In 1979, Robert L. Bradley Jr. contracted with the Cato Institute to write a history of U.S. oil and gas regulation. Cato did not have an energy position yet in Washington, D.C. (that came a decade later) but was very interested in the subject. Indeed, with debilitating natural gas shortages in the winters of 1971/72 and 1976/77, and oil shortages during 1974 and 1979, the policy landscape was ripe for free-market energy analysis.
What began as an 18-month project turned into a four-year, six-months relentless research-and-writing effort. Finding a publisher for what would be a two volume, 2,000-page treatise proved difficult. Bradley revised the manuscript during the decade delay, although leaving the cut-off year at 1984. Rowman & Littlefield published the work in 1996 as Oil, Gas, and Government: The U.S.…
Continue ReadingMississippi Power ‘s Kemper Project integrated gasification power plant is likely the most controversial energy project in state history. The $6.219 billion plant is two years behind schedule and billions over budget and is designed to convert the state’s abundant lignite coal reserves into a natural gas-like substance called synthesis gas, or syngas, to burn in its 582-megawatt electricity-generating turbines. Its construction has been plagued with construction delays, additional costs and a lawsuit that went to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Here are 10 reasons why Kemper is a bad deal for Mississippi Power customers and the state in general.
The utility has already increased rates on its nearly 187,000 customers in south Mississippi 18 percent. The higher rates will pay for Kemper’s construction costs.…
Continue Reading“The output of DOE’s models are easy to promote, but reality paints a very different picture. DOE’s Vision assumes 7 GW of wind built per year between 2014 and 2020, followed by 12 gigawatts per year between 2020 and 2030, and 17 GW every year after until 2050. The Agency points to the progress since 2009 as proof that a more aggressive wind roll-out is possible. But in many ways, the success of wind in those years is the very reason wind development will not grow, but continue to slow.
The Department of Energy’s Wind Vision report released this March details a scenario where 10% of the United States’ end-use demand can be met with wind power by 2020, 20% by 2030, and 35% by 2050. [1] Achieving these milestones would be challenging, says DOE, but doable … provided the right policies are maintained (i.e.…
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