By flawrence “The Permian Basin is a story about combining the various talents of independents, majors, and service companies in using advancing technologies to sustain the lifespan of existing fields, to tap into zones that were previously uneconomic or inaccessible, and to increase the Permian’s proven reserves in a remarkable fashion.” The Permian region, in western Texas and extending into southeastern New Mexico, has been one of North America’s major oil and natural gas... Read More

By llinowes “The claim that wind projects in the U.S. are achieving 30% average capacity factors nationally [are] … not meaningful when considering that state RPS mandates are based on local resources. For states like New York and Pennsylvania, where average capacity factors are in the low- to mid- 20% range, many more wind turbines and related infrastructure (transmission) will be needed to meet RPS mandates than originally forecasted resulting in increased costs and impacts.... Read More

By rbradley “[A]s my father liked to tell me, ‘Son, a fool with a plan can beat a genius with no plan any day.’ Right now, when it comes to America and our effort to achieve greater energy security, we’re a foolish nation without a plan. If it were up to me, America’s energy plan would have ….” - T. Boone Pickens, “Leadership Absent on Energy Plan,” Omaha World-Herald, May 1, 2013. “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little... Read More

By rbradley When it comes to energy, T. Boone Pickens esteems government planning. When asked about President Obama’s recent proposal for an Energy Security Trust, Pickens responded: That starts to talk about a plan. He’s going to fund something to start something…. Make a plan … and do something different. And low and behold, Pickens is crusading with yet another energy plan, his third in the last six years. As before, his animus is against Big Oil (see Appendix) and his fondness for... Read More

By jdroz The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy & environmental policies. Our basic position is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using real science. Instead of a science-based approach, our energy and environmental policies are typically written by those who stand to economically or politically profit from them. As a result, anything... Read More

By dnorman “There is no evidence that government scientists and engineers are better at forecasting the future and know how the future will play out better than the scientists and engineers in private companies. Technocrats ignore the fact that private companies also hire scientists and engineers, (not to mention MBA’s and economists) and make investments based on their outlook for the future.” The technocracy movement that arose in the early part of twentieth century advocated... Read More

By rmckitrick “The claim that Ontario’s Green Energy and Green Economy Act of 2009 would create 50,000 jobs was a guess without any basis in formal analysis. The Province has since admitted both that the vast majority of these jobs will be temporary, and that the figure of 50,000 does not account for offsetting permanent job losses caused by related increases in the price of electricity.“ The Ontario Green Energy and Green Economy Act (GEA) was passed in May 2009 with the... Read More

By cknappenberger “No matter whose carbon dioxide emissions estimate is used, the climate impact of the oil transported by the pipeline is too small to measure or carry any physical significance. In deciding the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline, it is important not to let symbolism cloud these facts.” For the past 25 years, I’ve conducted research on climate and climate change including working to quantify potential human influences upon it. [1] Climate change results from a... Read More

By rpeltier “The ‘bait’ for legislators is each gets to ‘bring home the bacon’ in the form of rebate checks to voters and huge new tax revenues for the federal government…. The ‘switch’ … is to propose baby steps for the first 10 years [versus what will be necessary] … in the out years.” The “Climate Protection Act” (House) and Sustainable Energy Act” (Senate), are the latest, and perhaps the most onerous, in a series of... Read More

By rbradley “From all signs, the wind-energy field has reached that all-important turning point.” - C. Flavin, Wind Power: A Turning Point (Worldwatch Institute: July 1981), p. 47. Christopher Flavin, long associated with the Washington, DC-based Worldwatch Institute (see appendix below), was among the most thoughtful and prolific energy writer in the neo-Malthusian energy/environmentalist camp. His tone was positive, his writing clear, and his research well documented.... Read More

By jdelong “The tax will not be implemented in the politically aseptic world of academic modelers, but in the real world of intense  political pressures. Its assumed purity will not survive the onslaught [as demonstrated by] … Sanders-Boxer [where] the carbon tax is treated as a huge honeypot for allocating money to powerful groups, including overseas interests.” The carbon tax, a serious proposal supported by some thoughtful people, deserves careful consideration... Read More

By pgrossman [Ed. note: Dr. Grossman is author of the just-released U.S. Energy Policy and the Pursuit of Failure, an important and sobering tome with much insight about today's debate.] The U.S. government has claimed over the years one and one reason only for government intrusion into markets: Market failure. As a Carter administration document put it: The first assumption for any commercialization activity by the government is that the market either has failed or will fail to make the... Read More

By rbradley “We were motivated by the public and political controversy fostered by alarming predictions of impending catastrophic anthropogenic global warming [at] NASA …. Many of us felt these alarming and premature predictions … would eventually damage NASA’s reputation for excellent and objective science and engineering achievement.” The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) was established in 1990 in order to “assist the nation and the world to... Read More

By dsimmons “The energy and economic welfare of the United States and Mexico are intertwined by our shared geography, geology, and peoples. The Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement will help to tie our countries together and grow our economies.” - Daniel Simmons, Testimony before House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, “U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement and Steps Needed for Implementation,” April 25, 2013. Mexico is America’s third... Read More

By mshell “The notion that energy efficiency measures might bring deep emissions reductions along with greater economic growth has long promised an attractive ‘win-win’ for policy makers and business leaders. The extensive literature on rebound presents an uncomfortable challenge to this view, undermining the idea that efficiency leads to decreased energy use on anything approaching a one-to-one basis.” The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook... Read More

By jkrohn A new study from researchers at Harvard University alleges that FracFocus “fails as a regulatory compliance tool.” Those of us who are actually familiar with the issues involved in fluid disclosure know that’s not true, but it seems the media saw a narrative too enticing to question: another alleged “failure” regarding hydraulic fracturing. Here are a few examples: Bloomberg News: “FracFocus Fails as Fracking Disclosure Tool, Study Finds” Associated Press: “Report highlights... Read More

By rbradley “Some molecules are painted with a no export sign. Other molecules are painted with the OK to export sign, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why some molecules are OK and some aren’t.” - Rusty Braziel, RBN Energy LLC, quoted in “Crude export ban no match for lightest U.S. shale oil,” Fuel Fix, February 26, 2013. “It’s not often you get to participate in a paradigm shift in an industry, and I think we are doing... Read More

By rbradley “Some molecules are painted with a no export sign. Other molecules are painted with the OK to export sign, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why some molecules are OK and some aren’t.” - Rusty Braziel, RBN Energy LLC, quoted in “Crude export ban no match for lightest U.S. shale oil,” Fuel Fix, February 26, 2013. “It’s not often you get to participate in a paradigm shift in an industry, and I think we are doing... Read More

By llinowes In the final hours of the 2012 fiscal cliff negotiations, the now 20-year old wind production tax credit (PTC) was granted a 1-year extension at the estimated cost of $12 billion. [1] This move was done behind closed doors, without debate or opportunity for amendment and no obligation of the Congress to find a way to pay for it. With this most recent extension of the PTC, the Congress took no action to address the harmful effects [2] of the PTC on competitive wholesale energy... Read More

By jdroz The Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (AWED) is an informal coalition of individuals and organizations interested in improving national, state, and local energy & environmental policies. Our basic position is that technical matters like these should be addressed by using real science. Instead of a science-based approach, our energy and environmental policies are typically written by those who stand to economically or politically profit from them. As a result, anything... Read More