ABSTRACT
A variety of energy supply and conservation alternatives may be developed intensively on an individual basis under future U.S. energy policy, or they may simply evolve as elements of our overall national energy strategies. We have selected four such alternatives as case studies to illustrate the kinds of problems they involve and the nature of the policy instruments that might be adopted to overcome them. The four initiatives considered in this chapter and the next one—increased production of coal, expanded use of nuclear power, production of liquid and gaseous fuels from coal or oil shale, and increased use of solar energy—offer especially useful insights because they so clearly represent real possibilities. Each has its strong proponents and each may well become a critical part of the national energy picture. Many observers (justifiably) also speak of conservation as a “source” of energy—as a means of “finding” additional energy to achieve whatever supply-demand balance we decide to seek. Some key conservation possibilities—including process shifts that lower energy use—have already been discussed extensively in chapter 5. The policy suggestions arising from that discussion will also be reviewed here in distilled form.
