Obama Backs More Natural Gas Use for Trucking, Industry

Citing an abundant U.S. supply of natural gas, President Obama said in his State of the Union address Tuesday that “the development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper.”

The president made his remarks in the context of developing a broader energy policy that includes more development of domestic natural gas supplies, “that can last America nearly 100 years.”

Obama said his administration “will take every possible action to safely develop this energy” and that “experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.”

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. unveiled a plan earlier this month for the first phase of 150 new natural gas fueling stations for trucking, and said it anticipates opening 70 stations in 33 states by the end of the year.