Mitt Romney's Energy Plan

Significant Regulatory Reform

The first step will be a rational and streamlined approach to regulation, which would facilitate rapid progress in the development of our domestic reserves of oil and natural gas and allow for further investment in nuclear power.

• Establish fixed timetables for all resource development approvals
• Create one-stop shop to streamline permitting process for approval of common activities
• Implement fast-track procedures for companies with established safety records to conduct pre-approved activities in pre-approved areas
• Ensure that environmental laws properly account for cost in regulatory process
• Amend Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide from its purview
• Expand NRC capabilities for approval of additional nuclear reactor designs
• Streamline NRC processes to ensure that licensing decisions for reactors on or adjacent to approved sites, using approved designs, are complete within two years

Increasing Production

The United States is blessed with a cornucopia of carbon-based energy resources. Developing them has been a pathway to prosperity for the nation in the past and offers similar promise for the future.

• Conduct comprehensive survey of America’s energy reserves
• Open America’s energy reserves for development
• Expand opportunities for U.S. resource developers to forge partnerships with neighboring countries
• Support construction of pipelines to bring Canadian oil to the United States
• Prevent overregulation of shale gas development and extraction

Research and Development

Government has a role to play in innovation in the energy industry. History shows that the United States has moved forward in astonishing ways thanks to national investment in basic research and advanced technology. However, we should not be in the business of steering investment toward particular politically favored approaches. That is a recipe for both time and money wasted on projects that do not bring us dividends. The failure of windmills and solar plants to become economically viable or make a significant contribution to our energy supply is a prime example.

• Concentrate alternative energy funding on basic research
• Utilize long-term, apolitical funding mechanisms like ARPA-E for basic research

(Mitt Romney)