Bruce Castor Jr, former acting Attorney General of Pennsylvania, recently penned an Op-Ed in RealClear Energy on the Keystone state’s potential to support domestic energy security, as well as the security of our allies. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and skyrocketing gas prices, the administration should have reinforced domestic energy policies instead of being dependent on countries like Russia or Venezuela.
In his piece, Castor asserts Pennsylvania will play an important role in rebuilding America’s energy security. As illustrated by our European allies, relying upon foreign imports for energy allows for those same countries to exert leverage in geopolitical situations. Now that the EU is considering banning all purchases of Russian oil by the end of the year, the U.S. has the opportunity to fill the void Moscow leaves behind.
In order to meet our allies’ needs, national, state and local leaders must advocate for policies that allow producers, drillers, pipeliners and skilled workers to facilitate domestic energy independence. In his piece, Castor notes that Pennsylvania is responsible for more than 20 percent of the nation’s natural gas production, and is the second-largest producer of natural gas, behind only Texas. The issue, however, is that restrictive policies from the Biden Administration have hamstrung pipeline infrastructure needed to transport Pennsylvania’s vast resources across the state to be exported.
In order to solve this energy crisis, elected officials need to focus on immediate solutions, such as streamlining infrastructure projects and investing domestically. Castor writes, “Russia uses energy as a weapon; let’s remove Russia’s leverage and invest in America’s arsenal of affordable, reliable, and abundant energy here at home.”