Institute for Energy Research

Energy Production Creates Jobs

The Offshore Marine Service Association is out with a compelling video that explains the relationship between energy production and job creation.

New Oil Finds Around the Globe: Will the U.S. Capitalize on Its Oil Resources?

By November 23, a team of 12 Congressmen and Senators will determine if they can agree on a way to cut at least $1.2 trillion dollars from the federal deficit. If they fail to agree, predetermined cuts will automatically occur, half of which will be to the Department of Defense budget.[ia]

Correcting Krugman on Ozone

Nobel laureate and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has been known to say some wacky things. After the 9/11 attacks, he opined that they "could even do some economic good." In 2002 he wrote that only a housing bubble could rescue the U.S. economy. After the tsunami, Krugman argued that the Japanese nuclear disaster "could end up being expansionary." And just last month, Krugman went on CNN to claim that a fake alien invasion could pull the world out of recession in 18 months.

5 Reasons Why The Federal Government Should Get Out of the Finance Business: Solyndra Edition

ABC News yesterday reported a few interesting facts about the Obama administration's half billion-dollar loan to now defunct solar manufacture Solyndra, who is now being raided by the FBI. That aside, below are five reasons why the federal government should exit the finance business.

Solar Hype and Failure: A Long Story

Solar companies Solyndra of California, Evergreen Solar Inc. of Massachusetts, and SpectraWatt of New York have all filed bankruptcy petitions and face drastic restructuring if not liquidation. "There is a crisis in the solar manufacturing world...no question about it," recently stated Ken Zweibel, director of the Solar Institute at George Washington University.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

In real estate, the old saying is "location, location, location," and that mantra can be adapted to the needs of a struggling American economy: "jobs, jobs, jobs." Tonight, President Obama will address Congress and the American people, making a pitch for a bold new jobs plan that will largely focus on infrastructure spending, but more interestingly, green jobs. This will be a difficult sell to make.

Political Entrepreneurship: The Case of Abengoa

We at IER have made the generic case for free energy markets. We have also explained why specific government interventions--whether cap-and-trade, an explicit carbon tax, so-called "green jobs" programs, or higher fuel economy mandates--will raise prices for consumers and stifle job creation.

Reflections on Labor Day

"I am ashamed at the number of things around my house and shops that are done by... human beings. Hereafter a motor must do all the chores." - Thomas Edison[1] Labor Day provides us with an opportunity to consider how much labor the use of energy saves us. After all, energy is defined as the capacity to do work. Work is labor, and the more tasks that inanimate energy can do via machines, the greater the reward for humans in productivity and leisure time.

Another U.S. Solar Firm Files for Bankruptcy

"While we are disappointed by this particular outcome, we continue to believe the clean energy jobs race is one that America can, must and will win," the White house said in a statement.[ia]

Green Keynesianism

As world financial markets are whipsawed with each new piece of news, pundits from all stripes are declaring the economic "recovery" has been bogus all along.

Solar Manufacturers Slowly Closing Up Shop In U.S.

"The Solon product we manufacture here in Tucson may have a better fit and finish than some others, but the market doesn't really value that. The market values a low price. We are going to stop beating our heads against the wall and say, 'How can we be smart strategically?'" said Dan Alcombright, president and CEO of Solon North America.

Chesapeake Energy: A Free Market Restart?

It came as welcome news to critics of political capitalism (the socioeconomic system whereby businesses routinely rent-seek for special government favor at the expense of consumers, taxpayers, and/or competitors). Last month, Chesapeake Energy, the self-proclaimed America's Champion of Natural Gas, began a national "energy independence" advertising campaign that included this declaration:

Washington: If it ain’t broke, break it

The Department of Energy’s Natural Gas Subcommittee has released a draft report of their findings on shale gas and hydraulic fracturing. Unsurprisingly, the committee found that there are numerous ways that the federal government can insert itself into the process.

President Visits Holland, Michigan While Holland, the Netherlands Turns Its Back On Green Subsidies

WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama will speak at Johnson Controls, a technology company focused on advanced batteries, in Holland, Michigan. Johnson stands to benefit from new federal rules imposed by the Obama Administration last month that increases corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards to 54.5 miles per gallon.

Presidential Appointments: Harbinger’s of Bad Things for Energy and the Economy

On August 2, Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid announced that his first order of business when the Senate re-adjourns after its month long siesta will be to take up energy legislation under the guise of creating jobs. Between that and President Obama’s appointments to key economic positions this year, I don’t know whether to laugh or to vomit – probably both are appropriate.

EIA Releases New Subsidy Report: Subsidies for Renewables Increase 186 Percent

At the request of congress, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), an independent agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, evaluated the amount of subsidies that the federal government provides energy producers for fiscal year 2010.[ia] Over a 3-year period, from fiscal year 2007 through fiscal year 2010, total federal energy subsidies increased from $17.9 billion to $37.2 billion, an increase of 108 percent over the 3-year period. Of the increase, 77 percent was due to the Obama administration’s economic stimulus law. The largest increases in federal energy subsidies were in renewable and end-use subsidies. Over the 3-year period:

Parsing Obama’s Remarks on Fuel Standards

Last week, President Obama announced yet another federal intervention into the economy: increased fuel-efficiency mandates for vehicles. Although his speech was jocular and peppered with humor, it was also filled with very misleading “facts” about energy markets. In the present piece I’ll address some of the biggest whoppers.

Federal Energy-Related Subsidies Have Increased 108 Percent in 3 Years; Wind Subsidies Increased 10-

WASHINGTON – The Energy Information Administration (EIA), a research and data analysis arm of the Department of Energy, has released a report that details the amount of taxpayer subsidies that were distributed to energy producers in 2010. The federal government handed out $37.2 billion to energy producers in 2010, an increase of 108 percent from the $17.9 billion doled out in 2007. The largest increases in federal subsidies were in renewable and end-use subsidies.

Solving the Debt Crisis Through Energy Freedom

As of this writing, the debt ceiling crisis is still up in the air. Both parties are telling the voters that this is going to be painful, with Democrats gearing for tax hikes and Republicans emphasizing the need for budget cuts

Power Plant Efficiencies: It’s Only Getting Better

Improvements in wind and solar technologies? Read all about it in the New York Times and on the websites of environmental Left. Improvements in conventional energy technology? Read about it in industry trade press. But rest assured: the conventional energies that we use all the time are getting better and better.