There can be no doubt that to have national and economic security, there must be sources for energy that are both reliable and affordable. The vital importance of the entire subject of energy has jumped to the forefront because of recent price hikes and supply disruptions. While the electric power problems in California have grabbed the headlines, rising energy costs have affected consumers and industries nationwide.

Climbing out of the serious energy problem facing the nation will take time. The best long-term strategy for avoiding fuel shortages and resultant price spikes is to embrace a comprehensive energy policy that includes a balanced fuel mix for electric power generation. This includes coal, nuclear, natural gas, and hydroelectric power. We must also accelerate the development of renewable energy sources and advanced technologies. Energy conservation must be a high priority as well. Greater use of currently available technologies is needed to improve energy efficiency in all sectors of energy production and utilization.

While most electric power plants under development are powered by natural gas, it is folly to rely on one particular fuel for the nation's energy needs. Coal is America's most plentiful domestic fossil fuel resource, a fact not to be taken lightly, considering the amount of fuel that the United States imports from other countries. However, greater utilization of this abundant energy source will be largely contingent on the development of clean coal technologies to mitigate environmental impacts from the combustion of coal. An aggressive government-industry partnership is needed to accelerate the development and use of these technologies.

Coal accounts for 55 percent of the power generated in the United States, so it is unrealistic to think that this fuel can be subtracted from the nation's energy portfolio without seriously compromising our sustainable supply. The same reasoning can be applied to nuclear energy. The 103 nuclear power plants currently in operation in the United States contribute about 20 percent of the electricity consumed nationwide. A major advantage regarding the use of nuclear power is availability: The plants are fixed generating assets and they are already interconnected to the nation's high-voltage transmission lines. While nuclear waste remains a vexing issue, a science-based, rapid solution to storage of civilian spent nuclear fuel is needed.

Renewable energy—wind and solar power, for example—can also contribute to energy supply. The federal government should increase funding for research programs to make renewable energy more economically viable and to encourage its use. Policy makers should also support research into hybrid plants that partner fossil fuels with renewable energy sources to provide power during times of peak demand. Regarding hydropower, policy makers are encouraged to provide incentives to produce more hydroelectric power from existing dams through repowering with more efficient generating equipment.

A national energy policy must also strike the appropriate balance between the supply side and demand side. Energy conservation must be a high priority in America's energy policy. Efficiency gains in turbomachinery are possible if the federal government is willing to embark on a focused effort to identify and develop the next generations of energy technologies. Greater utilization of available technologies could improve efficiencies in energy use.

The energy challenges facing the United States are varied and many. Our economic and national security depend on readily available, affordable energy. Preconceived notions based on past technologies and models of energy markets will not solve our energy problems. They will be solved only when all parties inside and outside of government work together to promote solutions based on sound engineering.

-- John R. Parker President,
2000-2001 The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

General Position Paper on Energy Policy

Reliable and affordable sources of energy are essential for America's economic and national security. Recent price spikes and supply disruptions have brought the critical nature of energy into the public eye and underscore the need for a comprehensive energy strategy to ensure a sustainable supply of energy for the United States. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME International) offers the following recommendations for policy makers to consider as they address the myriad, serious energy issues facing the nation. The Society also offers its assistance in developing a National Energy Strategy.

Our Guiding Principles: For the economic health and security of the nation, the United States must be assured an adequate, sustainable supply of energy.

To avoid fuel shortages and the resulting price spikes, the nation must maintain a balanced fuel mix for power generation, which includes coal, nuclear, natural gas, and hydroelectric power, and must accelerate the development of advanced technologies and renewable resources.

A national energy policy must strike the appropriate balance between the supply side (resource availability and distribution) and demand side (conservation, utilization, and efficiency).

Additional efforts must be made to ensure reliability of the overburdened power grid and other energy distribution systems in a deregulated electricity market.

Licensing and permitting issues and environmental considerations must be carefully balanced with the need/ desire to provide more energy.

