The United States is currently enacting policies to address issues related to energy use. The rationales for policy are many and varied, and include social, economic, environmental, and security considerations.
A wide array of policy instruments can be developed including those that value social costs (e.g., environmental impacts); energy taxes to encourage consumers to use less fuels or power or to buy more efficient vehicles or appliances; subsidies for capital costs of building production and/or distribution facilities and infrastructure; fuel standards (e.g., mandates intended to increase domestic production and use of alternative fuels); or guarantees (i.e., for loans, purchase quantities, purchase prices, etc.). Policy can be specific to a particular technology, source, or use, or they can be generic–applying to all energy sources or uses. The different policy tools work in different ways and consequently affect consumers and producers differently.
In addition to federal energy policies, several states have also enacted fuel and/or power policies.