The Great Lakes State is a key player in the Trump Administration’s energy strategy.
September 28, 2020
minute read time
By Dan Brouillette, Secretary of Energy
Michigan may not be the first state that springs to mind when thinking of natural gas – most people probably think of Pennsylvania or Texas – but the Great Lakes State is a key player in the Trump Administration’s energy strategy.
At the Department of Energy (DOE), we are focused on implementing this strategy to ensure all American citizens, manufacturers, and businesses have access to reliable, affordable, and secure energy – including natural gas.
Michigan has almost 1.1 trillion cubic feet of underground natural gas storage capacity, more than any other state in the nation, and more than one-ninth of the nation's total. The state also has the second-largest number of natural gas storage fields, after Pennsylvania. These assets are important in a state where more than three-fourths of Michigan households use natural gas as their primary source for home heating.
Michigan has the fourth highest residential natural gas use per customer in the country. Michigan’s natural gas is primarily supplied by surrounding states, and is stored in Michigan’s vast underground natural gas storage infrastructure.
DOE is supportive of Michigan continuing to build out its energy infrastructure and efforts to help create jobs for its manufacturing segment. While Michigan already has a top-notch natural gas storage infrastructure system, we must also look to the future and continue to innovate, both here and around the country. As an affordable and plentiful fuel source, natural gas has been crucial to the expansion of American manufacturing, and it will continue to power the Midwest’s industries in years to come.
In fact, natural gas has been key to Michigan’s position as a national manufacturing leader, driving economic success across our country. This manufacturing know-how is exactly why I went to Detroit this past July to announce $139 million in federal funding for 55 projects across the country. These projects will support new advanced vehicle technologies, several of which include advanced manufacturing components, and will enhance our nation’s competitiveness.
With the importance of American manufacturing in mind, DOE is empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators to help solve some of our most pressing energy issues. For example, launched in January 2018, DOE’s American-Made Challenges incentivize entrepreneurs to improve manufacturing across a range of technologies, and since 2017 we have invested $40 million in 14 different prizes and competitions to specifically advance energy innovation and American manufacturing under this initiative.
These projects will not only create jobs today, but they will ensure America has a strong manufacturing sector for generations to come, and I fully expect Michiganders to play a critical role in this manufacturing renaissance.
This state has a bright future ahead, and I am thrilled to be able to work with Michigan during this dynamic time for American energy and manufacturing. Together we can build a brighter future for ourselves and for the generations of Americans that will come after us.