Energy politics

April 30, 2001
The Clinton administration promoted natural gas, which fuels over 90% of the nation's new power plants, and also pushed so-called renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. However, policies that encourage a broader range of energy sources, including coal, oil, and nuclear power-in our nation's energy portfolio make better sense from both an economic and a national security point of view.

The Clinton administration promoted natural gas, which fuels over 90% of the nation's new power plants, and also pushed so-called renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. However, policies that encourage a broader range of energy sources, including coal, oil, and nuclear power-in our nation's energy portfolio make better sense from both an economic and a national security point of view.

Massive investments in infrastructure will be needed to meet the Energy Department's projected demands for energy by 2020. Tax incentives will be needed to help build as many as 10 new oil refineries, more than 700 new power plants, and a major upgrading of the nation's electricity-transmission system.

Moreover, the industry should be allowed to take a voluntary approach toward coping with global warming, in contrast to having to meet cutbacks on industrial emissions that would be required by the pending Kyoto Protocol to help curb climate change. It's unlikely the Senate will ratify the treaty, and meeting its goals would be very costly.

The Bush energy policy should create tax and regulatory incentives to help industry meet a projected 32% increase in energy demand over the next 20 years. This policy should balance environmental issues against the nation's rising energy demand, after 8 years of often being frustrated by the Clinton administration's priorities.

The utility owners also need federal intervention to help resolve local environmental and zoning battles that have stymied the construction of power plants and power lines in California and elsewhere.

We've gone from not-in-my-backyard to not-on-planet earth.

Also needed are new investment tax credits and accelerated depreciation on energy supplies and equipment, as well as accelerated government research into technologies that will result in cleaner-burning coal.

Certainly, cheaper and cleaner energy is on the horizon. Promising research on dual-purpose technologies will bring a big payoff in a few years. Examples: Bioconversion of coal to fertilizer, cleaner-burning methane, emission-free generation of electricity from fossil fuel-burning plants, and reactors that make heating oil while simultaneously cleaning wastewater.

Energy pricing will likely remain as volatile in the future as in the past years, despite the professed desire for stability by both consumers and producers. Petroleum is a commodity, and fluctuations in supply and demand, often unpredictable, mean that volatility is to be expected. And that uncertainty about the near-term behavior, backwards as well as forward, means that no one will ever be able to completely stabilize the market.

Dailey J. Berard
Chairman
Unifab International, Inc.
New Iberia, La.

Correction

A symbol-translation error between computer programs confused the wording of a letter from Gerald T. Westbrook (OGJ, Apr. 16, 2000, p. 10). Beginning with the third paragraph, the word "plus" appears in several places where paragraph list bullets should have appeared. OGJ regrets the error.