Energy Policy Act

The Energy Policy Act was enacted by the United States Congress on the twenty ninth day of July 2005. After it was passed by the US Congress, President George Bush signed it and it became an enforceable law.

Description of the Law

The Energy Policy Act deals with various issues relating to energy production in United States of America. In concerns efficient production of energy, especially through use of renewable sources of energy such as solar, water, geothermal and wind. It also addresses production of energy from oil, coal and nuclear energy.

The energy Act was passed in order to curb the various problems that USA faced due to inadequate energy sources as well as inappropriate use of available energy sources. The Act was enacted to bring to an end the various energy problems that the USA faced due to environmental degradation (Nazzaro, 2010). The Act provides tax incentives and loan guarantees for producers of environmentally energy production.

Background Information

The Act was introduced into the House by Joe Barton. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is an amendment of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The Federal House passed the Act on April 2005 while the US Senate passed it on June 2005. On August 2005, President George Bush signed it thus legalizing it into a law (The United States General Accounting Office, 2005).

Provisions of the Law

The Act promises and guarantees loans to organizations that properly use technology to reduce the production of greenhouse gases in their process of energy production. Additionally, it provides that bio-fuel production should be increased and be mixed with gasoline before sale in the US markets. The Act also advocates for increased use of coal as an alternative source of energy in order to reduce air pollution. It also prohibits production of lamp ballasts that use mercury vapor (The United States, 2011). Furthermore, it provides incentives to companies willing to drill oil at the Gulf of Mexico.

Costs and Befits Associated With the Law

Various benefits were generated from the Act, for example, the introduction of incentives for renewable energy sources encouraged production of environmentally friendly energies such as wind, hydro-electric and geothermal. The Act also resulted into elegant energy solutions and increased use of  renewable energy sources. However, the Act would deny the federal government its tax revenue. According to Mclntyre, Kirkwood and Leif, more than four billion dollars would be lost through tax reductions as provided by the Act (2008). In contrast, Doty estimates that nearly two billion dollars would be saved from annual energy conservation budget.

In my opinion, the Energy Policy Act has generated numerous benefits to the USA. The main benefits being reduction in pollution of the environment through emission of toxic gases in the atmosphere help reduce, control and monitor the production of greenhouse gases as well as preservation and conservation of the environment. The Act has also help make proper and economical use of the energy sources because most of the sources used are renewed and hence helps in reducing depletion. It has helped save the American environment for the future generations. Furthermore, there has been increased efficiency in production of energy in the United States of America.