Energy independence is a policy goal that has been embraced by many political leaders across the United States. The idea is that by becoming less dependent on foreign sources of energy, the country would become more stable and therefore insulate consumers from price spikes caused by events worldwide.But as Andrew Campbell, executive director of the Energy Institute at Berkeley Haas, points out, energy independence is an ambiguous term that often means more than one thing to different people.
For example, it could be measured by whether the country produces more energy than it consumes or exports more energy than it imports. Or it could be measured by seeing whether the country’s oil production has more than offset its imports of crude oil and refined products from crude oil, such as gasoline.