Natural gas has a bright future.

That’s my biggest takeaway from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) annual Energy Conference. The event wrapped up Tuesday at the Washington Hilton in D.C.

[ad#Google Adsense 336×280-IA]The conference brings together regulators and industry representatives. This year, the conference was so well-attended that the hotel sold out all of its rooms.

One of the big topics was the surprising decline in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

The big reason for this was the decline of coal production and the increase in the use of natural gas.

That’s a trend that continues… And as I’ll explain in today’s essay, you should consider getting into the natural gas trade right now…

Dr. John P. Holdren served as the event’s keynote speaker. He serves as President Obama’s assistant for science and technology, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

During his speech at the EIA conference, Holdren called natural gas a “bridge fuel.”

Many politicians believe we need to end our use of fossil fuels… The move away from coal in electric power generation is an example. However, instead of replacing coal with some “pie in the sky” carbon-free power, power companies used natural gas to fill the gap.

Holdren is looking to push the current administration’s carbon policies, which means using more renewable fuels, like solar and wind power.

But cheap natural gas has derailed that plan.

Natural gas prices fell to 17-year lows earlier this year. As you can see in the chart below, they’ve climbed slightly since then… but still sit well below where they’ve been for a good portion of the past decade…

There’s one big problem with Holdren’s plan: The term “bridge fuel” is a misnomer.

What the anti-fossil-fuels lobby wants you to believe is that we’ll use natural gas until we get the kinks worked out with solar and wind power… Then we’ll switch completely over to those types of energy.

The reality is a little different. Natural gas consumption keeps rising. We’re at an all-time high today with the trend moving higher. Take a look…

And the future looks even brighter. EIA forecasts show that natural gas will make up one-third of all U.S. energy consumption by 2040. That figure doesn’t vary much, even if the country enacts strict carbon limits.

That’s because natural gas is one of the most efficient energy sources. And it’s incredibly useful. It’s used to make plastic… fix nitrogen for fertilizer… dry wood… smelt iron into steel… fuel trains… and more. That’s why cheap natural gas spurs demand.

We’re bullish on natural gas today… and you should be, too. Producers like Range Resources (RRC), Exco Resources (XCO), and Apache (APA) should do well going forward.

Good investing,

Matt Badiali

[ad#stansberry-ps]

Source: Growth Stock Wire