Thanks Fracking: World’s Largest Manufacturer Of Construction Equipment Looking To Switch To Natural Gas
Thanks to hydraulic fracturing and other innovations in the oil and gas industry we have opened up entire oceans of new energy reserves which can be tapped into. In the gas industry, specifically, that has meant dramatically lower costs for natural gas which, among other things, has meant lower costs for consumers on things like utility bills.
Natural gas is also replacing coal as a cheaper source of electricity, which in turn is reducing carbon emissions.
But the impact of lower gas prices is going even further. Caterpillar, the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, is going “all in” on manufacturing equipment that runs on natural gas.
HOUSTON, OCT. 3, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ — Caterpillar Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives, announced at the inaugural Natural Gas for High Horsepower Applications (HHP) Summit on Sept. 27 its intentions to go ‘all-in’ on natural gas and produce even more natural gas-fueled equipment and engines for a variety of applications. Joel Feucht, Caterpillar’s director of gas engine strategy for the energy and power systems businesses, made the announcement during his keynote address at HHP Summit 2012, a first-of-its-kind event that examined the economic and environmental benefits of using the clean-burning, domestically abundant natural gas in fuel-hungry high horsepower applications.
“We have decided to go all-in on gas,” declared Feucht during his keynote address at HHP Summit on Sept. 27. “We are going to invest because we see a global market long term. Large engines are going gas. It’s not debatable; it’s our conclusion.”
A shift to cheaper natural gas for construction equipment and, perhaps, even applications like truckers would substantially bring down the cost of doing business. Most of what you buy in the stores is delivered on a truck. Lower fuel prices means lower delivery prices means cheaper products. Or, at least, product prices that don’t go up as quickly.
It would also have implications for the petroleum fuel markets. Less demand for diesel might bring down diesel prices, and there may be an impact for gasoline prices too.
Whatever the impacts, they’re going to be positive. The natural gas boom is allowing industry in America to cut prices by moving to cheaper fuels. That’s going to be good for our economy.
Tags: caterpillar, fracking, natural gas
