42 U.S.C. § 13382 — Least-cost energy strategy

(a) Strategy: The first National Energy Policy Plan (called the "Plan" in this subchapter) that the President submits to Congress under section 7321 after February 1, 1993, and every Plan after that, must include a least-cost energy strategy from the Secretary. In building this strategy, the Secretary must weigh the economic, energy, social, environmental, and competitive costs and benefits — including effects on jobs — of the choices made. The strategy must also account for the report required under section 13381 and relevant federal, state, and local rules. As much as possible, and at the lowest cost to the nation, the strategy must try to achieve: (1) the energy priorities listed in subsection (d); (2) stabilizing and then reducing greenhouse gas emissions; (3) making the nation's total energy use 30 percent more efficient than 1988 levels by 2010; (4) increasing the share of energy from renewable resources 75 percent above 1988 levels by 2005; and (5) cutting U.S. oil use from about 40 percent of total energy use in 1990 down to 35 percent by 2005. (b) Additional contents: The strategy must also include: (1) a full inventory of available energy and energy-efficiency resources and their expected costs — counting all costs of production, transport, distribution, and use — covering (A) coal, clean coal technologies, coal seam methane, and underground coal gasification; (B) energy efficiency, including current and future technologies for using energy more efficiently; and (C) other resources such as renewable energy, solar, nuclear fission, fusion, geothermal, biomass, fuel cells, hydropower, and natural gas; (2) a two-year plan for keeping these resources and technologies well supplied, and what can be done under existing federal authority to ensure that; (3) estimated life-cycle costs for existing energy production facilities; (4) basic forecasts of short- and long-term national energy needs, under both low- and high-growth economic assumptions; and (5) a list of all federal authority needed to meet this section's purposes, and any gaps in that authority. (c) Secretarial consideration: In building the strategy, the Secretary must fully consider: (1) each energy or efficiency resource's relative cost, comparing all direct, measurable net costs over its useful life — including production, transport, distribution, use, waste management, environmental compliance, and, for imported resources, the cost of keeping access to foreign supply; and (2) the economic, energy, social, environmental, and competitive effects of setting any particular federal priority order under subsection (d). (d) Priorities: The strategy must identify federal priorities, including policies that: (1) set standards for using fossil fuels more efficiently; (2) make existing technologies more energy-efficient; (3) encourage technologies, including clean coal technologies, that produce fewer greenhouse gases; (4) promote renewable resources, including solar, geothermal, sustainable biomass, hydropower, and wind; (5) use tax policy to affect energy and efficiency resource development, use, and electricity; (6) encourage investment in energy-efficient equipment and technology; and (7) encourage developing energy technologies — like advanced nuclear fission and fusion — that make energy without greenhouse gases, and encourage building more nuclear power capacity. (e) Assumptions: The strategy must state every assumption used to build it and its priorities, and explain why each assumption was made. (f) Preference: When comparing an energy-efficiency resource to an energy resource whose direct, measurable net lifetime costs are equal, the efficiency resource gets higher priority. (g) Public review and comment: The Secretary must allow at least 30 days of public review and comment on the strategy, finishing at least 60 days before the strategy is issued. The Secretary must also allow public review and comment before issuing any update to the strategy.