“Renewables will never catch up to modern, efficient sources of energy. But this hasn’t stopped federal, state and local governments from continuing to force consumers and taxpayers to subsidize renewable energy companies, making energy in America less affordable and reliable in the process.” (- Bill Peacock, below)

Four years ago, after the election of Donald Trump, I contacted the head of the editorial page of the Houston Chronicle requesting a visit with the editorial board to introduce myself, the Institute for Energy Research (IER), and the classical-liberal worldview applied to energy. I got no response.

I then resent the request and got a curt no caps rely from the gentleman as in don’t-have-time-for you. I then responded with the fact that IER was a go-to Trump think tank, and my being the founder and from/in Houston would add interest.…

“… the climate crusade has central planning and totalitarianism written all over it. It is a ‘road to serfdom.’ The settled science is more on the side of CO2 emissions/concentrations being positive, not negative (CO2 fertilization; 1.2C primary warming). And yes, the greenest fuels are fossil (as in mineral energies).”

I am a historian of thought on many things energy and climate, including on myself. I want to be as clear as possible about my positions and ideas for the future to judge. There are interviews and biographical entries on me to this end.

So it was of interest when I came across some mentions of me on Twitter (which I do not partake in). My comments follow the mentions.

This is from August 14, 2019.

“FERC appears to have ignored the track record of top-down state and regional climate policies, which have increased costs and negligibly impacted the environment.”

“Prior to providing a blanket endorsement for state carbon pricing, the commission needs to hear from families, small businesses, and workers who will pay substantially more for electricity.”

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that President Trump had replaced then-Chairman Neil Chatterjee with Commissioner James Danly. Media reports suggested that the President’s decision to swap Republican Commissioners – both of whom he had nominated – was driven by dissatisfaction with Chatterjee’s push to accommodate state carbon dioxide (CO2) taxation.

Background

The change followed an unusual move by FERC to host a September 30 Technical Conference on Carbon Pricing in Organized Wholesale Electricity Markets.…

Fiction: “All signs are that cheap solar power is coming and that’s really good news”. — Ronald Bailey, Reason.

Fact: “California’s rollout of solar baseload power, advertised as cheap and otherwise worthy, failed despite a raft of government subsidies. Think rolling blackouts, time-of-use price spikes, and dropped green-related powerline fire disasters.” (below)

Fact: “Like running out of oil, solar predictions are perennial and wrong.” (below)

Ronald Bailey, a libertarian science writer at Reason Magazine online, has for years claimed that “unlimited free solar power” is the wave of the future.  Thus, it comes as no surprise that he has recently posed the question “Is King Solar Now the Cheapest Electricity Source Ever?”  His conclusion is yes, and “that’s really good news”.

To energy experts, this is new news.…