Conservation and Technology Development: Energy conservation must be a high priority in America's energy policy. Greater utilization of currently available technologies is necessary to improve the efficiencies of end-use applications in all sectors of energy production and utilization. The federal government should increase investment in research and development for new energy technologies to advance conservation, utilization, and efficiency. Further, we must review our current energy resource utilization and balance it against the highest efficiency and most appropriate utilization of resources. For example, even though most of the power plants currently being designed and built utilize natural gas as the fuel source, it may be more appropriate to conserve this limited energy resource for home heating applications.

Coal: Coal is the nation's most plentiful and readily available domestic fossil fuel source. It accounts for about 55 percent of the power generated in the United States. Greater utilization of this abundant domestic energy resource will be largely contingent upon the development of technologies that mitigate environmental hazards from the combustion of coal. Such technologies include clean coal technologies, gasification, indirect liquefaction, and hybrid power plants partnering coal with renewable energy sources. An aggressive government-industry partnership is needed to accelerate the development and utilization of these technologies.

Natural Gas: Nearly all of the power plants currently being planned or being brought online are powered by natural gas. Natural gas is a more costly fuel source than coal, but that fact is mitigated by a lower cost for power plant development and permitting, and reduced emissions.

The current high price of natural gas should serve as a catalyst for a government-industry partnership to improve the distribution infrastructure and increase exploration efforts for this important fuel. The current situation in the gas supply markets underscores the folly of over-reliance on one particular fuel for the nation's power generating and home heating needs.

Nuclear: Nuclear power currently accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. power generation. That percentage could decrease over the next 20 years if older plants are retired rather than being relicensed.

ASME strongly believes that nuclear power, a non-greenhouse gas-emitting resource, is a critical component of a diverse U.S. power generation fuel mix. Although we fully appreciate the issues involved with the use of nuclear power, the Society nonetheless believes that nuclear power should play a larger role in the nation's base power supply. Therefore, we recommend that the following be considered in developing a National Energy Strategy:

• A science-based, rapid solution to storage of civilian spent nuclear fuel. Resolution of this issue is critical to the continued viability of nuclear power.

• Acceleration of Department of Energy plans to develop the Generation IV nuclear power plant for deployment in the United States and in other nations.

• Reversal of the policy of no reprocessing of spent fuel and a detailed examination of the recycle of all uranium and transuranic material in the reactor fuel cycle for maximum energy extraction from the initial uranium.

Renewable Energy: The Society is firm in its belief that renewable energy sources, including hydroelectric power, must play an important role in a National Energy Strategy. Accordingly, we recommend that policy makers:

• Increase funding, incentives, and research for technologies to make wind power, concentrating solar power, photovoltaics, municipal solid waste-to-energy, and biomass more economically viable and encourage their use.

• Support research into hybrid power plants that partner fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, such as solar and biomass, to reduce emissions and conserve fossil fuels.

• Provide incentives to produce more hydroelectric power from existing dams through repowering with modern, more efficient generating equipment.

Petroleum: The continued over-reliance on foreign sources of petroleum is of concern to ASME. Of equal concern is the continuing inability of oil companies to overcome the political barriers to further exploration for petroleum and natural gas on U.S. soil and off U.S. shores. We therefore recommend that policy makers:

• Support the administration's efforts to increase environmentally sensitive petroleum and natural gas exploration on U.S.-owned lands.

• Support efforts to encourage petroleum conservation measures to reduce the use of gasoline, including proposals to increase the average fuel economy of government-owned vehicle fleets.

• Support the development, application, and use of new technologies that encourage drilling and production from deepwater fields.

• Support tax incentives for states to accelerate the infrastructure development needed to enable greater use of alternative fuels for vehicles.

Next Generation of Energy Technologies: As the primary supporter of high-risk, high-potential basic research, the federal government should embark on a focused effort to identify and develop the next generations of energy technologies. While the technologies supported in this paper are very important for the nation's near-term energy future, there is a need to look farther into the future and determine what R&D needs to be done today to meet the nation's future energy needs.

Conclusion: The energy challenges facing the United States are varied and many. Our economic and national security depend on readily available, affordable energy. Preconceived notions based on past technologies and models of energy markets will not solve our emerging energy problems. They will be solved only when all parties inside and outside of government work together to promote solutions based on sound scientific research and engineering principles. Unedited general position paper of ASME International on Energy Policy, March 2001.

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