Institute for Energy Research

If You Give a Solar or Wind Company a Subsidy

If you give a mouse a cookie, chances are he will want a glass of milk. If you give solar and wind energy companies subsidies, chances are they will want free transmission lines too. The famed children’s book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” provides valuable lessons and today it serves as a vehicle to understand wind and solar energy producers.

NYT Comes to Grips with Wind and Solar Costs

The New York Times has come to grips with the economic realities of renewable energy. Matthew Wald and Tom Zeller Jr. write:

The Marcellus Shale Gold Mine

Natural gas exploration has become a modern-day gold rush, spurring development across the United States. The Marcellus Shale, which underlies two-third of Pennsylvania, is believed to be the largest shale formation in the world.

America repudiates Obama policies

RESULTS Yesterday’s election clearly demonstrates that the American people reject President Obama’s handling of the economy. Just as the 2008 elections were interpreted as a repudiation of President Bush’s agenda (particularly with respect to foreign policy), the 2010 mid-term election shows that America does not support President Obama’s domestic priorities.

EPA Regulations Could Cause Potentially Serious Capacity Problems

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a Federal advisory agency established to ensure reliability of the bulk power system, recently released a study of pending regulations affecting the electric power industry.[0] The study indicates that 4 proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations would decrease existing electric generating capacity by between 33 and 77 gigawatts by 2015[ii], or between 3 percent and 7 percent, if implemented as currently planned.

GE Gets Over 2.3 Federal Energy Grants…Every Month!

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt might have been right when he called the U.S. government's energy policy "stupid" last month, but if it has been stupid, it has clearly been stupid in Immelt's favor, giving hundreds of energy grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars to GE over the last decade. An IER examination of federal energy grants has found that GE has received just short of $300 million in grants from 2000-2010.

Proposed Manufacturing and Jobs Bill Results in Lower Employment

The U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee requested that the Energy Information Administration (EIA) analyze several provisions of their proposed Domestic Manufacturing and Energy Jobs Act of 2010. [0] After analyzing 4 provisions of the proposed legislation, EIA found that the net effect of those provisions cumulatively between 2011 and 2035 would be a net loss in non-farm employment of about 120,000 jobs, and a mere reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 76 million metric tons.[ii]

Obama Administration’s Energy Policies Do Not Compute, But China’s New Supercomputer Doe

The Obama Administration continually warns Americans that if we don’t swallow energy taxes, mandates and government-forced conservation, China will defeat us in the “race for green energy.” Their permitorium on the Outer Continental Shelf, their denial of energy permits in Alaska, their war against America’s largest-in-the-world coal supplies, their deliberate spiking of America’s largest-in-the-world oil shale supplies and their largest-in-the-world Red Tape EPA job-killing juggernaut combined with their Three Stooges approach to nuclear power – “we’re for it, but we’re shutting down Yucca Mountain and delaying permits….sue us” — is the largest assault against energy security in the history of the United States. And this includes when Nazi U-Boat wolfpacks roamed the east coast and Gulf of Mexico during World War II, sinking every oil and fuel tanker in sight.

Political Conservation Returns

Economic conservation of energy consists of actions and investments that make sense. Political conservation is wasteful, government-directed energy measures that would not be taken voluntarily. The term Demand-Side Management “DSM” has been taken over by the proponents of political conservation. Those who support the reasonable efficiency and the elimination of waste should let the political conservationists have the DSM term and use other words to describe what we favor.

Solar Energy is California’s New Gold Rush

The California motto is "eureka," which means, "I have found it." The 'it' refers to gold and conjures images of the great gold rush of 1849. Today, the 'it' refers to the rush to grab solar energy subsides and tax credits.

Put That in Your Engine and Gun it

It is expected that the Obama Administration will propose a "first-ever greenhouse gas emission limit" for heavy trucks and buses next week. In other words, the Administration wants to impose a new fuel economy mandate to make heavy trucks and buses 20 percent more fuel-efficient by 2014.

Offshore Oil Drilling in Shallow Water: Good Safety Record, Less Risky

Offshore oil drilling in shallow waters (depths of less than 500 feet) has been in existence since World War II. While oil spills in shallow water have occurred in the past, only 15 barrels of oil have been spilled in over 11,000 shallow water wells drilled in the past 15 years—a remarkable record. Compared to deepwater oil drilling, shallow water drilling is less complex, resulting in better safety records from a more established industry.

President Obama Prefers Imported Oil over American Made

President Obama may have ended the moratorium on Gulf Coast drilling last week, but the president's antagonism toward oil producers has continued unabated. The Washington Examiner noted on Monday that the State Department has again delayed Trans-Canada Corporation's Canada-U.S. pipeline--indefinitely pulling its approval for the project with no real explanation.

Misconceptions about energy lead to waste

The New York Times ran a story today about the Climate and Energy Project and their work in Kansas. Instead of using the fear of climate change to motivate people to reduce their energy use, they appealed to patriotism, thrift, and religion. The problem is that some of their prescriptions do not actually promote patriotism or thrift.

Electric Vehicles: As in 1896, the Wrong Way to Go

All-electric cars are in the news. The latest is familiar and pricey--the battery packs are prohibitively expensive, as reported in today's Wall Street Journal. (For other recent summaries of the new push for electric-vehicle commercialization, see here and here). Electric vehicles are all about hype, hope, and government largesse. But what has really changed in more of a century of trial and toil?

Let there be light . . . in Germany

Genesis Chapter 1: 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

California’s Climate Policy: The Present and Future of AB 32

Many Californians are concerned about the continuing economic viability of the Golden State, especially with the impending implementation of the California Global Warming Solutions Act, also known as AB (Assembly Bill) 32. The goal of the act is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, through a program administered and enforced by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

GOP Watch

Unless you have been living under a rock lately, you are probably aware that the Republicans are poised to take over the House of Representatives and might even capture the Senate at the start of the 112^th Congress. Regardless of the outcome on Election Day, one thing is clear--the GOP will have a say in shaping federal energy policy for the remainder of President Obama's first term.

Good Bye Moratorium, Hello Permitorium

Washington, DC – With the mid-term elections just over two weeks away, the Obama Administration today decided to lift the nearly 6-month ban on responsible offshore energy exploration, according an announcement Secretary Salazar made at a press conference this afternoon. Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, issued the following statement, challenging the Interior Department to be straight with the America people on the de facto ban that remains in place:

MIRACLE: California’s Air Becomes 340% Cleaner Overnight

It's a miracle. Today, the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out that California's Air Resources Board, the government agency tasked with "researching" and "adopting air quality control standards," missed the mark by 340% when drafting a 2007 law that aimed at forcing private businesses to cut diesel emissions.