Steps Towards A Clean, Sustainable Energy Future
The United States Department of Energy’s May 2011 Strategic Plan articulates the agency’s goals the first of which is to “[c]atalyze the timely, material, and efficient transformation of the nation’s energy system and secure U.S. leadership in clean energy technologies.” In the 2011 Plan, the agency defines “clean energy” using the Obama Administration’s definition of the Clean Energy Standard, which includes “renewables, nuclear, combined-cycle gas, and fossil energy with carbon capture and storage.”
The May 2011 Strategic Plan is not a national energy plan—the DOE’s Quadrennial Technology Review will be a first step of many towards developing national energy planning. Instead, the 2011 Plan is a “strategy focused on the capabilities and authorities of the Department, and grounded in simple assumptions regarding the path to meet our national goals.” Central, data-based assumptions include assertions that:
- “Our excessive dependence on oil is taking us down an increasingly costly, insecure, and environmentally dangerous path.”
- “American leadership in the clean energy revolution is essential to future economic competitiveness.”
- “Innovation will drive our economic prosperity in an increasingly competitive world.”
The goals and objectives discussed in the Plan support policies and programs that will decrease petroleum use “by raising fuel economy standards, gradual electrification of the vehicle fleet, and increasing production of advanced biofuels,” while reducing greenhouse gas emissions “through improved efficiency, accelerated deployment of low-carbon energy generation technologies (including conventional renewable, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage), modernization of the electric grid, and public policy.”
The Plan further discusses Department objectives to ensure compliance with President Obama’s targets to:
- [R]educe energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050, from a 2005 baseline.
- Ensure that 80% of America’s electricity comes from “clean energy sources” by 2035.
- [P]ut 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015.
Whether and the extent to which these technologies are in fact “clean” and “sustainable” is a matter of some debate. To add clarity to this issue, upcoming New Energy Cities blog posts and resources will discuss available energy technologies, focusing on the costs and benefits of conventional and renewable energy sources. For energy security, the economy, human health, and the environment, a rigorous definition of “clean energy” that includes assessment of impacts throughout the production chain is essential to ensuring meaningful sustainability and energy security in the United States.
Definitions and details aside, it is refreshing to see a national administrative energy policy that decries oil dependence and focuses on clean energy solutions.
