An Abundance of Energy Dominance

Previously published by the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

The incoming Trump administration and Republican-led Congress are emphatically bullish on oil and gas. The president-elect ran on “drill, baby, drill”, an aggressive slogan that I hope is campaign-speak for “responsible fossil development”. I also hope their focus on energy dominance extends well beyond oil and natural gas. Putting all eggs in one basket is a poor strategy for dominance in a complicated, rapidly changing world, whether that basket is oil and gas or wind and solar.

We are in a miraculous moment where energy can be many, many things, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, its own champions and critics. To me, that sounds like freedom, market choice, competitiveness. Building a big toolkit of energy solutions allows us to find the right tool for the right job. To me, that sounds like abundance.

We’re also in a period of rising demand for electricity. We need an abundance of options to meet that demand. Americans want reliable, affordable energy, and they want less pollution. Businesses feel the same way. Congress and President Trump should work together to meet those priorities.

Reliable, affordable, clean, secure, and resilient go a long way to describing our ideal energy world. In the real energy world, those are aspirational goals. No form of energy perfectly meets all those marks all the time. Tradeoffs are inevitable, but they don’t have to turn us into enemy combatants.  Recognize the good that comes from fossil fuels, and the energy workers who produce them for us. For one thing, they are literally fueling the creation and deployment of cleaner energy sources.  Recognize the good that comes from lower carbon energy and the advocates fighting for a less-polluted world. 

I volunteer with an optimistic and pragmatic climate change advocacy organization. We’re for cleaner energy and a stable grid. We believe people are good, democracy can work, and challenges like climate change require the best ideas from across the political spectrum. We lobby every member of Congress on a regular basis and start each meeting with a heartfelt appreciation. Lobby prep gets us into the habit of looking for the good in each person we meet. Then we urge them to do better.

Biden administration policies accelerated progress on new energy sources, but also threatened the security of the traditional energy we still need to run our lives and build a cleaner energy future. If the incoming leadership decides to go tit-for-tat and threaten progress on new energy technologies, America and the world will lose.

What if, instead, they choose an abundant “yes and” approach? We’re meeting new demands and creating new solutions; nobody has all the answers. Progress comes from smart, timely decisions that build toward the energy future we need, not from waging war over the righteousness of every choice. Think big, build better, look for the good.

Demand for electricity, critical materials, and low-carbon energy are all rising. Meet them. Build politically sustainable support for cleaner, cheaper energy solutions of all kinds. Deploy them domestically, then sell American technology to a world hungry for reliable, affordable, clean, secure, and resilient energy. Now that’s energy dominance.

America sent humans to the moon half a century ago, using a guidance computer less powerful than today’s smart thermostats. We can meet our energy and climate challenges the same way. Set goals that unify rather than divide, blend optimism with pragmatism, and harness America’s abundant can-do spirit.

Here’s a next step for President Trump and the new Congress: The stage is set for bipartisan action on energy permitting reform.  The current rules are outdated and inefficient, adding years of time and millions of dollars to all types of energy projects.  The last Congress came close to passing comprehensive reforms. I urge Rep. Jeff Hurd and the entire Colorado delegation to get this done in 2025.  Energy dominance awaits.