- Category:
Lifestyle - Published:
February 20, 2012 - Updated:
May 5, 2021
Our presidents and major milestones in the energy industry
As we honor all past presidents of the United States today, we’d like to pay homage to the accomplishments they have made over the years that have helped shape the energy industry. Here are a few milestones worth noting, including some from our current president.
President Barack Obama
(2009 –present)
— Invested more than $90 billion in clean energy, the largest clean energy investment in history. In his 2012 State of the Union address, he pointed out that, “since 2008, more than 20,000 megawatts of new electric generating capacity from wind, solar and geothermal energy have come online, increasing installed capacity by more than 70 percent.”
— Proposed a goal of generating 80 percent of the U.S.’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.
President George W. Bush (2001-2009)
— Signed laws that provided $67 billion in loans and guarantees to the Department of Energy to help support innovative energy projects. The projects were established to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and to retool auto plants so that they produce more efficient vehicles.
— Signed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) in response to his “Twenty in Ten” challenge to expand alternative fuels and improve vehicle fuel economy. This represented progress in expanding the production of renewable fuels and reducing U.S. dependence on oil.
— Signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to encourage research, development and deployment of clean energy projects by mitigating financing risks for these commercial scale projects. The act provided for an $8 billion federal loan guarantee for two nuclear reactors in Georgia that received federal regulatory approval in February 2012, the first in three decades to be licensed in the United States.
President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
— Established the Department of Energy on October 1, 1977 by signing the Department of Energy Organization Act.
— Signed his first energy package into law on November 9, 1978 – the change in oil and natural gas law that resulted lead to a vast increase in the supply of energy in the 1980s and consequently, a change to natural gas prices.
— Heightened awareness of energy independence with his energy address to the nation on April 18, 1977. To watch part of the speech on YouTube, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tPePpMxJaA
There are many other accomplishments that our presidents have made over the years. Do you know of any that you’d like to share? Leave me a comment below!
Happy Presidents’ Day!
