✪ AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE

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hat system did not merely enable liberty and prosperity in the abstract. It unleashed the human ingenuity, risk-taking, and capital allocation which has turned America into the world’s unrivaled energy superpower.

From the Coal Age which fueled the Industrial Revolution, through the Oil Age that powered the 20th century, to the LNG age we now completely dominate as the World’s premiere energy source and merchant. American free enterprise has repeatedly delivered technological leadership and abundance. No central planner designed this revolution.

The entrepreneurs, engineers, and investors did, operating in a system which rewards results above political management.

Today America’s energy free enterprise legacy is unmistakable. The United States now leads the world by a wide margin in the production of both oil and natural gas. We have also become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas; shipping reliable energy to allies across Europe and Asia who once relied on less friendly suppliers.

While some critics would like to call this an accident of geology, they’re wrong. America’s LNG dominance is the direct result of the shale revolution, advanced drilling techniques, and a policy environment which, when properly structured, allows free markets to work.

America once held a similar commanding position in nuclear power. We built the world’s first commercial reactor and led in reactor technology for decades. Then came the 1979 Three Mile Island incident. Irrational fears, amplified by media and activists, led to a bureaucratic paralysis in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which stalled new construction for almost two generations. Promising projects died in development as existing plants faced endless government regulatory hurdles. America fell behind while other nations pressed forward.

Today, that era is finally ending. The Trump Administration is delivering a major push to revitalize America’s nuclear power industry. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have announced major nuclear project milestones in recent weeks; including new loan programs to support large-scale reactors and breakthroughs on advanced designs such as microreactors which have already achieved criticality.

These steps signal America’s return to regulatory sanity and a recognition that abundant, reliable, carbon-free baseloaded power is essential for both economic growth and national security.

Wind and solar have also established a robust presence on every major U.S. regional grid. These intermittent sources now deliver supplemental power to homes and businesses when the weather cooperates. American companies and workers have also built real expertise and infrastructure in these sectors. Yet the United States still remains far behind China in manufacturing scale and deployment speed; and dependent on the Chinese Communist Party for the raw materials which make these alternative energies work.

As Secretary Wright posted on X this week, the massive Biden-era subsidies which distorted markets and enriched foreign supply chains begin phasing out this month. That transition will test the true competitiveness of these alternative technologies without artificial market support. Their future contribution to American energy will depend on genuine cost reductions and technological improvements, not ever-rising subsidies from taxpayers and ratepayers.

America’s dominant position across fossil fuels, its returning strength in nuclear power, and its established role in renewables together form an unmatched energy portfolio. This abundance has been no small factor in making the United States the world’s dominant geopolitical power. Reliable, affordable energy underpins manufacturing resurgence, data-center growth, and an enduring military edge to deter adversaries. It keeps our economy the envy of the world, with lower energy costs than most competitors and the flexibility to adapt to new demands.

Most importantly, energy dominance sustains the God-endowed freedoms our Founders secured. Cheap, reliable power frees families from energy poverty. It powers the innovations which improve daily life. It supports the industries which create the jobs and wealth that allow for economic growth; which allows individuals and communities flourish according to their own lights rather than government dictates.

On this 250th Anniversary of our nation’s founding, we should give thanks not only for the Declaration of Independence and the visionaries who created it, but for the practical system of ordered liberty which turned a resource-rich continent into the economic engine of global progress.

Free enterprise did not merely discover America’s energy wealth. It developed it, refined it, and continues to expand it. That is a blessing truly worth celebrating not only this month, but every day. God Bless America. ✪