donald Trump to Energy Industry Leaders: You’re About to be Unleashed

During a roundtable discussion with energy industry leaders in Colorado on Tuesday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had a simple message: prepare to be unleashed.

Trump discussed the energy-independence component of his economic revitalization agenda, which he calls “putting American energy first.” He said his energy policy will make the U.S. energy independent, create millions of jobs, and protect air and water quality.

“We have one of the world’s most diverse resource bases—from abundant coal, oil and natural gas to geothermal, solar, and wind—we are also the world’s leader in energy technologies like nuclear power,” he said. “The United States will become the world’s dominant leader in energy production.”

Here are some of the key pieces of his plan, which he unveiled last month at a speech in Pittsburgh:

• “The first step will be to undo the damage of the last eight years. By 2030, the Obama-Clinton energy restrictions will eliminate another half a million manufacturing jobs, reduce economic output by $2.5 trillion, and reduce incomes by $7,000 per person.”
• “We will support coal production. We will support safe hydraulic fracturing. We will allow energy production on federal lands in appropriate areas. We will also open up vast areas of our offshore energy resources for safe production.”
• “The Trump Administration will ensure a reliable, streamlined regulatory and permitting process for energy infrastructure projects, and will work with their sponsors to find workable solutions so that worthy energy infrastructure projects can be completed on time and on budget.”

“Lifting unnecessary restrictions on all sources of American energy—such as coal and onshore and offshore oil and gas—will (a) increase GDP by more than $100 billion annually, add over 500,000 new jobs annually, and increase annual wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years; (b) increase federal, state, and local tax revenues by almost $6 trillion over 4 decades; and (c) increase total economic activity by more than $20 trillion over the next 40 years,” he added.

Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller said the GOP nominee has outlined a “bold, visionary plan for an American energy renaissance.” His opponent, Hillary Clinton, by comparison, offers a plan to “carry out Obama’s war on coal, which will drive up our energy rates and kill high-paying jobs.”

“The Trump Administration will not be in the business of government picking winners and losers,” he said. “We need to allow the free market and the innovative spirit of the American people to produce the new energy technologies of tomorrow and encourage America’s energy independence.”