As the lone proponent of America’s natural gas abundance in the 1970s, Robert Hefner is not new to the conversation surrounding renewable energy. Back then, he was a leader in the successful effort to deregulate natural gas prices during the Carter Administration.

Today, Hefner is founder and CEO of The GHK Companies, an Oklahoma-based natural gas and oil firm. He has pioneered ultradeep natural gas exploration and led the development of innovative technology necessary to successfully drill and produce the world’s deepest and highest pressure natural gas wells.

Hefner caught up with Planet Forward backstage at the GW Moving the Planet Forward Innovation Summit on April 17, 2012. He believes that the greatest innovation has been in the natural gas industry. He says, “It’s allowed this country to become super abundant, actually drowning, in natural gas.”