energy policy posts, articles, and infographics

Biofuels and climate: a simple but troubling view

March 14, 2012 by John DeCicco
with 933 views

If biofuels benefit the climate, it's not when they're burned; those CO2 emissions are the same as from the fossil fuels they replace. Any potential benefit is due to the CO2 uptake when plants are grown. [read more]

Rethinking the Nuclear Energy Renaissance

February 21, 2012 by Holbert Janson
with 1,582 views

It’s said that a smart man learns from his own mistakes but a truly wise man learns from other people’s mistakes. The U.S. can’t subscribe to the “it couldn’t happen to us” fallacy. In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster even countries once committed to nuclear power are rethinking their policies. [read more]

Michael Graetz’s “The End of Energy” Surveys 40 Years of Energy Policy-- And It Isn’t Pretty.

January 17, 2012 by Michael Giberson
with 381 views

Michael J. Graetz, "The End of Energy," MIT Press, 2011. Michael Graetz’s The End of Energy is a fascinating run through 40 years of U.S. energy policy making. Engaging and at times even entertaining if you are at all interested in energy issues. In Graetz’s telling it is mostly a story of 40 years of failure, though he notes a few... [read more]

“I Vote for Energy …”

January 5, 2012 by A Siegel
with 403 views

Editor: The first link above and video below are parodies of the actual Vote 4 Energy campaign; the second link is to the author's blog; this link is to API's actual Vote 4 Energy campaign.The American Petroleum Institute opened up its “Vote 4 Energy” campaign today. This insightful video merits watching … For more, see Vote 4... [read more]

Do EV's and CAFE's Mix?

August 6, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 531 views

The structure of CAFE standards needs to be rethought. CAFE standards should address separately the two energy policy goals that they were designed to achieve: energy efficiency and energy diversity. One goal should not be a trade-off for the other. As CAFE standards and other mandates become increasingly important policy tools in a budget-constrained environment, energy security and electrification supporters must be careful that their interests not be forgotten and subordinated in the battle against greenhouse gas emissions. [read more]

Media Misinformation Promotes Dysfunctional Energy Policy

June 21, 2011 by Robert Rapier
with 259 views

Over the years I have had some enlightening interactions with the news media. I have gradually developed the view that many in the media believe their role is more to entertain than to inform. My naive younger self believed that the media generally presents objective information, which is important to ensure that a well-informed... [read more]

Obama Takes Long View on Rising Gas Prices

April 25, 2011 by Tim Hurst
with 302 views

On April 23, 2008, when the U.S. was on the verge of a record-high gas price of $4.11 per gallon later that summer, the average retail price at the pump was $3.60 per gallon. Exactly three years later, the average retail gasoline price is already $3.86 per gallon, and we are still weeks or even months away from peak summertime gas prices. [read more]

I Can’t Take Donald Trump Seriously

April 21, 2011 by Robert Rapier
with 190 views

I am constantly amused by the views of presidential candidates on energy policy. Their views are either so disingenuous or so naive that I often find it difficult to vote for a candidate. In the 2008 election, I could have voted for Barack Obama, who declared war on fossil fuels, painted the oil companies as enemies of the people, and... [read more]

Dual Use Batteries: How They Might Happen

March 26, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 219 views

We are still in the earliest stages of the markets for PEV’s and advanced battery technology and there is no telling how those market will evolve. But deploying advanced batteries in grid-connected applications shows great promise, not just for making the grid smarter by adding storage to it, but also as a way of reducing the cost of PEV’s and reducing reliance on imported petroleum. Government and industry must jump on the opportunity to create the dual use battery by encouraging the rapid development and deployment of distributed energy storage technology. [read more]

Study: Wind energy to save Irish customers €100M/ year in electricity costs by 2020

March 1, 2011 by Kate Garratt
with 963 views

IWEA calls on Government to deliver a robust management system for the industryTuesday, March 1, 2011: Wind energy generation will deliver savings to Irish consumers of €100m by 2020, the most detailed analysis to date into the value of the sector has revealed.The report, commissioned by IWEA (Irish Wind Energy Association) in... [read more]

Thinking About Alternatives for Financing New Energy Technology

February 24, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 773 views

We will see over the next week how much of a political football ARPA-E and similar energy research programs have become. In the meantime, let’s root for the optimists. But we must also start thinking about alternatives. ARPA-E is a great idea and a good program. But this week’s lesson should be that we have to keep thinking about new ways to fund critical advanced energy research. Building the electric vehicles that ultimately replace petroleum-fueled cars will require as much creativity by policy and financial experts as by experts in battery and materials sciences. [read more]

Why Government Investment Is Necessary

January 29, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 1,152 views

For all their criticism of environmentalists for confusing science with religion, the The Wall Street Journal and its fellow travelers are guilty of the same offense. The hazards of government investment are real and obvious. Politics does play a role in investment decisions and funding priorities are too often based on sound bites and electoral calculus rather than efficacy. But at the same time the free market is far from being an infallible invisible hand. There is no doubt that government does certain kinds of investing far better than the private sector. Had John F. Kennedy said in 1960 that we would be landing a man on the moon by the end of that decade and that we were going to rely on the free market to do it, we would all still be staring at the moon today wondering whether it was made of Swiss cheese. [read more]

Smart Energy Investment and the Smart Grid

January 23, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 1,545 views

By Невідомий (Інтернет) [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons

Next Tuesday in his State of the Union address, President Obama will call for increased government investment in infrastructure, education and research. But before the U.S. Treasury starts writing checks, there is much to be learned from the experience of the last two years. Federal dollars for energy infrastructure really are limited and must be spent wisely and strategically. Federal investment in energy infrastructure must be driven by rational, cost-effective and attainable goals, not by sound bites and special interests. Smart Grid investments are a case in point. [read more]

New Study Says Climate Change Inevitable, Severity Depends on Current Decision-Making

January 11, 2011 by Nathanael Baker
with 871 views

New research produced by scientists at the University of Calgary and Environment Canada's climate centre at the University of Victoria shows that even if the world stops emitting carbon dioxide right now, it will still be subjected to cataclysmic climate change. Using a computer modeling system, the researchers analyzed how the... [read more]

Grid Operators Should Pay for Energy R&D

January 7, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 1,355 views

In thinking about a new focus for U.S. energy policy over the next few years, A Business Plan for America’s Energy Future, published last June by the American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC), makes for a good read. The Business Plan proposes a number of interesting ideas with respect to national energy policy, the most compelling of which is that the federal government should spend $16 billion per year on energy R&D. [read more]