Institute for Energy Research

Cap and Trade: They Said It

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: "Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity prices would necessarily skyrocket. . . . Because I'm capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, natural gas--you name it--whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers." -- January, 2008

Latest Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Energy Tax Bill

***Update: A few minutes before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's markup of the bill, Representative Waxman released a new 946-page Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute. The text is available here.

New Tools to Understand the House and Senate Renewable Electricity Mandate Proposals

IER has prepared the following to assist people to understand what the hurdles are regarding the renewable electricity mandates currently under discussion in various forms. Because of the language invoked by proponents of the various renewable portfolio standards/renewable electricity standards/renewable electricity mandates, there has been scant attention paid to the scale of the hurdles being proposed in congress or the relative costs associated with overcoming those hurdles. The interactive tools below will allow an individual to select a state and see what percentage of that state’s energy “counts” towards meeting the new standard. We think some people will be surprised.

Green Electric Industry Mandate: Can It Pass?

The editor of National Journal’s Energy & Environment blog recent asked the following question of some policy experts:

A cross-section of Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are backing legislation that would require U.S. electric companies to generate 15 percent of their power from renewable sources of energy and to demonstrate annual electricity savings of 5 percent by 2020. The provision includes an out for states that can’t meet the mandate: Governors would have the option of reducing the renewable mandate to 12 percent and increasing the efficiency requirement to 8 percent.

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.

Finger-Wagging Lawmakers Should Look in the Mirror

WASHINGTON—As lawmakers in Congress continue to debate costly new energy regulations and taxes and as millions of Americans watch gas prices rise in advance of the Memorial Day holiday, IER president Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement:

Spanish Professor Debunks Green Job Myths

Heritage Forum on “Green Jobs”

MONDAY, MAY 4 – 1:00 pm, 214 Mass. Ave. NE, Wash DC Washington, D.C. – As the new administration continues to cite Spain as a model to be followed in executing an aggressive, government-directed, what it terms “successful” national program to create “green jobs,” a new study released by Spanish economist and professor Gabriel Calzada tells a very different story. Among its findings:

Waxman Week-Long Cap-and-Trade Carnival Comes to an End

WASHINGTON – Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement today as the Waxman cap-and-trade parade reached its final turn today, wrapping up the proceedings with testimony from former vice president Al Gore and former House speaker Newt Gingrich:

Cap-and-Trade “Most Profoundly Anti-Consumer Legislation Ever Brought Before a Congress”

Washington, D.C.—The extent to which American businesses will be able to compete – and American consumers, survive – under cap-and-trade is the topic of Day Three of the Waxman House hearings this afternoon. Dr. Robert Michaels, professor of economics at California State University at Fullerton and senior fellow for the Institute for Energy Research (IER), was one of the witnesses asked to testify before the Markey subcommittee today, calling cap-and-trade the “most profoundly anti-consumer legislation ever brought before a Congress.”

Economic Improvements lead to Environmental Improvements

Earth Day was founded in 1970 to create "an environment of decency, quality, and mutual respect for all human creatures and all living things." [1] In many ways the United States has achieved those goals, but we have a long way to go to elevate all of humanity. Fortunately, economically elevating humans leads to environmental improvements.

Court Decision Tests Salazar’s Mettle on Offshore Energy Production

WASHINGTON – Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement today in response to a recent court decision vacating the Department of the Interior’s existing five-year offshore energy plan, leaving the United States – absent intervention by the Interior secretary – without a legal means of developing its offshore energy resources even in areas currently approved for exploration:

EPA Says CO2 a Threat to Human Health, Paves Way For Backdoor Tax on All Sectors of U.S. Economy

Washington, D.C.—Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle today issued the following statement in response to the announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that carbon dioxide is a threat to human health and welfare, and as such: must be regulated, rationed and restricted by the federal government.

Flaws in the UCS Report on Renewables

In the ongoing debate over "renewable energy," one of the primary sticking points is the compliance costs that government mandates would impose on utilities, consumers and the broader economy. Critics of a federal electricity mandate have warned that the Southeast in particular would be hard-hit by proposals to produce a certain percentage of electricity from approved technologies.

Obama Mobilizes EPA Troops for War on Coal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Institute for Energy Research President (IER) Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement today in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to place a strict and indefinite moratorium on new mountaintop mining projects—a decision about which Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and others in the Appalachian region are “very concerned.”

Administration Enlists Another Soldier for its War on American Energy Production

Washington, D.C. - IER President Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement in response to Secretary Salazar’s appointment of Ned Farquhar – former employee of the most aggressive of all the anti-energy lawsuit groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council – as the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.

Salazar Announces that East Coast Windmills Could Provide 100 Percent of Nation’s Electricity

WASHINGTON, D.C. - IER President Thomas J. Pyle today issued the following statement in response to Secretary Salazar’s assertion that windmills off the East Coast, “could generate 1 million megawatts of power, roughly the equivalent of 3,000 medium coal-fired power plants, or nearly five times the number of coal plants now in the United States.”

Salazar’s OCS public review process is the most open we’ve ever seen

WASHINGTON, D.C. - IER President Thomas J. Pyle today issued the following statement in response to growing concerns surrounding Secretary of Interior Salazar’s increasing efforts to close off public access to the creation of a five-year plan for energy production on the outer continental shelf (OCS).

Hundreds in NJ Turn Out in Support of Offshore Energy Development

WASHINGTON—Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement today as hundreds packed an Interior Department hearing at the Atlantic City Convention Center in support of domestic offshore energy development:

Will renewables become cost-competitive anytime soon? The Siren Song of Wind and Solar Energy

Despite advocates' claims to the contrary, wind and solar continue to be the most expensive sources of electricity. The New York Times recently reported that "wind power is currently more than 50 percent more expensive than power generated from a traditional coal plant." [1] Energy Secretary Stephen Chu told the New York Times that solar technology would have to get five times better to be competitive in today's energy market.[2] In spite of these reports and admissions, the public relations campaign for wind and solar powered electricity marches on.