In an ironic move (although there are many such ironies these days) Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm has written to seven large U.S. oil refiners asking them to hold back on their exports because fuel is needed in the U.S. East Coast. “But, Granholm has done nothing to help oil companies and refineries to be…
Tag: Energy
What? California to Ban Gas Cars, Fine Automakers $20,000 a Car for Missing EV Targets
Update: California is warning residents not to use electrical charging because of heat wave. What kind of world are we living in? From the New York Times: “The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board, will require that all new cars sold in the state by 2035 be free of greenhouse gas emissions like…
Wind and Solar Won Big, Says Robert Bryce. Here’s How Big.
“Big Wind and Big Solar won’t have to stop feeding at the federal trough for decades to come,” writes Robert Bryce in Forbes. In the gigantic bill just signed by the president: “[T]he tax credits for solar and wind are the most expensive energy-related provisions in the tax code. Between 2021 and 2031, the tax…
On Speeding Up Environmental Reviews, Joe Manchin May Have Lost Out
To support the “Inflation Reduction Act” that just cleared the Senate on a party vote, Senator Joe Manchin agreed to a “side deal.” According to the Washington Post that deal would streamline the permitting process for major energy projects, including a West Virginia gas pipeline. Among other things it would set a two-year maximum limit…
Regulation Is Holding Back Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy, which comes from steam hidden beneath the earth’s surface, should be an attractive source of fuel these days because it is carbon-free. But its use right now is tiny. While Iceland gets 65 percent of its energy from geothermal sources, few other places do. That’s because Iceland exists on a fault line that…
The Offshore Wind Energy Problem: Government Overregulation, Disincentives, and Anti-market Policies
This is a guest post by Jon Sanders, director of the Center for Food, Power, and Life at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a previous post on this site indicated, I have written a paper for the John Locke Foundation opposing the North Carolina governor’s plan for wind power offshore. Is…