We have such short memories. Relating to today’s debate about fossil fuels versus renewable fuels, here is what The Times of London said about a similar debate over coal versus renewables: Coal is everything to us. Without coal, our factories will become idle, our foundries and workshops be still as the grave; the locomotive will…
Category: Energy
Quote of the Week: Doug Wilson on Energy Independence
“Let’s talk about energy independence. My entire adult life I have been listening to politicians promise to work for energy independence. Just so’s we’re clear, we live on a continent that is so rich in energy that we could light and heat the whole planet for the next millennium or two. Whether we are talking…
Making Electricity More Expensive
Tuesday’s hearing by the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee helped shine some light on the challenges of Texas’ green energy efforts. While we heard great things about the state’s energy efficiency program, we didn’t hear how much the program costs consumers–so i helped out with some testimony. Since 2002, Texas consumers have paid $591.1…
Global Deceit
The fallout from Climategate continues to shake the foundations of the theory that global warming is manmade. My employer, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, recently held a debate on the issue at our 8th Annual Policy Orientation for the Texas Legislature. I think the results show even more clearly that the global warming machine may…
National Review and the Contract
Why in the world would National Review say that, “Republicans ought to promote new energy technologies in order to reduce the risks of global warming?” I can’t think of a good reason. Yet that is exactly what it does in an article by Ramesh Ponnuru, “Contractual Obligations,” that discusses the need for a new “Contract…
Subsidies Anyone?
According to the Cato Institute, federal subsidy programs topped the 2,000 mark for the first time last week. Almost half of those have been created in the last 20 years: the number of federal subsidy programs soared 21 percent during the 1990s and 40 percent during the 2000s. As Chris Edwards, Cato’s director of tax…
Electricity Consumers Benefit from Competition
I just released some research, “Prices, Reliability, and Consumer Choice in the Texas Electricity Market,” examining how consumers have fared when it comes to the restructuring of the Texas electricity market to introduce competition. The results? Good. Click on the link to read the whole report.
Our Expensive Energy Future
This is a glimpse of the future under the energy efficiency regime being pushed in Texas and across the U.S. The picture shows a new home in the SOL neighborhood, three miles east of downtown Austin. It is being built on the premise that energy efficiency is the cheapest option for “new” energy. A new…
TX Legislature in Review: Electricity and Renewable Energy
Most of the electricity bills this session had one thing in common—they were going to make electricity more expensive for Texas consumers or taxpayers. Fortunately, most of them didn’t pass. The major bill that did pass provided incentives, i.e. subsidies, for electricity generation plants equipped with carbon capture technology. But it may not wind up…
Texas New Energy Taxes
A recent study estimated that proposed federal legislation aimed at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions would increase Texans electricity bills by a minimum of $10 billion. Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced new fuel standards that could cost American car buyers $19 billion a year when fully implemented. Not content with these new energy taxes on Texas…