Struggling Huntsman to give energy speech Nov. 1

GOP White House hopeful Jon Huntsman will try to energize his struggling campaign with an energy policy speech next week in New Hampshire, the early primary state where he has staked his future on performing well.

The former Utah governor is slated to give a “major” energy speech on Tuesday at the University of New Hampshire, according to the school.

Huntsman has sought to portray himself as a centrist voice in the GOP field, notably breaking with several key rivals by accepting the scientific consensus on climate change.

But he has also lambasted what he calls the Environmental Protection Agency’s “regulatory reign of terror.” Huntsman, according to his campaign website, wants to see a substantial expansion of oil-and-gas development, and end “regulatory roadblocks” to natural gas and other fuels.

“First, we must expedite the review and approval of safe and environmentally sound energy projects, including the development of North American oil and gas reserves; oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska; shale gas and oil in the U.S.; and Canadian oil sands,” his website states.

“Second, we must eliminate subsidies and regulations that support foreign oil and inhibit clean, domestic alternatives such as natural gas, biofuels and coal-to-liquid fuel,” it adds.

The website calls for streamlining regulations and approvals for new wells and pipelines, and breaking down “barriers” to wider use of the natural-gas extraction method called hydraulic fracturing.

It also knocks the Obama administration for “dithering” on approval of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to expand imports of Canadian oil sands, a project that environmentalists are calling on the White House to reject.