Presidential Energy Review Focuses on Cyber-Security, Climate Change

The Obama administration just released the first ever Quadrennial Energy Review, a report that identifies policies to address energy-related threats, risks, and opportunities. President Obama commissioned the report in January 2014 and intends, as the name suggests, for the Department of Energy to conduct the review every four years going forward.

According to the Washington Post, the report focuses particularly on cyber-security attacks and climate change. In particular, it says that the country requires a significant policy change to support renewable energy integration. The dearth of investment in energy infrastructure replacement and modernization has compounded these challenges. The report also suggests that solving these challenges presents a major opportunity to create new jobs.

Infrastructure Facts

The report provides several interesting statistics about the size of the US’s energy infrastructure, which is comprised of:

• 6 million miles of interstate and intrastate pipelines;
• 414 natural gas storage facilities;
• 330 oil-handling ports;
• 140,000 miles of railways that handle oil, gasoline, LNG, and coal;
• 19,000 power generation units of at least 1 MW sited at over 7,000 operational power plants;
• 642,000 miles of transmission; and
• 6.3 million miles of distribution.