There are lots of energy plans out there and many have good elements. However, I haven’t found one yet that ties the many peices together. Presented below, in summary fashion, is my plan. It’s simple and straightforward…and easy to understand.
- Reduce the consumption of gasoline by 15% through various forms of driving conservation.
- Reduce the consumption of gasoline by an additional 38% by increasing the automobile fleet mileage to 40 miles per gallon. Note: I’ve been driving a car for 5 years getting 52 mpg, so the technology is available (Toyota Prius – gas/electric hybrid)
- Engage in a national energy conservation campaign targeting all energy consumption (this will help offset increases in population and economic growth).
- Build at least 50 new nulear power plants (100 would be better). Use breeder reactor technology to improve the energy havest.
- Grow renewable sources by 8% per year. This represents a 309% increase over today’s levels and would bring renewable energy to 14.5% of our total energy uasge (from 3.3% today).
- Build compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure to facilitate its use as an alternate fuel to power large, heavy commercial vehicles (trucks, buses, etc.) as well as standard automobiles.
- Invest in the electrical infrastructure (transmission lines, etc) to bring power from new, remote locations onto the grid.
- Continue to develop domestic and regional sources of natural gas and petroleum. This will serve as a bridge until the nuclear and renewable sources and infrastructure have grown and matured.
- Many of the technologies mentioned above are geared to produce more electricity. We will need much more electricity in the future to replace petroleum as fuel for automobiles. The electricity will be used either directly to power electric cars or indirectly to generate hydrogen to use in fuel cells to power cars.
That’s the general plan. It can be accomplished. In fact, it will happen. The question is do we do it proactively in a constructive manner or do we wait and do it as the result of energy shocks and shortages. The latter involves much hardship; the former is much preferred.
One last note: even with this plan, we will be dependent on a good bit of petroleum and coal. Our appetite for energy is so great, it will take a long period of conservation efforts and growth in the nuclear and renewable industries to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels.
The plan I have outlined above can bring us to a state of energy security and regional independence by July 4, 2026. That would be a great present to America on her 250th birthday!
With that plan in place, our energy consumption would be made up of the following components:
- Oil/Petroleum 15.6% (down form 40 today)
- Natural Gas 28.7% (up from 23% today)
- Coal 24.8% (up from 23% today)
- Hydroelectric 3.2% (up from 2.7% today)
- Nuclear 13.1% (up from 8% today)
- Renewables 14.5% (up from 3.3% today)
