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Significantly Increase Funding for Research, Development, and Demonstration of Advanced Clean Energy Technologies
Technology is the cornerstone of a new energy policy. The United States is currently spending 50 percent less on energy research and development than during the 1970s’ oil embargo. We spend less than four billion dollars a year on clean energy R&D, which is less than we spend in three days on imported oil today. New industry and government relationships are needed, and liability issues must be addressed. The demonstration and application of promising clean technologies must be carried out on an ambitious and cost-effective scale; small, tentative steps are not sufficient.

Immediately Expand Domestic Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
Expanding domestic production will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and gas and significantly reduce the billions of dollars we send abroad each year. As our reliance on oil and natural gas will necessarily continue for the foreseeable future, we can no longer rule out the value of our own significant proven oil and gas reserves nor the value of a future significant discovery anywhere in or off the shores of the United States. Doing so will create new investment and new jobs here at home. New federal and state partnerships are needed, and new revenue sharing models must be developed to build local support for environmentally sound energy exploration and production.

Commit to and Expand Nuclear Energy Use
Nuclear power is currently an emissions-free source of 20 percent of America’s electricity supply, despite our not having built a nuclear power facility in over 30 years. Expansion of new nuclear power assets is essential to meet our projected growing demand while mitigating our emissions of CO2. As required by law, the federal government must provide authorized fiscal incentives for new nuclear power plants. We must solve our long-term nuclear waste challenges and aggressively expand efforts to recycle spent nuclear fuel.

Commit to the Use of Clean Coal
Currently, coal provides approximately 50 percent of our electricity supply, making it the largest source of domestic, reliable, and affordable energy. Coal will necessarily be a critical and expanding source for our future electricity and fuels needs. To use coal cleanly and to address CO2 emissions, we need to greatly increase our research, development, and demonstration of clean coal and carbon capture and sequestration technologies. We also must establish a fair and predictable regulatory environment.

Increase Renewable Sources of Electricity
Any effort to meet growing demand and address environmental concerns with continued economic growth requires zero and near-zero emissions power generation to be developed and deployed. This is true not only in our country but around the world. We require a predictable and durable fiscal regime to stimulate new investments in solar, wind, energy-from-waste, and other renewable technologies. We must also invest in developing the required technologies needed to expand and transport new sources of commercially viable renewable energy.

Transform Our Transportation Sector
Transportation in the United States is currently 96 percent reliant on petroleum. New technologies, ready for application, must be affordable and become commonplace.
Efforts to develop and promote alternative transportation options, including second generation biofuels, plug-in hybrids, and all-electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, should be based on life cycle cost analysis and incorporate consideration of each technology’s required infrastructure into policy planning. At the same time, we must focus on an improved surface and mass transportation infrastructure to generate efficiency and reduce emissions.

Modernize and Protect U.S. Energy Infrastructure
Our energy infrastructure is increasingly inadequate for our growing demand and economy. Blackouts, brownouts, service interruptions, and rationing could become commonplace without new and upgraded capacity. Critical energy infrastructure must also be adequately protected from both terrorist threats and natural disasters.

Address Critical Shortages of Qualified Energy Professionals
Our energy industry employs well over one million people today, yet nearly half of this workforce is expected to retire in the next 10 years. Presently, American universities are graduating fewer and fewer students in science, engineering, and mathematics. We need additional education and training programs, incentives, and visa policies that enable the American energy sector to attract and retain a new generation of human capital in an increasingly technological and globally competitive industry. We must entice young people to enter technical fields to build, maintain, and manage our nation’s energy systems.

Reduce Overly Burdensome Regulations and Opportunities for Frivolous Litigation
Energy infrastructure systems, including both generation and transmission, require massive amounts of new investment in the face of rising difficulty in locating, permitting, and building new infrastructure. Industry estimates that it will take 10 years to license and construct a new nuclear plant in the United States. Construction of numerous electricity transmission lines, natural gas terminals, and wind projects has been abandoned as a result of frustration and the inability to get siting approval. This may require us to address new federal eminent domain issues. Current regulatory uncertainty and liability issues discourage the development of clean energy alternatives and technologies. Failure to reverse this course will imperil our global economic competitiveness.

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