The Oil Drum

Energize America - Achieving U.S. Energy Security by 2020 - Executive Summary

Objectives

To provide the U.S. with Energy Security by 2020 and Energy Independence by 2040 by: 1) reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 75%, 2) reducing oil imports by 50%, 3) generating 25% of electricity from renewable sources, and 4) creating or preserving over three million new jobs by 2020.

Description

America remains dangerously and increasingly addicted to fossil fuels, which directly threatens national security, economic stability and the overall quality of American life. In addition to remaining critically dependent upon imported oil to meet transportation needs, America remains highly dependent upon domestic coal to meet its needs for electricity. The rapidly growing use of both of these fossil fuels generates enormous amounts of GHGs, which become trapped in the earth's atmosphere and contribute to global warming and its associated extreme weather events and sea level changes.

Interruptions to oil, gas or coal supplies by natural or man-made events can cause significant and prolonged economic pain and social turmoil with little or no warning.

America once led the world in both automotive and renewable energy engineering, but has seen this lead vanish to foreign competitors along with well over a million manufacturing jobs.

Energize America is a grassroots effort created and refined by informed citizen activists, and not by lobbyists or politicians. As such, it takes an unvarnished and objective look at U.S. energy policy with the single goal of achieving U.S. energy security by 2020, defined as the ability to withstand a prolonged supply interruption, and U.S. energy independence by 2040, defined as energy self-sufficiency.

Energize America provides an ambitious but achievable 20-point plan to wean America from its fossil fuel addiction, to dramatically and responsibly reduce GHG emissions, to rebuild America's manufacturing base, and to insulate the American economy from the effects of political turmoil, natural catastrophes and shrinking oil supplies worldwide.

Energize America strongly favors a free market-based approach to solving our energy dilemma, though the plan is clearly guided by a strategic vision of a sustainable energy future and a public-private partnership model based on the highly-successful Apollo lunar program.

Energize America will leverage the incredible power and innovation of American industry to research, develop and commercialize energy efficiency technologies that will provide significant and continuous improvements to American consumers, and will help focus and unleash this creativity through clear and consistent policies and substantial long-term tax and regulatory incentives.

Energize America aims to create a level playing field for all energy providers, consumers and technologies. For renewable energy sources, this will mean subsidizing the development and deployment of wind, solar, biomass and other solutions. These investments will help these clean and local sources of energy compete more effectively with fossil fuels, which have benefited from decades of direct subsidies and other benefits. Figure 2 below highlights one example of the historical disparity in federal financial support for nuclear and wind power - with nuclear power enjoying nearly 40 times the financial assistance of wind over an initial 15 year development period while delivering only slightly more gross electricity production.

Benefits

Energize America will transform American society - from the way we generate and use energy, to the way we design and drive vehicles, to the way we think about energy efficiency and conservation, to the way we deal with foreign governments. In short, Energize America will create an energy-aware culture that treats energy as a strategic and vital economic resource, and which leads the world in the design and manufacture of renewable energy systems and energy efficient products.

Energize America will:

• enable Americans to soon drive vehicles that are far safer, cleaner, and dramatically more fuel-efficient than today's vehicles,
• maximize energy efficiency in homes and businesses,
• strengthen the U.S. industrial base,
• ensure that the United States leads the world in the benefits of clean coal, in the design, manufacture and export of renewable energy systems, and in the reduction of GHGs,
• save taxpayers money by lowering the cost of operating federal, state and local governments,
• save the US economy billions of dollars per year through reduced medical and other costs associated with global warming and pollution.

Most importantly, Energize America will ensure that all Americans can enjoy continued access to safe, reliable and affordable energy.

In sum, Energize America will save Americans trillions of dollars in energy costs and reduce GHG emissions 75% by 2020, and make energy independence by 2040 attainable.

Benefit Examples

Homeowners - will save money from:

1. highly energy efficient dwellings,
2. an ability to directly control energy costs,
3. greater energy provider choice, and
4. the ability to generate some or all of their own electricity needs.

