February 13, 2009
Robert J. Michaels
I. Compounding the Inefficiencies of Regulation
Erroll Davis, the former CEO of Wisconsin Electric Power (now a unit of WE Energies) was a rare utility executive. As competitive power markets evolved in the 1990s his low-cost company was ready to move aggressively. And well it should, thought Davis. Almost all utilities enjoyed regulated terrritorial [...]
February 11, 2009
Myth: There’s not enough energy in the outer continental shelf (OCS) to make exploration worthwhile.
Fact: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimates that the OCS contains 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. These estimates are likely very conservative, as bans on offshore leasing have made it illegal to explore [...]
January 27, 2009
Energy is the lifeblood of our economy. As our competitors around the globe have shown us in recent years, job creation and economic growth begin with access to abundant, affordable energy supplies.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration’s stimulus proposals are founded on the fundamentally flawed notion that we will achieve prosperity if we make coal, oil, [...]
January 26, 2009
The January 11 edition of 60 Minutes featured a segment on oil speculation. Correspondent Steve Kroft interviewed hedge fund manager Michael Masters and others who blamed the run-up in oil prices on hedge funds and other investors. Unfortunately, Kroft failed to interview a single person who explained the benefits of hedging and even speculation on [...]
January 13, 2009
GREEN JOBS: Fact or Fiction?
An Assessment of the Literature
January 2009
By Robert Michaels and Robert P. Murphy
Download as PDF
Introduction and Executive Summary
I. Green Recovery, Center for American Progress
II. Job Opportunities for the Green Economy, Political Economy Research Institute
III. Current and Potential Green Jobs in the U.S. Economy, Global Insight
IV. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, American Solar [...]
November 10, 2008
Less Supply, More Regulations and Higher Prices
for American Consumers
Before Wall Street’s implosion and the sharp economic downturn, energy policy dominated the headlines on the Presidential campaign trail. An overwhelming majority of Americans demanded access to offshore energy resources to help increase supplies and lower prices for everything from gas at the pump to groceries [...]
October 22, 2008
Synopsis (104KB)
Complete Analysis (60KB)
The following comparison of Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s energy and environmental plans comes from the statements of their plans on their official web sites. The text first indicates what the respective plans say on each topic, and then provides IER’s analysis of each topic within the program.
Table of Contents
CAFE
Advanced Vehicle R&D
Electricity [...]
October 2, 2008
On Friday, October 3, the California Air Resources Board is scheduled to formally release its Scoping Plan pursuant to AB 32, the “California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.” AB 32 calls for the state of California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. One of the primary means to achieve [...]
September 23, 2008
Robert Bradley (President) & Thomas Tanton (Senior Fellow),
Institute for Energy Research
December 19, 2005
Executive Summary
U.S. petroleum refining experienced an unprecedented disruption when a tight crude-oil market was joined by major infrastructure damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Suddenly, less supply was available to meet strong demand, and prices spiked for petroleum products, particularly gasoline.
The price [...]
September 12, 2008
by Andrew Chamberlain
Fiscal Economics, Inc.
Commissioned by the Institute for Energy Research (IER)
September 2008
PDF (248KB)
Abstract
The recently released “Gang of Ten” energy proposal includes revenue offsets that would exclude domestic oil and gas companies from the Section 199 deduction for domestic production activity. Using a simple input-output model, we estimate the state-by-state impact of this proposal on [...]