Dow Chemical released its outline of recommendations for the U.S. Energy Policy, Dow’s Energy Plan for America.

Dow has once again demonstrated a depth of understanding of the macro level issues that affect not only the petrochemical and energy industries, but also the United States economy. Dow has written a comprehensive and insightful paper outlining the needs and proposals for the U.S. energy policy. The plan emphasizes improving energy efficiency and accelerating the development of alternative energy sources.

Dow Chemical comprehensive plan for U.S. Energy Policy includes Coal-to-Liquids plants. The recommendations in the paper call for a bold and bipartisan energy plan for the United States. The recommendation for boldness is because the measures in recent years have been weak and have not been sufficient to achieve the desired outcome and bipartisan, because bold measures will require a bipartisan support.

One of the recommendations in the Dow plan is that the U.S. develop coal-to-liquids or polygeneration coal gasification plants. These plants will utilize the vast coal reserves in the U.S. to provide a self sufficient source of fuel and power for the U.S. The CTL plants cost between $5 – $8 billion and one of the biggest challenges to developers is getting financing. Dow states that the U.S. government should provide loans or loan guarantees for 50% of the cost of these plants.

The Dow plan recognizes the importance of the U.S. to focus on domestic sources of energy.