DOE study points to innovation over regulation, Americans for Prosperity says

Fulfilling a request made earlier in 2017 by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a study exploring the dependability and flexibility of our nation’s energy infrastructure.

Among the DOE’s salient conclusions was the determination that natural gas has surged to become a top fuel source for electric power – superseding nuclear and coal-generated power supply along with more current options such as wind and solar energy resources, an article on the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) website said.

Since the early 2000’s, coal-sourced power decreased from approximately half of the nation’s electricity down to roughly a third, according to DOE data. Additionally, nuclear power diminished 4.7 percent between 2002 and 2016.

AFP observed that while the shift in energy sources is indeed advantageous for both consumers and national security, it is more beneficial when based on principles of innovation rather than on regulation for its own sake.

In other words, AFP spokespersons noted, while wind and solar power plants give the impression of costing less, the expense merely transfers back to taxpayers in general when those modalities are granted tax credits and renewable mandates, the article said.

“Subsidies … distort the economic realities of the market place,” AFP said in the posting. “If sources like wind and solar are truly cheaper and provide equivalent amounts of reliable energy, then they no longer need subsidies and mandates to support them … let entrepreneurs compete to provide the most affordable and reliable form of energy.”