Now that the votes are in and media attention has shifted from a contentious US presidential election to the looming fiscal cliff, energy companies in the oil and gas space as well as wind, solar and other sectors are keeping a sharp eye on what the next four years of energy policy might look like.
The regulatory requirements associated with developing oil and gas on federal lands became a polarizing issue during the election, with republicans claiming the process is too strict, overly burdensome and impedes companies from producing resources vital to the US economy. Keep reading →
Breaking Down the US Energy Independence Discussion
By Jared AndersonFew topics have received as much attention over the past year as the concept of an energy independent United States. In fact, energy independence featured prominently in the run-up to the US presidential election. But what does energy independence really mean?
In the US, energy can be broken down mainly into electrical power – which accounts for 63% of total US primary energy consumption – and liquid transportation fuels – which account for the remaining 37%. As reported earlier this year in Breaking Energy, the US is already effectively energy independent when it comes to power generation, so it is worth instead focusing on the transportation side of the equation, where the issue of importing energy is more relevant. Keep reading →