How innovative technologies, business strategies, and policies can dramatically enhance energy security and prosperity

The document outlines a strategy for U.S. energy independence based on three pillars: resilient infrastructure, phasing out unreliable fuel sources, and eliminating oil reliance. It advocates for decentralized 'micropower' over nuclear power to reduce proliferation risks and suggests that oil use can be eliminated by the 2040s through tripled-efficiency vehicles and advanced biofuels at a fraction of the current market price of oil.

• Energy security and independence depend on three pillars: creating resilient domestic energy infrastructure (specifically electric and gas grids), phasing out unreliable fuel sources and vulnerable facilities, and eventually removing all reliance on oil regardless of its source.
• The author argues that nuclear power is a primary driver of nuclear proliferation because it provides the necessary fissile materials, technology, and skills to create bombs. The document claims that 'micropower'—consisting of low-carbon cogeneration and decentralized renewables—has already surpassed nuclear power in global capacity as of 2002 and annual electricity output as of 2005.
• The United States could eliminate its oil use by the 2040s by doubling the efficiency of oil use and substituting the remainder with saved natural gas and advanced biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol. This transition is estimated to cost approximately one-fourth of the current market price of oil, with an average cost of $12 per saved barrel for efficiency and $18 per barrel for substitutions.
• To achieve oil elimination, the author proposes 'tripled-efficiency' cars, trucks, and planes using 2004 technologies like carbon-composite manufacturing, which could halve vehicle weight and fuel use. To accelerate this without new taxes or mandates, the document suggests 'feebates'—revenue-neutral fees on inefficient vehicles used to fund rebates for efficient ones.
• The document asserts that half of U.S. natural gas consumption could be saved through end-use efficiency and electric demand response. These savings are estimated to be four times cheaper than importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which the author views as a vulnerable and unreliable supply source.
• Centralized energy infrastructure is identified as a national security risk. The author cites the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) as a 'frighteningly insecure' target that is largely accessible to attackers and difficult to repair in winter.

APA

Lovins, A. B. (2006). How innovative technologies, business strategies, and policies can dramatically enhance energy security and prosperity. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E06-02_SenateTestimony.pdf

Chicago

Lovins, Amory B. How innovative technologies, business strategies, and policies can dramatically enhance energy security and prosperity. RMI, 2006. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E06-02_SenateTestimony.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lovins |first1=Amory B. |title=How innovative technologies, business strategies, and policies can dramatically enhance energy security and prosperity |publisher=RMI |date=7 March 2006 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E06-02_SenateTestimony.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lovins2006how, author = {Lovins, Amory B.}, title = {{How innovative technologies, business strategies, and policies can dramatically enhance energy security and prosperity}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2006}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_E06-02_SenateTestimony.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }