How far ahead does US plan its energy needs? I know they have a 3 month or so stockpile of gasoline but I mean that’s peanuts in the long term. What about electricity needs? Is this done state by state as it would be by provinces in Canada?
I’m rambling a bit. I want to know if the US has a plan to for its long term energy needs. Is it leaning toward nuclear or wind or biofuel?
Where does it see itself in 20 years time?
For the most part, private companies handle our power generation and gasoline production. The government may be involved in forecasting needs, but I don’t think they take a direct hand in production.
Here is probably about as simple an answer as is possible to a complex question.
We don’t lay out 5-year plans like the Soviet Union did that coal mines will produce 20% more, wind power will increase by 3%, etc. Rather, energy policy is often implemented through Federal research dollars and the manipulation of the tax code to try to build new markets for various energy sources. For example, Federal research dollars are used to develop the technology that can be used in clean coal power plants, and tax credits are used to try to make hybrid cars more affordable. The goals are generally to influence the market to make certain types of energy more affordable (like ethanol, clean coal, solar, etc) in the marketplace rather than mandate sources and uses of energy. I hope that helps a bit.