Forging the Future: Insights on a U.S. Industrial Strategy for Energy

Global energy demand is rapidly expanding, and the United States should lead the world in creating the energy sector of the future.

Support for a strong U.S. manufacturing sector to enhance American competitiveness is a key strategic priority for policymakers on both sides of the aisle. The passage of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act in 2022 underscores the urgency and renewed focus on this issue as the United States enters a new phase of industrial strategy.

This new series from the Bipartisan Policy Center reflects on three policy tools deployed in the recent past to attempt to address perceived shortfalls in manufacturing investment and identifies five key insights for developing a U.S. industrial strategy for energy.

Developing a U.S. Industrial Strategy for Energy: Insights from BPC’s Policy Review

1. Energy security is national security, and U.S. industrial strategy should reflect this.
2. Efforts to advance domestic manufacturing are more likely to be successful when policy tools are integrated into a package.
3. Successful public-private partnerships depend on complementary goals, flexibility, and trust.
4. Tax policies can encourage short-term investment in manufacturing, but their durability and long-term impact are uncertain.
5. Some clean energy technologies are too early in the commercial process for manufacturing policy interventions.

Through a comprehensive analysis of the successes and failures of these tools, we can begin to build the framework for a forward-looking industrial strategy for energy.

Read the summary:

• Forging the Future: Insights on a U.S. Industrial Strategy for Energy

Read the case studies:

• The Defense Production Act: National Security as a Potential Driver of Domestic Manufacturing Investment
• Sematech: A Public-Private Partnership for Spurring Domestic Manufacturing
• Federal Tax Policy: Targeted Incentives for Manufacturing in the Post‑World War II Era