Energy

The Nebraska Republican Party believes in affordable prices for gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, home heating oil, and natural gas. We recognize and support the efforts to open the domestic market for energy exploration and production. We support efforts to further reduce energy costs through an all-of-the above energy approach and oppose top-down federal environmental mandates which place an unnecessary, costly burden. 

We also support government policies to encourage and facilitate oil and gas exploration in the United States, including Alaska and off our coasts. Barriers should be removed so that new oil refineries can and will be constructed in the United States. In addition, government policy should encourage and facilitate the design and construction of safe nuclear power plants to supply the energy needed for future economic growth and to prevent massive price increases which will result in failure to develop additional electric energy supplies.

We acknowledge the importance of coal in the production of electricity in our state, and we oppose the federal government’s effort to end the use of coal for that purpose without offering any market-based solution for the production of electricity in our state.

We support the development and production of alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel and the expansion of energy security within our nation. We also support other alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar, hydrogen, and geothermal if and when they are economically feasible without subsidy and encourage all citizens to voluntarily do their part to conserve energy.

We oppose actions by the Congress that would increase the cost of energy to US consumers in the absence of clear proof that the current climate has been substantially changed by the activities of man and that any proposed solutions would be both science-based and cost-effective.