OPINION: Let’s Commit to ‘Build, Baby, Build’

‘Drill, baby, drill’ is only step one. Now let’s commit to ‘build, baby, build.’ 

When Donald Trump began summarizing his energy policy with that simple phrase, it conveyed more than a ten-thousand-word thesis built on reams of scholarly analysis and years of think-tank scholarship. Every American knew precisely what “drill, baby, drill” meant.

Trump’s straightforward intentions represent a dedication to maximizing the United States’ energy resources in ways that ensure our country’s security, both economically and in regard to threats from other nations. By reversing much of the Biden administration’s ineffective, taxpayer-funded “alternative energy” programs and unleashing American innovation and technology to extract as much – as Trump puts it – “liquid gold” located right under our feet, the Trump administration has taken the first steps in setting our nation on a course for prosperity and freedom.

A key objective of the Trump administration’s energy philosophy is to make the U.S. less reliant on foreign sources of oil and gas, a smart strategy designed to control our own destiny and keep us from being at the mercy of foreign actors who, at any time, could hold the U.S. hostage in regard to our energy supply.

But just as important as increasing production of domestic energy is the ability of the U.S. to permit, site, process, and distribute that energy to households, businesses, and industries from coast to coast. By that measure, the U.S. faces substantial challenges. The full payoff for “drill, baby, drill” cannot be realized without following up with “build, baby, build” – ensuring we have the infrastructure necessary for a strong and reliable energy grid.

Independent analysts – even including groups associated with “renewables” – agree that the United States’ energy infrastructure is woefully lacking. A primary reason that crucial upgrades have been too long delayed was the Biden administration’s insistence that “low carbon” alternative energy sources be integrated into the electricity infrastructure.

For instance, a Biden administration National Transmission Planning Study last year acknowledged that “several recent national-scale power system studies have highlighted the relationship between a decarbonizing energy sector and the cost-effectiveness of transmission to deliver low-cost energy around the country. Given there is currently no formal central planning process for the U.S. grid, these studies have been conducted primarily by the national laboratories and by academic institutions.”

In other words, trying to keep energy affordable while integrating new “decarbonizing” sources was made more problematic by the lack of a “formal central planning process” – which begs the question, why has there been no formal central planning process for something as crucial as the U.S. power grid?

The study itself makes obvious many of the reasons for delays, focusing more on checking off politically correct boxes than solving the problem. For example, the study devotes a section to “Outreach to Tribal Nations and Native Communities” to consider the supposed challenge of a project siting “where it might prohibit development in culturally or environmentally sensitive areas,” along with identifying an objective of “integrating uncertainty on decarbonization efforts, electrical demand, and technology development.”

Enough of that. Thankfully, Biden is out, Trump is in, and the new administration appears determined to prioritize the needs of the many over the cultural sensitivities and climate cult liturgy of the few. One of Trump’s first acts on the day he took office for his second term was to declare a national energy emergency. Along with defining the dangers of relying on foreign sources of energy, the president declared that:

• Agencies will use all lawful emergency authorities to expedite the completion of all authorized infrastructure projects.
• Agencies will facilitate the supply, refining, and transportation of energy in and through the West Coast and Northeast of the U.S., as well as Alaska.
• In collaboration with the secretaries of Interior and Energy, the secretary of defense will conduct an assessment of the ability to acquire and transport energy, electricity, or fuels needed to protect the homeland and to conduct operations abroad.

The emergency declaration was a good first step in identifying and prioritizing energy infrastructure needs. But it did not designate a funding source. However, there is a short-term solution: billions of dollars already appropriated by Congress for discontinued Biden era alternative energy projects can instead be redirected for infrastructure upgrades necessary to effectively deliver traditional energy sources to every state.

A good set of objectives for future upgrades has already been spelled out in model legislation, the Affordable, Reliable and Clean (ARC) Energy Security Act, which mandates capacity factors, grid stability requirements, 24/7 dispatchable electricity output, the ability to ramp up electricity generation within one hour, and the ability to backup renewable energy sources during periods of low availability – a realistic acknowledgement of the obvious vulnerabilities of so-called “renewables.”

Thanks to voters in the last election, the United States has been granted a reprieve from a bleak future of expensive and unreliable energy. But taking full advantage of this opportunity requires consumers, industry leaders, and government officials to understand that “drill, baby, drill” must go hand-in-hand with a commitment to “build, baby, build.”

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for The Empowerment Alliance, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation.