Electricity Issues Archive

Energy efficiency is great, but we have to ask at what cost?

March 11, 2010

Congress is considering various proposals to mandate energy efficiency improvements in appliances, air conditioners, heat pumps, dishwashers, clothes washers, and other items that use electricity. At first blush, it would appear that there is no downside to improving energy efficiency. After all, energy efficiency saves us money right?
The problem is that energy efficiency is not [...]

NREL Shows 20 Percent Wind by 2024 Is Possible, but it Ignores the Economics of Competing Technologies

March 4, 2010

In January, the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) completed a two-and-a-half year study[i] of the technical, operational, and economic requirements for integrating 20 to 30 percent wind power into the electrical grid that serves more than 70 percent of the U.S. population. The portion of the U.S. covered in this study is [...]

Stimulus Funds for Green Energy Projects Going Offshore along with Other U.S. Manufacturing

November 6, 2009

The Obama Administration sold its $787 billion stimulus plan on the basis of improving the economy through investing in green energy and by doing so, increasing employment in the United States. But what is actually happening, particularly with wind and solar projects, is that the majority of the manufactured components are being built offshore in [...]

Wind Lobby Huffs and Puffs, But Can’t Blow the Facts Away

October 28, 2009

We do not understand why IER gets the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) so spun up. Maybe it’s because of our opposition to government subsidies. Maybe it’s because we don’t believe that government mandates forcing people to buy energy from expensive, inefficient sources is good for the economy. Or perhaps it is because of our [...]

Highest Cost Generating Plant Comes On Line in Florida to Obama Fanfare

October 26, 2009

Florida Power & Light (FPL) has built a 25 megawatt photovoltaic power plant in Southern Florida that will supply power to 3000 homes and businesses–a small fraction of the company’s over 4 million customers.[i] And, when the plant comes on-line Tuesday, October 26, 2009, President Obama will travel to Florida in Air Force One to [...]

The Other Half of Waxman-Markey: An Examination of the Non-Cap-And-Trade Provisions

October 12, 2009

On June 26, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey bill. Generally, Waxman-Markey bill is thought of as a cap-and-trade bill, but it is far more than that. Of the bill’s 1,428 pages, merely half are dedicated to cap-and-trade. Dr. Robert Michaels, a Senior Fellow with IER, examined the non-cap-and-trade provisions [...]

Facts on Energy: Solar

June 11, 2009

Statistics

In 2008, solar represented 0.09 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S. [1] and 0.02 percent of all electricity generated in the U.S.[2]

In 2008, solar generating capacity in the U.S. totaled 514 megawatts and generated 843 million kilowatt hours.[3] Solar turbines generated only a percentage of their theoretical maximum output due to [...]

Renewable Electricity Mandate: Pay More For Less

June 4, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4 , 2009
CONTACT:
Laura Henderson
202.621.2951
Patrick Creighton
202.621.2947
Renewable Electricity Mandate: Pay More For Less
WASHINGTON—In advance of a Senate Energy Committee hearing on the renewable electricity mandate (REM), the Institute for Energy Research (IER) released the following fact sheet:
A National REM Would Increase the Cost of Electricity:

Wind and solar electricity are significantly more expensive than [...]

The Facts About Air Quality and Coal-Fired Power Plants

June 1, 2009

PDF (869 KB)
Coal-fired electricity generation is far cleaner today than ever before. The popular misconception that our air quality is getting worse is wrong, as shown by EPA’s air quality data. Modern coal plants, and those retrofitted with modern technologies to reduce pollution, are a success story and are currently providing about 50% of our [...]

Latest Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Energy Tax Bill

May 18, 2009

***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. ***
***Second Update: The House Energy and Commerce Committee have released a summary of the changes in the Amendment in the Nature [...]

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