199
Coal is merely one example of how an increase in US energy production creates
new opportunities for the United States to reach its foreign policy goals. Brouillette
referred to the Coal FIRST initiative, which, he claimed, would also assist in seeking
new ways to export cleaner coal technologies to markets such as Asia and Africa so
that they can help them reduce their carbon emissions and make their energy sectors
more diverse. Brouillette claimed that the growth of energy sectors in the US would
strengthen the US energy sector and enhance economic security in the country. He
continued to claim that costs had dropped, and job opportunities had increased. “It
bolsters our national security, by freeing us and our partners from unstable and often
unfriendly foreign suppliers” (https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/donaldtrumps-extract-everything-energy-policy-dooms-us-all/ 2018).
US Natural Gas Diplomacy Strategy
Hydrocarbon prices have witnessed an overall reduction owing to oil and gas production, which, in turn, has facilitated the United States’ pursuit of foreign policy goals
in relation to countries producing oil and gas without fear of a price spike. It has
enabled the US to have a say among hydrocarbon producers, which can be illustrated
with the recent negotiations with OPEC and other major producers based on a
coequal or formidable rival. Moreover, the US has been able to establish interests
different from its major allies, who are still dependent on imported energy (www.
nytimes.com 2020). For example, the United States and Germany have different
interests regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Meanwhile, the US has given its
partners the chance to import oil and gas from the US so that they can strengthen
their energy security and ease any imbalances that may exist between the US and
themselves. Ten years ago, these kinds of exchanges would not have taken place. The
second fundamental change in the transition the US underwent in the energy sector
is the decrease in the cost of wind and solar energy (https://www.csis.org/analysis/
energy-era-frenemy-foreign-policy 2018). Over a period of 9 years, between 2010
and 2019, the levelized cost of electricity for solar photovoltaic (PV) energy decreased
by 82%. Even though the decrease in wind energy was small, it was still significant.
The costs of onshore and offshore wind declined by 38% and 29%, respectively.
These falls in costs can be attributed to the decline in costs and enhancement in efficiency. More specifically, onshore wind and solar PV underwent increases in capacity factor by 8.5 and 4% points, respectively, during that period. Installation costs
were also lower. All these positive developments led to lower costs in the generation
of not only wind but also solar energy (U.S. LNG into Europe after the TrumpJuncker
Agreement
https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-lng-europe-after-trumpjuncker-agreement 2018). The Trump administration diverted substantially from
former administrations by incorporating energy into a more extensive policy agenda.
In various aspects, this demonstrated a natural transition from a Democrat to a
Republican administration. The Trump administration changed its way of regulating
US Natural Gas Diplomacy Strategy
Coal is merely one example of how an increase in US energy production creates
new opportunities for the United States to reach its foreign policy goals. Brouillette
referred to the Coal FIRST initiative, which, he claimed, would also assist in seeking
new ways to export cleaner coal technologies to markets such as Asia and Africa so
that they can help them reduce their carbon emissions and make their energy sectors
more diverse. Brouillette claimed that the growth of energy sectors in the US would
strengthen the US energy sector and enhance economic security in the country. He
continued to claim that costs had dropped, and job opportunities had increased. “It
bolsters our national security, by freeing us and our partners from unstable and often
unfriendly foreign suppliers” (https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/donaldtrumps-extract-everything-energy-policy-dooms-us-all/ 2018).
US Natural Gas Diplomacy Strategy
Hydrocarbon prices have witnessed an overall reduction owing to oil and gas production, which, in turn, has facilitated the United States’ pursuit of foreign policy goals
in relation to countries producing oil and gas without fear of a price spike. It has
enabled the US to have a say among hydrocarbon producers, which can be illustrated
with the recent negotiations with OPEC and other major producers based on a
coequal or formidable rival. Moreover, the US has been able to establish interests
different from its major allies, who are still dependent on imported energy (www.
nytimes.com 2020). For example, the United States and Germany have different
interests regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Meanwhile, the US has given its
partners the chance to import oil and gas from the US so that they can strengthen
their energy security and ease any imbalances that may exist between the US and
themselves. Ten years ago, these kinds of exchanges would not have taken place. The
second fundamental change in the transition the US underwent in the energy sector
is the decrease in the cost of wind and solar energy (https://www.csis.org/analysis/
energy-era-frenemy-foreign-policy 2018). Over a period of 9 years, between 2010
and 2019, the levelized cost of electricity for solar photovoltaic (PV) energy decreased
by 82%. Even though the decrease in wind energy was small, it was still significant.
The costs of onshore and offshore wind declined by 38% and 29%, respectively.
These falls in costs can be attributed to the decline in costs and enhancement in efficiency. More specifically, onshore wind and solar PV underwent increases in capacity factor by 8.5 and 4% points, respectively, during that period. Installation costs
were also lower. All these positive developments led to lower costs in the generation
of not only wind but also solar energy (U.S. LNG into Europe after the TrumpJuncker
Agreement
https://www.csis.org/analysis/us-lng-europe-after-trumpjuncker-agreement 2018). The Trump administration diverted substantially from
former administrations by incorporating energy into a more extensive policy agenda.
In various aspects, this demonstrated a natural transition from a Democrat to a
Republican administration. The Trump administration changed its way of regulating
US Natural Gas Diplomacy Strategy