US Should Explore All Options For Energy Independence

President Donald Trump has made energy independence a pillar of his second-term agenda. Within hours of taking office, he declared a National Energy Emergency and signed executive orders to accelerate domestic oil and gas production.

His message was clear: America must no longer rely on foreign energy. But securing true energy independence will require more than just drilling. Our nation needs to unleash every viable American-made energy resource -- both fossil fuels and renewables.

Indeed, Trump has an opportunity to redefine energy dominance -- not by choosing sides but by embracing an energy strategy that is as resilient as the country it powers. That resilience is going to be tested.

By one estimate, domestic electricity consumption will increase nearly 16% by 2029 -- a drastic acceleration compared with the past two decades, when demand crept up by just 0.5% annually. Meeting this surge won't be easy, what with wars, supply chain disruptions, and energy price swings threatening to upend global markets on a seemingly daily basis.

Europe has already learned this lesson the hard way. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, much of the continent relied on Russian natural gas. When that supply was cut off, an energy crisis erupted, forcing governments to ration power and driving up costs for households and businesses. The U.S. cannot afford to be caught flat-footed in a similar crisis.

Plenty of domestic energy resources are hiding in plain sight. Each year, the U.S. throws away up to 40% of its food supply. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. That rot represents energy wasted. Anaerobic digestion can capture it -- and allow us to put it to good use.

Dairy farms are already deploying this strategy. Instead of letting manure from their cows pile up and release methane into the atmosphere, the farm feeds it into an anaerobic digester. Microbes break down the organic matter. The result is biogas, a powerful renewable fuel that can generate electricity, heat water, or even be refined into a pipeline-ready fuel that integrates seamlessly into the existing natural gas infrastructure.

The remaining material -- called digestate -- is transformed into a natural fertilizer that enriches the soil without synthetic chemicals.

The U.S. has plenty of waste beyond cow manure for fueling anaerobic digestion. Food waste, farm byproducts, and other organic materials are being discarded every day. Diverting even a fraction of that waste from landfills could deliver a serious boost to our energy security. The infrastructure to convert it into fuel is already being built.

For too long, energy policy in the U.S. has waffled between favoring fossil fuels and favoring renewables. But that's the wrong dichotomy. There's widespread consensus that domestic energy is superior to foreign-sourced energy. That principle should be our guiding light.

Across the country, companies are pioneering breakthroughs in tidal power, green hydrogen, advanced geothermal energy, and next-generation solar cells. These innovations don't compete with traditional energy sources. They reinforce and strengthen them. They can secure America's energy independence and make the entire system more durable in the face of geopolitical instability.

Energy independence will not be won by choosing sides but by embracing every American energy resource that moves us toward that goal.

Kent Bartley is the president of the organic solutions division at Vanguard Renewables.