Posted on August 19, 2024 by Jeremy Harrell
This op-ed was originally published by American Affairs on August 19, 2024. Click here to read the entire piece.
The world is about to need more energy. A lot more. The combination of providing basic energy services to emerging markets and powering a new generation of data centers and manufacturing activity means the era of flat energy demand is over. Grid operators all across the United States are grappling with a rapid uptick in load growth projections and scrambling to build the energy infrastructure necessary to meet those forecasts.
As the world enters this new phase of energy growth, one thing is certain: the United States must lead the world and pioneer the technologies to make it possible. America is blessed with a world-class energy innovation engine led by the Department of Energy and the seventeen National Labs that have launched countless new technologies into the market. The Department of Energy (DOE, the Department) is the world’s largest funder of research for physical sciences and applied energy research, development, and demonstrations (RD&D). It is the sole federal entity with the capacity to advance innovative clean energy technologies in coordination with the private sector. These public-private partnerships are critical to commercializing breakthrough technologies domestically and ultimately exporting them to key partners around the globe.
Congress has recently enacted legislation to reinvigorate these efforts, providing billions of dollars in new funding to support innovative energy demonstration projects and the commercialization of new technologies. The conditions are right for America to meet this challenge, but the next presidential administration must agree to prioritize energy deployment first and foremost.
Click here to read the full article
