
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC13382]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                       CHAPTER 134--ENERGY POLICY
 
                  SUBCHAPTER VII--GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
 
Sec. 13382. Least-cost energy strategy


(a) Strategy

    The first National Energy Policy Plan (in this subchapter referred 
to as the ``Plan'') under section 7321 of this title prepared and 
required to be submitted by the President to Congress after February 1, 
1993, and each subsequent such Plan, shall include a least-cost energy 
strategy prepared by the Secretary. In developing the least-cost energy 
strategy, the Secretary shall take into consideration the economic, 
energy, social, environmental, and competitive costs and benefits, 
including costs and benefits for jobs, of his choices. Such strategy 
shall also take into account the report required under section 13381 of 
this title and relevant Federal, State, and local requirements. Such 
strategy shall be designed to achieve to the maximum extent practicable 
and at least-cost to the Nation--
        (1) the energy production, utilization, and energy conservation 
    priorities of subsection (d) of this section;
        (2) the stabilization and eventual reduction in the generation 
    of greenhouse gases;
        (3) an increase in the efficiency of the Nation's total energy 
    use by 30 percent over 1988 levels by the year 2010;
        (4) an increase in the percentage of energy derived from 
    renewable resources by 75 percent over 1988 levels by the year 2005; 
    and
        (5) a reduction in the Nation's oil consumption from the 1990 
    level of approximately 40 percent of total energy use to 35 percent 
    by the year 2005.

(b) Additional contents

    The least-cost energy strategy shall also include--
        (1) a comprehensive inventory of available energy and energy 
    efficiency resources and their projected costs, taking into account 
    all costs of production, transportation, distribution, and 
    utilization of such resources, including--
            (A) coal, clean coal technologies, coal seam methane, and 
        underground coal gasification;
            (B) energy efficiency, including existing technologies for 
        increased efficiency in production, transportation, 
        distribution, and utilization of energy, and other technologies 
        that are anticipated to be available through further research 
        and development; and
            (C) other energy resources, such as renewable energy, solar 
        energy, nuclear fission, fusion, geothermal, biomass, fuel 
        cells, hydropower, and natural gas;

        (2) a proposed two-year program for ensuring adequate supplies 
    of the energy and energy efficiency resources and technologies 
    described in paragraph (1), and an identification of administrative 
    actions that can be undertaken within existing Federal authority to 
    ensure their adequate supply;
        (3) estimates of life-cycle costs for existing energy production 
    facilities;
        (4) basecase forecasts of short-term and long-term national 
    energy needs under low and high case assumptions of economic growth; 
    and
        (5) an identification of all applicable Federal authorities 
    needed to achieve the purposes of this section, and of any 
    inadequacies in those authorities.

(c) Secretarial consideration

    In developing the least-cost energy strategy, the Secretary shall 
give full consideration to--
        (1) the relative costs of each energy and energy efficiency 
    resource based upon a comparison of all direct and quantifiable net 
    costs for the resource over its available life, including the cost 
    of production, transportation, distribution, utilization, waste 
    management, environmental compliance, and, in the case of imported 
    energy resources, maintaining access to foreign sources of supply; 
    and
        (2) the economic, energy, social, environmental, and competitive 
    consequences resulting from the establishment of any particular 
    order of Federal priority as determined under subsection (d) of this 
    section.

(d) Priorities

    The least-cost energy strategy shall identify Federal priorities, 
including policies that--
        (1) implement standards for more efficient use of fossil fuels;
        (2) increase the energy efficiency of existing technologies;
        (3) encourage technologies, including clean coal technologies, 
    that generate lower levels of greenhouse gases;
        (4) promote the use of renewable energy resources, including 
    solar, geothermal, sustainable biomass, hydropower, and wind power;
        (5) affect the development and consumption of energy and energy 
    efficiency resources and electricity through tax policy;
        (6) encourage investment in energy efficient equipment and 
    technologies; and
        (7) encourage the development of energy technologies, such as 
    advanced nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, that produce energy 
    without greenhouse gases as a byproduct, and encourage the 
    deployment of nuclear electric generating capacity.

(e) Assumptions

    The Secretary shall include in the least-cost energy strategy an 
identification of all of the assumptions used in developing the strategy 
and priorities thereunder, and the reasons for such assumptions.

(f) Preference

    When comparing an energy efficiency resource to an energy resource, 
a higher priority shall be assigned to the energy efficiency resource 
whenever all direct and quantifiable net costs for the resource over its 
available life are equal to the estimated cost of the energy resource.

(g) Public review and comment

    The Secretary shall provide for a period of public review and 
comment of the least-cost energy strategy, for a period of at least 30 
days, to be completed at least 60 days before the issuance of such 
strategy. The Secretary shall also provide for public review and comment 
before the issuance of any update to the least-cost energy strategy 
required under this section.

(Pub. L. 102-486, title XVI, Sec. 1602, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2999.)

                       References in Text

    This subchapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original 
``this title'' meaning title XVI of Pub. L. 102-486, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 
Stat. 2999, which enacted this subchapter and repealed sections 7361 to 
7364 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 13471 of this title.
