from masterresource
Author: Robert Bradley Jr.
The Heritage Foundation's 2025 Plan details federal energy policy. The agenda is largely free market, with a subtle politicization of means and ends identified as reform for the Biden/Harris administration.
The document is consistent with the Republican Party's very brief energy platform that “makes the United States by far the world's leading energy producer.” But it lacks true classical liberalism, as evidenced by my general attitude toward free market energy; The Cato Institute calls for the DOE to “zero out” (2011); and the end of all preferential energy taxes (2013) ; and the IER's American Energy Act (2011).
The energy section of Project 2025 is followed verbatim. I offer a final comment on some missing initiatives.
A conservative president must work to unlock all of America’s energy resources and make the energy economy work for the American people, not special interests. This means the next conservative government should:
- Promote U.S. energy security by ensuring access to abundant, reliable, and affordable energy.
- Affirm an “all of the above” energy policy that harnesses the best attributes of every resource to benefit the American people.
- Supports the repeal of massive spending bills like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which create new programs and provide support to renewable energy developers, their investors, and special interest groups Provide hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies and support the withdrawal of all funds not yet spent by these programs.
- Unlock private sector energy innovation by ending government interference in energy decisions.
- Stop the oil and gas wars.
- Allowing individuals, homes and businesses to use the energy they want to use that best meets their needs.
- Protect energy infrastructure from cyber and physical attacks.
- Department of Energy refocuses on energy security, accelerated repairs, and advanced science.
- Promote U.S. energy resources as a means to assist our allies and weaken our strategic adversaries
- FERC has refocused its efforts on ensuring customers have access to affordable and reliable electricity, natural gas and oil and will no longer be allowed to favor special interests and progressive causes.
- Ensure that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission promotes, rather than hinders, private sector nuclear energy innovation and deployment.
Mission Statement of the Reformed Department of Energy
- The Department of Energy should be renamed the Department of Energy Security and Advanced Sciences (DESAS) and refocus its efforts. DESAS will refocus on the Department’s five existing core missions: providing leadership and coordination on energy security and related national security issues;
- Promote U.S. energy and economic interests abroad,
- Leading the cutting-edge basic science in China and even the world,
- Restoration of former Manhattan Project and Cold War nuclear material sites, and
- Development of new nuclear weapons and naval nuclear reactors
Eliminate special interest funding programs. Many of DOE's energy grant programs are not targeted at basic science and technology; rather, they are more focused on commercialization and as subsidies for the private sector to receive preferential government resources from DOE and related committees. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Clean Energy Demonstration (OCED); Office of State and Community Energy
Program; APA-E; Office of Grid Deployment (OGD); DOE loan program should be eliminated or reformed. If they continue, FECM, NE, OE and EERE should focus on fundamental scientific and technological issues, particularly those related to cyber and physical threats to energy security, rather than on the subsidizing and commercialization of energy resources.
Eliminate political and climate change interference when the Department of Energy approves liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Additionally, Congress should reform the Natural Gas Act to expand the scope of required approvals.
Just countries that have free trade agreements with all our allies, like the NATO countries.
The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) focuses on ensuring reliable and cost-effective energy for government buildings and operations. FEMP should stop using taxpayer money to force
Buying more expensive, less reliable energy in the name of fighting climate change.
Ensure that the information provided by the data and statistics organization the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is data neutral.
FERC focuses on its statutory obligations to ensure access to reliable energy at fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory prices. FERC is a five-member commission established under the Department of Energy Organic Act.
Regulate wholesale sales and transmission of electricity, improve electricity reliability through standards, allow natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas export facilities, set natural gas pipeline transportation rates, and set oil pipeline transportation rates. It is an economic regulator and should not allow itself to become a climate regulator.
Simplify nuclear regulatory requirements and licensing processes. These changes will help reduce costs and accelerate the development and deployment of civilian nuclear energy, such as advanced nuclear reactors (including small modular nuclear reactors). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is tasked with licensing civilian nuclear reactors and power plants and regulating other uses of nuclear materials, such as nuclear medicine. Although it is not an agency of the Department of Energy, its jurisdiction over nuclear reactors, fuel, safety, and trade issues often correlates with or conflicts with that of the Department of Energy.
Focus on energy and science issues rather than politicized social programs.
The next administration should stop using energy policy to advance a politicized social agenda. Innocuous-sounding initiatives such as Energy Justice, Justice40 and DEI can turn into promoting politicized agendas. The Department of Energy should focus on providing abundant, affordable, reliable, and secure energy to all Americans, and the Department of Energy should manage its workforce so that each person is treated fairly based on his or her talents, skills, and hard work.
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A better, more radical free market energy agenda would correct or add to the following:
- Replace “'all of the above' energy policy” with Consumer driven, taxpayer neutral “Energy policy through which the best attributes of every resource are harnessed for the benefit of the American people.”
- Cancel DOE's Civilian Programs Instead of “Refocusing” [DOE] …on energy security, accelerated repair, and advanced science.
- End all government subsidies for nuclear power.
- Repealing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), rather than reforming it, would require repealing enabling legislation such as the Federal Power Act of 1935 and the Natural Gas Act of 1938.
- Privatize energy assets of the Department of Energy, Interior and other energy agencies,
Many other federal laws should be repealed, including the Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, the Utility Regulatory Practices Act of 1978, and the Energy Policy Act (past the years).
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[1] The Cato Institute's Handbook for Policymakers has no chapter on energy and avoids the entire climate change issue in its environmental chapter. Peter Van Doren is the main culprit here.
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