What the Midterm Elections Mean for Energy

By Tom Pyle -- November 6, 2018 No Comments

“Affordable energy is a hallmark of economic progress, enabling all other areas of the economy to thrive. Yet, the Democratic platform promises to increase energy prices by pushing for a carbon tax, increases in the archaic Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandate, increased subsidization of renewables and electric vehicles, and support for costly regulations like the so-called Clean Power Plan (CPP).”

The 2016 election ushered in a new era of energy optimism. For eight years the Obama Administration strangled America’s natural gas, coal, and oil producers with unnecessary red tape, but the Trump Administration has swiftly worked to reduce barriers to the production, use, and exportation of our abundant natural resources. The results speak for themselves. America is on a path to becoming a net energy exporter for the first time since 1953 and ultimately a global energy superpower.…

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Renewables Lose To Natural Gas In Power Market

By -- October 31, 2018 2 Comments

“The significance of these two maps, especially the one utilizing current natural gas prices, is that natural gas wins in the battle to be the cheapest source of electricity in almost every region where solar and wind power are being forced into the grid via government mandates and/or subsidies.”

“A truly competitive playing field for power fuels would leave renewables with a much smaller national footprint.  That might be an outcome utility customers would welcome.”

A recently updated analysis by the Energy Institute of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) shows natural gas combined cycle, wind and residential solar photovoltaic technologies to be the least-expensive ways to generate electricity across much of the United States.  The interactive model uses a range of power generating technologies and ranks them based on their levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).…

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100 Percent Renewables—Poor Policy for Ratepayers

By Steve Goreham -- October 29, 2018 13 Comments

“Cities and states pursuing 100 percent renewable electricity lay the foundation for a future painful lesson. Households and businesses will experience the shock of rapidly rising electricity prices as more renewables are added to the system.”

Two states and more than 80 cities and counties have now announced a goal of receiving 100 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. Wind, solar, and biofuels are proposed to replace electricity from coal, natural gas, and nuclear power plants. But evidence is mounting that 100 percent renewables is poor policy for US households and businesses.

More than 80 cities announced commitments to get 100 percent of their energy from renewable sources. Minneapolis committed to attaining 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030, Salt Lake City by 2032, and St. Louis by 2035. Nine counties and two states, California and Hawaii, have also made 100 percent renewable pledges.…

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Robert Francis O’Rourke on Energy (Eco-Beto is keep-it-in-the-ground)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 26, 2018 2 Comments

“Beto knows that climate change is the defining existential threat of our time.”

– O’Rourke Campaign Website

“All campaigns are to some degree an act of public manipulation,” Charles Blow stated recently in his New York Times column, “hopefully to the good, but often to the ill.” The Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke run for US Senate in Texas (against incumbent Republican Ted Cruz) has been a case study in public manipulation, elevating image over substance in a Red state.

The manipulation centers around the Spanish nickname “Beto” by a fourth-generation Irish American, followed by the pitch: fourth generation Texan … family man … civic minded … grass roots campaigner … consensus builder … No money from PACs.

His website evokes a politician for all parties and seasons:

Beto is traveling to every part of Texas to meet with Texans in their communities.

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The Harm from Bad Science (Part III: Climate Change)

By -- October 25, 2018 4 Comments Continue Reading

The Harm from Bad Science (Part II: PM 2.5, Mercury, and Beyond)

By -- October 24, 2018 2 Comments Continue Reading

Energy & Environmental Newsletter: October 22, 2018

By -- October 22, 2018 2 Comments Continue Reading

“A Conservative’s Approach to Combating Climate Change” (Adler’s 2012 argument revised)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 11, 2018 3 Comments Continue Reading

Toward a Fossil-fueled, Prosperous Future (new NIPCC report released)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 8, 2018 4 Comments Continue Reading

For the Poor, How Much Energy Is Enough?

By Greg Rehmke -- October 2, 2018 4 Comments Continue Reading