MasterResource Turns Five
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- December 26, 2013On December 26, 2008, the free-market energy blog MasterResource began. Some 1,440 posts (from 150 authors) later, we are nearing two million views.
The original idea of MasterResource was to bring a distinguished group of energy experts together to attract a wider audience. The thinking was that a movement website would provide the critical mass to be heard in an increasingly crowded blogosphere.
Here was the original concept as explained in our first blog five years ago today:
… Continue ReadingWe are just getting started here, but some of us veterans of the energy debate from a private property, free-market perspective have teamed together to offer our thoughts on late breaking energy items. When I read my newspapers each day, I have some thoughts that I wish I could share with folks from a historical, worldview perspective.
Fighting AWEA in OH, MI, and DC: Thank You Volunteers for a Great 2013!
By Kevon Martis -- December 23, 2013Thinking back over the past 12 months, it is amazing the things the Interstate Informed Citizens Coalition have accomplished together.
We attended nearly every Energy Forum in the state and brought informed speakers and testimony before the MPSC and MEO.
I was able to present as a formal speaker in Traverse City. We picketed several Energy Forum events and handed out literature across the state and made our “Death Turbine” infamous!
We strengthened our ties with our Ohio brethren, excluding college football:
We picketed the AWEA in Columbus and East Lansing and got great press coverage for our efforts.…
Continue ReadingMicro-Hydro: The Regulatory Noose (Logan City vs. FERC)
By Megan Hansen and Ryan Yonk -- December 20, 2013“[A] complex regulatory nexus surrounds all hydropower projects, no matter how small. As far as regulatory requirements are concerned, it didn’t matter that the project would have little to no environmental impacts…. When it comes to renewable energy, federal policies are working at odds with one another.”
In 2008 Logan City, Utah decided to install a micro-hydro project in its culinary water system. The city’s assistant engineer recognized the opportunity to generate clean, low-cost electricity for the city by installing a turbine in the city’s culinary water pipeline.
Logan City’s project would power 185 homes, and would not require any new construction. At the same time, it would also help reduce excess water pressure in the system. Because the project was so small, and would not affect anything outside of an existing pipeline, city officials thought the permitting process would be a breeze.…
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