A Free-Market Energy Blog

Smart Grid: Can ‘Smart Metering’ Overcome the Hassle Factor? (transaction costs matter too)

By -- May 29, 2009

When asked for conjectures about the Smart Grid, economists’ imaginations become almost indecently fertile. Writing in her blog, market-friendly Lynne Kiesling sees astounding dividends from real-time pricing and smart grid technology, preferably with competitive retail service.

Say, for example, you are on the train to work, and you get a SMS [ text message] notification that due to unexpected weather, there will be a higher-than-normal electricity price in the 9:00-10:00 hour. You may have already programmed your devices to respond to price signals, but what if the price is high enough that you want to change your settings? You can log in to your HAN [Home Area Network] from your mobile device, or from your computer at work, and change the device settings in the home through the web portal. … [i]f the home has e.g.

Continue Reading

The New MIT Climate Study: A Real World Inversion?

By Chip Knappenberger -- May 28, 2009

Considering that climate models are predicting global temperatures to be rising at a rate far greater than they actually are, you would think that the model developers would be taking a long, hard look at their models to try to figure out why they are on the verge of failing.

In fact, I would expect to soon start to see papers in the scientific literature from various modeling groups attempting to explain why their models have gone awry and to provide an accompanying downward revision of their projections of 21st century temperature change. After all, how long a period of no warming can be tolerated before the forecasts of the total warming by century’s end have to be lowered? We’re already into our ninth year of the 100 year forecast period and we have no global warming to speak of (Figure 1).…

Continue Reading

Houston Chronicle: Climate Alarmism and Policy Activism, but no Economic Analysis

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 27, 2009

“With overwhelming scientific evidence that the threat of global climate change is real and accelerating, it’s imperative that the United States, the second-biggest producer of carbon dioxide, take a leading role in crafting solutions. [Waxman-Markey] offers an opportunity to begin exercising that leadership.”

The Houston Chronicle editorial page is one of the most biased in the nation when it comes to climate alarmism and associated public-policy activism. And it maintained that unenviable reputation with last Sunday’s op-ed, Cap-and-Trade-Off.

The 559-word piece is disappointing both for what it did say and for what was left unsaid.

First, some facts in the piece were out of date. (Okay, someone clocked out early for the long weekend; me too.)  The bill was not under debate as stated in the first sentence; it was voted out of committee.…

Continue Reading

Unilateral or Worldwide, Waxman-Markey Fails Standard Cost/Benefit Tests (CO2 “leakage” makes bad even worse)

By Robert Murphy -- May 26, 2009
Continue Reading

Waxman-Markey Clothier for the Emperor: A Climate Parable (response to RealClimate)

By Chip Knappenberger -- May 23, 2009
Continue Reading

“Best Science” and the Problem of Land-based Thermometers (Anthony Watts’s Surfacestations project)

By Indur Goklany -- May 22, 2009
Continue Reading

“The Unbearable Lightness of Wind” (EU update)

By Ross McCracken -- May 21, 2009
Continue Reading

The President’s New Cars (climate policy for motor vehicle transportation rears its ugly head)

By Jerry Taylor -- May 20, 2009
Continue Reading

Committee Dems Reject Job Loss Cap (and what does this say about the party in power?)

By --
Continue Reading

Should Nuclear Power Qualify as “Renewable” in the RPS/RES Debate?

By --
Continue Reading