slade:

One of the problems in the energy industry is that the oil bust in the late 1980′s drove out the wildcatters. The energy industry is actually dependent upon government subsidies. There was a time when the majors hired oil prospectors to survey new places for oil. Nowadays, the majors watch for governments and universities to literally beg them to invest in this, that, or yonder patch, telling them exactly where the oil is so a major oil company can then invest in the local economy.

Nationalization, taxation, and fluctuations in the energy markets have taken their toll with the effect of making most energy corporations amazingly cautious. They will only invest their cash if they know for certain they will make a profit. Despite present market conditions, the energy industry is profoundly pessimistic about its long term prospects.

As for nuclear power, nuclear power plants may fill in the gap for the next thirty years, but nuclear energy is problematic because it guarantees nuclear proliferation. Somewhere down the road, the United States will probably need to promote an international treaty to ban nuclear energy precisely in order to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. For the time being, though, nuclear energy is better established and better organized than wind, solar, and geothermal energy. And in the energy industry, political clout is important.