“Dieter Helm of the University of Oxford estimates that, regardless what the benefits of emission reduction are, the government policies have wasted around £100 billion ($136 billion) to date, and the waste will continue to rise unless reforms are made. He is particularly concerned that the government picks which new technologies to back, leading to regulatory capture by special interests.”

This century, the government of the United Kingdom has adopted an energy policy designed to reduce the use of fossil fuels, especially coal, to generate electricity and replace them, as much as possible, with renewables, especially wind.

What has been the impact on its citizens? Is the policy wise?

Dieter Helm, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Oxford, performed a review of the UK’s energy policies, released last fall.…

The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy and environmental policies. Our premise is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using Real Science (please consult WiseEnergy.org for more information).

A key element of AWED’s efforts is public education. Towards that end, every three weeks we put together a newsletter to balance what is found in the mainstream media about energy and the environment. We appreciate MasterResource for their assistance in publishing this information.

Some of the more important articles in this issue are:

If Solar And Wind Are So Cheap, Why Are They Making Electricity So Expensive?

“Wind turbines dramatically decrease attractiveness of a tourist destination”

Conservative Groups Take a Stand Against Carbon Tax

Introducing bill to ban non-disclosure clauses in wind contracts

Noise is the New Secondhand Smoke

Wind Turbine Construction Turning Ontario’s Water Supply to Toxic Sludge

NOAA/NWS document: wind turbines affect weather radar, create false storm impressions

The Connection Between Russia and Two Green Groups

Free Market Groups Call for Repeal of Clean Power Plan

Study: An empirical assessment: Have fossil fuels been substituted by renewables?…

“Droz continues to be a man to watch…. Whatever the motive, Droz has built a far-reaching alliance to help his cause.”

– Sierra Club, “Clean Energy Under Siege: Following the Money Trail Behind the Attack on Renewable Energy” (2012).

In a 20-page want-to-be exposé, “Clean Energy Under Siege,” the Sierra Club has a section titled “John Droz: Anti-Wind Crusader.” Yes, it is six years later, but John Droz Jr. is still a man to watch!

The paper’s whole argument rests on what must be (but is not) debated: that Droz is prima facie wrong and must be getting well paid for his mischief. A PR hack, in other words.

But reading the very words of the critics with a different view–Droz is a spirited American speaking truth to wind power–defangs the argument entirely.…

[Editor note: This is a repost from Marlo Lewis, Jr.’s piece from last year, published at the CEI blogsite. It is particularly relevant given the increasing isolation of R Street and the Niskanen Center in the climate-change debate.]

“… it is untrue that conservatives have been trying to beat something with nothing. Our “something” is climate realism and an energy sector free to power a growing economy because government eschews all forms of market favoritism.”

“The 2016 elections have given conservatives and free marketers an unexpected and rare opportunity to help a bold president change the direction of national policy. We squander that opportunity if we instead legitimize the progressive movement’s anti-fossil fuel crusade and promote an economically-destructive tax that would actually grow government under the pretense of streamlining it.”