Institute for Energy Research

India Picks Economic Growth Over Carbon Dioxide Caps

The Obama Administration and European governments continue to lobby developing countries, such as India and China, to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. But India and China reject these calls because they understand that artificial restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions will harm their economies.

Biden Promotes Free-Market Energy Principles Abroad

Washington, DC – Vice President Joe Biden recently told Ukrainian officials how they could strengthen their country by altering their energy policies. Ironically, Biden’s message dovetails perfectly with what the Institute for Energy Research (IER) has been saying for years.

California Drilling: Progress or Economic Self Destruction?

Washington, DC – Thomas J. Pyle, President of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), issued the following statement today regarding California’s ongoing budget negotiations to meet the state’s 26 billion dollar financial shortfall, which includes responsible domestic energy development off Santa Barbara’s coast:

Massive Government Subsidies + Mandates – Reality = Green Jobs

Washington, DC – Several governors from across the nation testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on green jobs today. Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research (IER) – a free-market energy think tank that has conducted extensive research on this issue – released the following statement:

Government Studies, Postage Stamps and the True Cost of the Waxman-Markey Energy Tax

In the world of Washington policymaking facts and figures are regularly thrown around to frame arguments in support of or against a particular policy. In the case of the Waxman-Markey energy tax, one such figure made a late-hour entry, gaining broad currency for its catchy tune and visual: the largest regulatory intervention in U.S. history, a plan expressly designed to "bankrupt" one-half of our nation's energy supply and cause your energy prices to "necessarily skyrocket" (Barack Obama, January 2008), will actually increase your household energy prices by just $175 per year. Before you breathe a CO2-filled sigh of relief that your government is forcing you to shell out a mere $15 bucks more per month to save the planet, it's worth taking a look at the fine print.

Renew Call for More American Energy

Washington, DC – One year ago today, partly in response to the urging of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), President Bush abolished the 18-year old unilateral presidential ban on responsible offshore American energy production along the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). While one year has passed, America’s vast offshore energy resources still remain untapped, and under a de facto federal ban. IER’s president, Thomas J. Pyle – who was joined at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol today by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and other congressional leaders – issued the following statement:

As Anniversary of Lifting of Offshore Energy Ban Approaches, IER Asks: “Where’s the Ener

WASHINGTON – As the July 14 anniversary of President Bush’s decision to lift his office’s unilateral ban on offshore energy development approaches, the American people are no closer to accessing those abundant reserves of homegrown energy than they were last July. Recognizing this fact, and seeking an explanation for it, the Institute for Energy Research (IER) today joined more than a dozen other pro-energy organizations in asking the president to move forward aggressively with expanded domestic offshore energy production.

Supply, Not Speculation, Responsible For Volatile Energy Prices

WASHINGTON --This week, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unveiled a new plan for government takeover of how energy commodities are traded, valued and sold. In response to these proposed actions, Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), issued the following statement:

Cap-and-trade will kill jobs, make Americans less secure

WASHINGTON – This week, several committees of the U.S. Senate — including the Environment and Public Works, Finance, and Foreign Relations panels — will convene hearings with key administration officials, outside experts, and governors from states that stand to be hardest hit if a nationwide, one-size-fits-all cap-and-trade regime becomes law. In advance of those proceedings, Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), issued the following statement:

The Washington Post Discovers the Problems with Energy Subsidies

Any time Congress considers subsidizing politically-favored sources of energy, it should consider the following questions:

Enron vs. Exxon Mobil: Polar Approaches to Energy and Public Policy

- Robert Bradley I have previously described Exxon Mobil as the anti-Enron. In an opinion-page editorial in yesterday's Houston Chronicle, I contrasted the two companies in terms of both energy strategy and public policy.

Facts on Energy: Solar

Statistics In 2008, solar represented 0.09 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S. [1] and 0.02 percent of all electricity generated in the U.S.[2]

Renewable Electricity Mandate: Pay More For Less

WASHINGTON--In advance of a Senate Energy Committee hearing on the renewable electricity mandate (REM), the Institute for Energy Research (IER) released the following fact sheet:

The Facts about Air Pollution from Coal-Fired Power Plants

Executive Summary America's improving air quality is an untold success story. Even before Congress passed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970, air quality had been improving for decades.[1] And since 1970, the six so-called criteria pollutants have declined significantly, even though the generation of electricity from coal-fired plants has increased by over 180 percent.

Obama Motors: The Cars You Don’t Want at a Price You Can’t Afford

President Obama's automobile choice shows that he cares about features other than fuel economy, so why is he forcing the American people to choose fuel economy first and foremost?

Levelized Cost of New Electricity Generating Technologies

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) produces forecasts of energy supply and demand for the next 20 years using the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS)[1]. These forecasts are updated annually and published in the Annual Energy Outlook (AEO). EIA published a preliminary version of the AEO 2009 in December 2008, and updated the forecasts in April, 2009, to incorporate the energy provisions in the stimulus.[2] All sectors of the energy system are represented in NEMS, including the electric power generation, transmission, and distribution system.

In Espana, Veritas: Pres. Clinton Concedes Spain’s Green Jobs Program ‘Has Cost Many Jobs’

Washington, DC -- Spain's decade-long program to subsidize the creation and continued existence of so-called green jobs through a massive infusion of taxpayer resources "has cost many jobs," former President Bill Clinton admitted to a Spanish audience at the European University of Madrid this week, according to the Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo (a translated version of the piece can be found below).

Winners and Losers in the Waxman-Markey Stealth Tax

Even among those economists who want the government to "do something" about global warming, most prefer an explicit carbon tax to the stealth tax of "cap and trade" under discussion in the Waxman-Markey bill. Many economists, even those employed by the federal government, have explained the technical reasons [.pdf] that a stealth tax of cap and trade could be more damaging to the economy than a transparent carbon tax. However, beyond these technical issues, cap and trade is also much more susceptible to simple corruption. Precisely because it is so confusing to the general public, the stealth tax of cap and trade allows politicians to transfer wealth from consumers and hand it over to special interests in a much more disguised fashion.

Once Again, the Consumer Gets Screwed

WASHINGTON--As lawmakers in Congress continue to debate the Waxman-Markey energy tax, Institute for Energy Research (IER) President Thomas J. Pyle today issued the following statement:

Obama Motors: The Cars You Don’t Want at a Price You Can’t Afford

President Obama's automobile choice shows that he cares about features other than fuel economy, so why is he forcing the American people to choose fuel economy first and foremost?