Businesses - will benefit from:

1. energy-optimized buildings and factories,
2. increased control over energy costs
3. greater ability to generate some or all of their energy needs, and
4. access to new markets for energy-efficient products and services

US Automakers - will profit from:

1. access to a ready market for ultra fuel efficient vehicles
2. the creation and retention of over 1 million auto manufacturing jobs
3. a rare opportunity to regain a competitive edge globally

Communities - will gain from:

1. energy availability in the event of an unplanned, large-scale power failure
2. energy solutions matched to local needs and resources
3. new jobs from renewable energies, particularly for rural and remote communities
4. enhanced ability to attract and retain new residents and businesses

Environment - will benefit from:

1. stabilized GHG levels
2. the protection of natural resources and designated ecosystems

Energize America will undoubtedly be attacked by special interests -- namely the fossil fuel lobbies that will resist its aggressive migration to renewable energy sources. In addition, those who do not agree that global warming poses a growing threat may challenge its GHG emissions goals. Energize America will not please everyone, but it is designed with all Americans, and all future generations, in mind. Following is a summary of Energize America's position relative to existing energy sources.

Oil

Energize America is driven by the reality of 'Peak Oil', the fact our planet is reaching or has reached an irreversible period of shrinking oil production- which is compounded by rapidly growing demand worldwide. Tar sands and other oil sources can provide some stop-gap relief from Peak Oil but cannot fully replace increasingly expensive and rare oil. Energize America aims to make the U.S. functionally free from imported oil by 2040 for national security, economic, and environmental reasons.

Coal

America enjoys the largest coal reserves in the world, which is both a blessing and a curse. Coal can meet our long-term needs for electricity and can also be liquefied into oil for transportation. However, the mining of coal can be devastating to the environment if not done carefully, and the burning of coal can release significant amounts of GHGs into the atmosphere if not done responsibly. Energize America aims to minimize the environmental and GHG impact of coal use.

Nuclear

Nuclear power is experiencing a political resurgence of sorts, and several new plants are in various stages of planning. However, the nuclear industry enjoys huge subsidies that shield the industry from nuclear disaster liability. The nuclear industry and our government have also failed for decades to solve the nuclear waste problem. These issues must be addressed before nuclear power is more widely used.

Investment

Energize America will require an investment of approximately $250 billion through 2020, or roughly $20 billion per year - a strategic investment that will provide substantial returns immediately and for generations to come. Included in Act XX is a balanced funding strategy to achieve U.S. energy security.

Energize America Acts

The following Acts are detailed in the full version of the plan (to be posted tomorrow):

1. The Passenger Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act ("500mpg cars")
2. The Transportation Industry Efficiency Act ("Long Haul")
3. The Fleets Conversion Act ("Mass Transit")
4. The Community-Based Energy Investment Act ("Neighborood Power")
5. The Passenger Rail Restoration Act ("Bullet Trains")
6. The Clean Coal Generation Act ("Clean Coal")
7. The Wind Energy Production Tax Credit Act ("Reap the Wind")
8. The 20 Million Solar Roof Act ("Harness the Sun")
9. The Renewable Portfolio Standards Act ("Fair Everywhere")
10. The Federal Net Metering Act ("Get on the Grid")
11. The State-Based Renewable Energy Investment Act ("Green States")
12. The New Energy Technology Demonstration Act ("Liquid Coal and Golden Glow")
13. The Sustainable Energy Economic Prosperity Act ("Focused for Lasting Success")
14. The Carbon Reduction Act ("Atmosphere Stability")
15. The Federal Energy Policy Enforcement Act ("People's Energy Watchdog")
16. The National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Act ("EnergySMART")
17. The Home Efficiency Act ("C the Light")
18. The Demand Side Management Act ("Real Time Energy Pricing")
19. The Telecommuter Assistance Act ("Work Smart")
20. The Energy Security Funding Act ("Paying the Piper")