Craig Stevens: For Electricity, All of the Above Should Really Mean All of the Above
Supporting all available sources of energy, whether through the construction of pipelines, export terminals or offshore wind farms, should not be a polarizing issue. Although decision makers on Capitol Hill call for an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to energy policy, lawmakers tend to favor certain sources over others, inhibiting the energy industry’s progress.
Writing in RealClear Energy, Craig Stevens, former senior advisor to U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman and spokesman for Grow America’s Infrastructure Now (GAIN), highlights how both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have used rhetoric and hyperbole to oppose the energy resources they deem unfavorable. When President Biden took office, he waged a war on traditional energy, shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline, closing federal lands to oil and gas exploration and extraction, as well as instituting a new natural gas tax. Stevens writes, “these directives, along with others, have clouded the certainty some companies need to operate, thereby making energy more expensive over the long-term.”
However, Democrats are not solely to blame for the increasing polarization around energy policies. Republicans have found it “politically advantageous” to attack offshore wind development, repeating “debunked claims about threats to marine life,” Stevens writes. One Congressman, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), has called out President Biden’s actions stifling fossil fuel projects, asserting that the President is “destroying our own energy independence.” Ironically, Rep. Van Drew has also called for a moratorium on offshore wind farm projects in the name of “national security.”
If lawmakers are serious about securing our energy independence and solidifying our national security, they must work together on energy policies that support an all-of-the-above approach. That means investing capital in pipeline projects, export terminals and wind farms. While our energy sources come in different forms, we cannot ignore one at the cost of another.
Read Craig Stevens’ piece in Real Clear Energy here: For Electricity, All of the Above Should Really Mean All of the Above