Highlights of the American Energy Act:

Renewable Energy

• The bill uses a portion of revenue from new offshore drilling to create a Renewable and Alternative Energy Trust Fund to provide funding for energy programs authorized by federal law, such as biomass, hydroelectric, clean coal, solar, wind, geothermal and other forms of renewable energy.
• The bill encourages new and expanding energy technologies by making permanent tax credits for the production of renewable electricity, like wind, solar, and biomass. The bill also makes permanent investment tax credits for solar energy and for fuel cell properties and extends the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax credits.

Nuclear

• The 104 nuclear reactors in America today provide the United States with 20 percent of its electricity and 73 percent of its carbon-free electricity, yet no new reactors have been ordered since 1978. This bill establishes a national goal to bring 100 new nuclear reactors online over the next 20 years to strengthen America’s commitment to clean, reliable energy.

Oil and Natural Gas

• The bill increases the supply of American energy by immediately moving forward with a leasing program on the Outer Continental Shelf.
• The bill increases American energy by opening the Arctic Coastal Plain to exploration in an environmentally-sound manner, which could provide an additional 1 million barrels of oil per day.
• The bill increases American supplies of gasoline and diesel by encouraging greater refinery capacity by streamlining and accelerating the refinery permitting process.

Oil Shale

• The bill codifies the oil shale lease program and restores leasing activities that were already underway prior to being halted in February 2009 by the current Administration.

Related Links:

• Full text of the American Energy Act (H.R. 2846)
• Two Page Summary of the American Energy Act
• Full Summary of the American Energy Act
• Republican Conference American Energy Act Website