U.S. Commerce Chamber’s new energy advocacy platform proposes actionable recommendations to capitalize on the nation’s energy potential.
On January 15, 2014, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy launched its new energy advocacy platform titled “Energy Works for US,” a comprehensive plan with recommendations for 2014 and beyond. The plan, an update to the Institute’s 2008 Blueprint for Securing America’s Energy Future, reflects the current energy revolution. It is designed to significantly increase job opportunities, revenue generation, and private investment.
Energy Works for US includes 64 actionable recommendations in nine key areas identified on the basis of the current energy, economic, and fiscal positions. It addresses each area with specific policy recommendations aimed to step up efforts to fully utilize the nation’s energy potential and overcome barriers. The nine planks identified for sound energy policy are:
- Removing barriers to increased domestic oil and natural gas development and fuel manufacturing
- Enhancing the competitiveness of renewable energy sources
- Protecting energy infrastructure from physical disruptions and cyber attacks
- Maintaining coal as a vital part of a diverse energy portfolio
- Promoting 21st century energy efficiency and advanced technologies
- Reforming the regulatory process for balance, predictability, and transparency
- Expanding nuclear energy use and committing to a nuclear waste solution
- Modernizing the permitting process for energy infrastructure
- Ensuring a competitive energy workforce
Among the key reforms, the new plan would facilitate oil and gas development on federal lands, lowering the need for fuel imports. It would end regulatory barriers to maintaining coal as an integral part of the energy mix and facilitate investment in clean coal development technologies. It would also support clean energy sources, including nuclear and renewables, and energy efficiency improvements. The plan also calls for free trade in energy and addresses impediments to critical energy infrastructure projects. The platform highlights the need for forward thinking policy to address cyber security threats, skilled workforce demand, and other impending energy challenges.
Expounding the current enhanced energy landscape, the advocacy report draws on Congressional Research Service estimates showing that the U.S. holds approximately 17 percent of the world’s combined oil, natural gas, and coal reserves, more than any other country. The report also draws on Energy Information Administration projections that the U.S. will become a net exporter of natural gas by 2020 – currently natural gas from shale represents approximately one-third of total U.S. production and is projected to account for up to 60 percent of domestic production by 2030. It notes that 2012 unconventional oil and gas development accounted for 2.1 million jobs, $75B in revenues, $87B in investment, and $284B in economic activity.
U.S. Natural Gas Production and Imports (EIA Short-Tem Energy Outlook, January 2014)
January 16, 2014 via Energy Solutions Forum
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