Institute for Energy Research

What can one pound of uranium do?

Rod Adams at Atomic Insights Blog posted this video of a massive nuclear ship, the 50 Years Since Victory. This icebreaker pushes through frozen waters via two nuclear generators, giving the ship a 70,000 horsepower kick.

The Obama Administration’s War on Offshore

American literary giant Mark Twain is credited with thousands of witty sayings and respected for his pearls of wisdom. Today, we stand to benefit from one of his most prescient quips, “facts are stubborn things…” in that the Obama Administration wants to overhaul the oil industry in the name of safety even though the facts show otherwise.

New (Politically Correct) Energy Conversations

Last Monday, the Wall Street Journal had a special section on Energy with the lead essay, “How to Change the Global Energy Conversation.” It contrasted old with new, the old being radical energy transformation (e.g. “impose strict controls on carbon-dioxide emissions”) and the new being incrementalism (e.g. “focus on modest emissions reductions such as replacing old diesel generators”). Perhaps the era of Big Government in energy is going on pause.

Do We Need a Bigger Gas Tax?

The 18-member presidential commission, headed by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, is set today to vote on its revised plan for reining in Washington's bloated budget deficits. The commission's supporters say the plan offers a painful mixture of spending cuts and tax hikes, and is the only responsible path to fiscal sustainability.

Obama’s 200lbs of Gulf Coast Seafood Stinks of Hypocrisy

President Obama announced Wednesday that he will serve 200 pounds of Gulf Coast seafood to guests at White House parties this holiday season, symbolic of his support for gulf coast fishermen. It is unlikely, however, that 200 pounds of seafood will make Gulf Coast citizens forget that just two days earlier, the Obama administration reimposed an embargo on US oil against America by reinstating the offshore moratorium.

Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Drop in 2009 Without Binding Commitments

According to the Global Carbon Project team[0], global carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 1.3 percent in 2009 from 2008 levels due to the weak world economy[ii], despite the growth in energy consumption by developing countries. China’s carbon dioxide emissions grew 8 percent in 2009, while India’s grew by 6 percent.[iii]

The Obama Administration’s Continuing Ban on Offshore Energy and Jobs

It’s easy to see why the economy has faltered over the past two years. The Obama administration appears to be allergic to the production of affordable domestic energy and the good paying American jobs that go along with it.

Growth in Natural Gas Expected to Contain Renewable Energy Growth Somewhat

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), technological enhancements to producing natural gas are expected to increase its production to the possible detriment of renewable energy.[0] Natural gas, the least carbon intensive of the fossil fuels, is the only fossil fuel expected to see an increase in demand by 2035 in the IEA forecast.

Corn is For Food, Not Fuel

Corn is in everything. It’s in your soda, syrup, shaving cream and licorice. You can find corn in batteries, ink and mayonnaise. There are thousands of uses for corn, but the least efficient and most costly use is ethanol. Ethanol is in the news because Congress is considering a $6 billion a year ethanol subsidy renewal that is designed to help offset production costs for refiners who blend gasoline with ethanol. There are a number of problems with ethanol, but don't take our word for it.

RPS and Electricity Prices

One of the most important energy-related trends at the state level is the imposition of renewable electricity mandates. Currently 29 states have passed these mandates and another 7 states have enacted renewable electricity goals. Many in Congress are pushing the federal government to follow suit and enact a nationwide renewable electricity mandate. To date, no studies have looked at the impact of these mandates on electricity prices. A forthcoming study from the Institute for Energy Research will examine these mandates and their impact on electricity prices. In this post we summarize the connection between renewable mandates and higher electricity prices.

American Companies Wait for Permits While Brazil Drills

Today, the Wall Street Journal published a timely article that explains the need to develop natural energy resources in order to fuel a growing economy. The focus of the article was on Brazil, who in recent months has developed the largest deep-water oil field in the Western Hemisphere.

Global Fossil Fuel and Renewable Subsidies

The International Energy Agency (IEA) of the Organization of Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimated subsidies for fossil fuels by country of origin and found that 37 countries represent 95 percent of total global fossil fuel subsidies used in final consumption and as input to the generating sector, but the United States is not one of those countries.

EIA Releases New Generating Plant Capital Cost Data

The Energy information Administration models the supply and demand for energy and publishes the results each year in its Annual Energy Outlook (AEO). In order to represent the electric generating sector and to forecast which generating technologies are likely to be constructed in the future, the agency needs estimates of the cost of current and future generating technologies.

With Cap and Trade Dead, is Carbon Tax on Deck?

A recent article in E&E (Nathaniel Gronewold, “Can a carbon tax replace cap and trade?”, 11/22) demonstrates that although cap-and-trade may be dead, its spirit lives on in the minds of its believers:

Salazar Blows Off Gulf Coast, Permits for Offshore Wind a Breeze

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today visited Baltimore, Maryland, to announce a new, streamlined process for issuing offshore wind energy production permits. The announcement comes fresh off the heels of another offshore energy production visit to Louisiana, where he discussed, but did nothing to change, the Obama Administration’s stalled permitting process for offshore oil and gas production. Institute for Energy Research (IER) President Thomas J. Pyle released the following statement in response.

The Problem with Spain’s Green Jobs Model

On at least eight occasions, President Obama has stated we should follow Spain’s example, massively subsidizing wind, solar, and other expensive types of electricity production. But if that’s really the model on which the president is basing U.S. policy, we may be in for a longer, deeper and more severe recession than previously thought.

It’s Time to Take the E out of E&C

It is a widely reported fable in Washington that the former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell (D-MI), hung a portrait of the Earth in one of his committee rooms so he could point to it when asked about his committee's jurisdiction. Like Babe Ruth and the famous called shot, only Dingell knows the truth about this piece of Washington folklore. But what cannot be denied is the wide-ranging set of policy issues that emanates from this powerful House committee.

Hasta La Vista, Arnold

Instead of reminiscing on the golden years of the Arnold Schwarzenegger administration, I find myself asking, what could have been In the 80’s, 90’s and even early 2000’s, Arnold professed a sincere appreciation for the American Dream that guarantees nothing more than the opportunity to participate in free enterprise.

Daylight Saving Time: Yet Another Failed Government Program to Save Energy

Although smart phones and computers make it easier to remember, even so Americans recently endured the hassle of changing their clocks by an hour. “Daylight Saving Time” (DST) was originally started during World War I to allegedly save energy. In practice, DST causes needless headaches—and even heart attacks!—and arguably doesn’t even save energy. Chalk it up to yet another failed government intervention.

It’s Time for an Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Over the last several days, those in Washington who care about energy and environmental issues have watched as former House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) and his allies have launched a series of personal and ideological attacks on the man who would replace him, Representative Fred Upton (R-MI). The main thrust of their attack is that Mr. Upton’s voting record is too moderate to allow him to serve effectively as Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.