WASHINGTON — The Washington Times recently published an op-ed by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) President Heather Reams where she promotes an all encompassing energy approach to meet the United States’ growing energy demand.
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Without a doubt, President Donald Trump is using his second term to ensure American energy dominance is a hallmark of his administration. With his leadership, paired with that of Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, responsible policies can, and should, be enlisted for an energy approach that takes full advantage of all American energy resources and technologies to unleash homegrown energy. In doing so, we can capitalize on opportunities to build a domestic energy supply chain to lower costs for American families and businesses, invigorate state and local economies, and maintain our nation’s competitive edge.
Republicans have traditionally championed an “all-of-the-above” approach because it provides states and markets the flexibility needed to take advantage of their own natural resources to meet their specific and unique needs as opposed to mandating or limiting one form of energy over another. And Republicans have long rebuffed the government efforts to pick winners and losers. Letting energy sources blossom and then compete is working.
For instance, Virginia is the beneficiary of numerous innovative energy investments, which have already contributed a whopping $37 billion to the local economy. This is just part of the nearly 300,000 energy jobs across the state, according to recent data. In Utah, the Beehive State is doubling down on all-of-the-above energy, with their clean energy sector employing nearly 50,000 Utahns. Even in diverse geographies, it’s clear that states can take advantage of a variety of energy opportunities that can help affordably meet energy needs while also employing thousands of Americans of all stripes and strengthening local economies.
There is also a pressing need to increase affordable and reliable energy. Our nation’s electricity demand is rapidly increasing year over year, particularly as the artificial intelligence (AI) market expands. Data centers require an enormous amount of energy, with AI search queries using up to ten times as much energy as a standard search engine, and our existing domestic energy supply can’t support this growth without an expansion of its own. We need deployable energy solutions today and for the long term. That’s the beauty of “all-of-the-above.” Energy produced locally can serve local needs and beyond.
Unleashing new and relatively untapped sources like advanced nuclear or geothermal can offset this demand with reliable, homegrown energy and complement existing energy production. The reality is by utilizing these energy sources, we are adding to our domestic energy supply, not diminishing it.
Prioritizing all-of-the-above energy production at home can also help to curb our reliance on foreign nations simultaneously bolstering our national security and ensuring the United States maintains its competitive edge.
Right now, the United States is ahead of global competitors in the race to develop nuclear, hydrogen, geothermal and other forms of energy, but adversarial nations like China are pouring resources into research and development to outpace us. In order for the United States to keep its competitive edge, we must advance policies to incentivize investment and streamline our regulatory and permitting processes for new energy projects.
Our nation has a proud history of research and innovation, including in advancing energy technologies and resources. However, gathering our technological power didn’t happen overnight. America got here through entrepreneurship, innovation, resilience and free market principles, not by the government limiting options and ignoring resources that can make our energy supply more abundant and more reliable.
Championing “all-of-the-above” energy production is the only way to truly achieve energy dominance. With momentum on our side, now is the time to come together to unleash the full potential of American energy, and the Trump administration is uniquely positioned to do so.
Heather Reams is President of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES).
Read the full op-ed here.