Can Biden transform the U.S. energy system? John Kemp

Can Biden transform the U.S. energy system? John Kemp

The historical record, however, shows administrations leave little imprint at macro-level on the energy system, implying both the hopes and expectations of supporters, and the anxieties of opponents, are probably exaggerated.Elections matter for the choice of energy sources and their employment, but changes in prices and technology matter more.The energy system - everything from coal mines and gas wells to oil refineries, generating stations, pipelines, power lines, highways, vehicles and customer appliances - consists of trillions of dollars of very long-lived assets.In most cases, assets have useful lives lasting from five years to 50 years or more before they need to be replaced, so significant turnover at the system level is very slow.The resulting inertia ensures changes occur over decades, far exceeding the four- or eight-year term of any one administration.Presidential policies can still have an impact at micro-level on production and consumption, nurturing immature technologies, accelerating the diffusion process, and widening access to underserved communities.But administrations have limited ability to reshape the system at macro-level, except when they work with rather than against the existing trend of prices and technology.In a government characterised by separated institutions, sharing power - with consequential elections every two years - any U.S. president's