Increase and Diversify our Energy Supplies
We must not shy away from proven sources of energy while diversifying our energy mix.
The restrictions we have placed on the production of our own domestic oil and natural gas resources are a significant self-inflicted wound to our security and prosperity. The limitations and moratorium on exploration and production of domestic resources on our lands and on the Outer Continental Shelf must permanently end, and the states must be able to share in royalties collected from such production.
Nuclear power is currently the least cost and largest source of zero-emissions baseload electricity. It must be significantly expanded. To do so, the federal government’s partnership with the private sector must be enhanced to accelerate this revival. The existing federal Loan Guarantee Program, funded by fees levied on the applicants, should be expanded to support more than just two or three plants. We must also provide a durable waste strategy once and for all. Our used fuel must be recycled before it is disposed. A new entity should be established to manage the entire back-end of the fuel cycle and be empowered with long-term contracting authority and direct access to the Nuclear Waste Fund. We can and must use our vast domestic coal reserves in a clean and environmentally responsible manner. Much of the technology to further the advancement of clean coal is still in development or is not commercially viable. Specifically, we believe that an average of $20 billion over 10 years should be devoted to develop and demonstrate the full range of clean coal technologies, with half coming from the federal government and half from the private sector through a small fee on fossil-based utilities.
Renewable sources of energy are growing at a faster rate than traditional sources; however, they still only provide a fraction of generated electricity. We believe that the alternative and renewable tax credits provide a useful incentive to bring initially expensive technologies into the mainstream and allow these technologies to compete in the market. The tax credits should be extended for eight years and then phased out over the succeeding four years.
Technology is the cornerstone of our energy future. The billions of research and development dollars that the federal government has spent over the years have produced many of the technologies that we possess today to diversify our energy supply. However, our current funding levels are about half of what they were 30 years ago. We recommend that federal research and development funding be doubled within the next five years and concentrated in the areas that are most crucial to the nation and best suited for the size and scope of the governmental research and development enterprise.
We need to mobilize the capital that will be needed to deploy these clean energy technologies into the marketplace. Therefore, we make a very important recommendation: to create a United States Clean Energy Bank, a domestic entity modeled after the existing Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Export-Import Bank. This will accelerate capital formation and provide an essential vehicle to mitigate the barriers to commercialization of innovative technologies that can truly change the world we live in.
Click to Print
Leadership View biographies of the Institute's leadership team and staff.