Oil Energy Independence, in recent years, is possible. It just depends on...

Me, "Oil Energy Independence, in recent years, is possible. It just depends on the price of Oil. If it is more expensive per barrel, more oil companies will develop Oil Shale fields with new fracking technology. Just recently a huge Oil Shale field was found in Texas, a state thought to be on the way out of oil production. New fracking technology makes this field developable. But... 

It's all about the price of oil. U.S. consumers like it when the price of oil is down. It means less prices for gasoline at the pump. But it also makes it uneconomical to drill new oil wells. 

Not too long ago, North Dakota had so much oil on its hands that it pleaded, and got, from the Obama administration, the right to export oil again.
If new refineries were built, more oil shale was sent to them, thru new transporting pipeline, energy independence would be possible."   

From article, "Trump’s vow to break from OPEC oil imports echoes old refrain"

(President Donald Trump’s pledge to make America independent from OPEC isn’t a new refrain in Washington.

His “America First Energy Plan” posted on the White House website Friday doesn’t echo just his own campaign pledges but also President George W. Bush’s vow to cut imports from the Middle East when he famously said the nation was “addicted to oil.” Shipments from OPEC rose 10 percent during Bush’s time in office.

It’s not an easy task. It would mean replacing about 3 million barrels a day of imports. That’s about three times as much as East Coast refineries consume.

President Trump’s goal may not be completely unobtainable as U.S. oil production has been on the rise and signs point toward possible energy independence. To achieve that, though, the country may need to reconsider a push for exports that was supported by Republicans. Since scrapping restriction on sales to countries other than Canada at the end of 2015, U.S. crude exports have risen to more than 700,000 barrels a day.)

So, That's Why Wind Energy Expanded in Texas and Under Perry Could Expand Around The Nation

From article, "Rick Perry expresses ‘regret’ for pledging to abolish Energy Department|"
(Many people say that Perry, despite his past vow to dismantle the department, has valuable experience for running it. As governor, he benefited from a rapid expansion of oil and gas exploration in new shale oil and shale gas plays. But he also oversaw an expansion of transmission lines that made way for a rapid expansion of wind energy.

[Me, "So, the big thing that helped Wind Power expand in Texas, during Rick Perry's Gov. administration, was building out more transmission lines. If he expanded transmission lines in Texas, maybe he could expand transmission lines in other states. A lot of Wind Projects have the problem of strong winds in one area, of a state, but no transmission lines to get it to other areas of that state or neighboring states that need it."]

“Under Rick Perry’s leadership, Texas created a stable, long-term, competitive energy market, combined with robust infrastructure investment, which allowed new technologies, like wind, to enter,” the American Wind Energy Association’s chief executive, Tom Kiernan, said in a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

During Perry’s tenure, Texas became the nation’s leading wind energy state. In 2000, Texas wind energy production was 200 megawatts. By the end of 2015, the state had nearly 18,000 megawatts of installed capacity, driven by more than $32 billion of private investment in wind farms.

[Me, "That's a pretty impressive gain in Wind Energy."] 

Perry’s decision to support expansion of the Texas electric transmission lines spurred almost $7 billion in areas such as western Texas.)

[Me, "So, what is needed is more investment in U.S. transmission lines and Wind Power could become a hugely important national asset!"]