Energy Policy

Canada's folly a warning to others

OneNewsNow

A Canadian think tank says the folly of Ontario's renewable energy program should serve as a warning for other governments.

Dr. Gerry Angevine, senior economist in the Fraser Institute's Global Resource Centre, says Ontario consumers will annually pay $285 million more for residential electricity because of the province's subsidization of renewable energy.

"It's an indication to other governments that if they get into these lucrative feed-in tariff programs, that it's going to cost consumers dearly and make it difficult for industries to compete with neighboring states and regions because of high industrial costs," he explains.

Why the rush? re: Solyndra loan

OneNewsNow

The Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has found that the half-billion dollar federal loan to Solyndra was "rushed" after only one day of review, but whether any laws were broken remains unclear.

Marlo Lewis, senior fellow for the Competitive Enterprise Institute's (CEI) Center for Energy and Environment, says the Treasury's inspector general seems to want to bend over backward to avoid imputing any kind of blame for the loan to Solyndra, going so far as use legalisms to claim various terminology was vague.

"The inspector general acknowledges that the Department of Treasury did not keep any records of its consultation" with the Department of Energy on the Solyndra loan. "Those records are required by law," Lewis notes. Also, "only five people at Treasury reviewed it, although 11 were tasked to do so, and at least one, when interviewed by the inspector general, [wasn't] even aware that they were part of the review team, and the review itself was only one day long."

Obama Nixes Job-Creating Pipeline 11 Months After Launching Plan With Canada to Boost Growth on Both Sides of Border

CNS News

After three years of environmental review and a 60-day congressional deadline for a decision, the Obama administration on Wednesday nixed the Keystone XL pipeline project that would bring tar sand oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The decision drew strong reaction from business and energy groups. Environmental groups oppose the pipeline, fearing the possibility of an oil spill.

In a statement, the State Department said it had recommended to President Obama that the permit be denied and that, “at this time,” the pipeline project “be determined not to serve the national interest.”

EXCLUSIVE: EPA Ponders Expanded Regulatory Power In Name of 'Sustainable Development'

Fox News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to change how it analyzes problems and makes decisions, in a way that will give it vastly expanded power to regulate businesses, communities and ecosystems in the name of “sustainable development,” the centerpiece of a global United Nations conference slated for Rio de Janeiro next June.

The major focus of the EPA thinking is a weighty study the agency commissioned last year from the National Academies of Science. Published in August, the study, entitled “Sustainability and the U.S. EPA,” cost nearly $700,000 and involved a team of a dozen outside experts and about half as many National Academies staff.

Job-Creating Keystone Pipeline Affects Endangered Beetle, Says State Dep't

CNS News

In its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would create thousands of jobs and transport 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Canada to Oklahoma and Texas, a State Department official said its investigation found “no significant impact to most resources” along the path of the 1,700-mile project. But the State Department also said the pipeline could adversely affect the American Burying Beetle, an endangered species.

Kerri-Ann Jones, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the State Department, said during an Aug. 26 conference call with reporters that there could be some impact on the bettle’s habitat. The bug was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1989.

“The FEIS does have a summary of findings, and what that summary states is that there would be no significant impact to most resources along the proposed pipeline corridor,” Jones said in answering a question from a Washington Post.

EPA Answers 390 ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ About Its New Pollution Regulation

CNS News

Sept. 30 is the deadline for thousands of American businesses -- including power plants, petroleum refineries, landfills and large engine manufacturers -- to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the U.S. government for the first time.

The EPA on Monday announced a new tool that will allow 7,000 companies in “all sectors” of the U.S. economy to submit their greenhouse gas pollution data electronically.

Electronic submission of the data is supposed to make the process easier. But the reporting process is complex and cumbersome.

For starters, the EPA's ‘Frequently-Asked Questions” Web page includes 21 sections that cover 390 FAQs. (The questions cover everything from the definition of a “facility,” to “storage tank emissions reported in Subpart Y,” to methods for measuring the “composition of the CO2 stream.”)

In addition, to help "large emitters" comply with the new regulations, the EPA is offering “Refresher Webinars” on how to report the data electronically.

The EPA, invoking its authority under the Clean Air Act, launched its greenhouse gas reporting regulations in October 2009. The regulations apply not only to large emitters – those that produce over 25,000 metric tons of CO2 -- but also to "suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if they were released, combusted or oxidized” (emphasis added).

Nuclear Energy Will Remain An Essential Energy Source, Says Obama

CNS News

Despite the nuclear crisis in Japan, nuclear energy will remain a safe and important source of electricity in the U.S., President Obama said on Wednesday. The stance puts himat odds with environmental activists.

“America gets one-fifth of our electricity from nuclear energy,” the president said in a speech at Georgetown University. “It has important potential for increasing our electricity without adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. But I’m determined to ensure that it’s safe.”

Obama said he has directed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to conduct a thorough review of the 104 reactors in use throughout the U.S.

On March 15, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a congressional panel that “the American people should have full confidence that the United States has rigorous safety regulations in place to ensure that our nuclear power is generated safely and responsibly.”

Obama’s Actions on U.S. Energy Production ‘Diametrically’ Opposed to His Rhetoric, Says Natural Resources Chairman

CNS News

President Barack Obama speaks a good game about expanding U.S. energy production but his actions contradict his words, said Rep. Richard “Doc” Hastings (R-Wash.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who added that Obama’s actions show he “is not in favor of expanding American energy production and creating American jobs.”

At a press conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Hastings, “Do you agree with Senator [James] Inhofe (R-Okla.) who recently said that higher gas prices are an explicit policy goal of the Obama administration?”

“Let’s put it this way,” Hastings said. “What I have observed during my time as chairman of the committee, is that actions speak louder than words, and that the president said on a number of occasions that he wants to expand American energy production.”

“But his actions are diametrically and 180 degrees opposite that,” said Hastings. “And I mentioned the reinstatement of the moratorium, for example, and the de facto moratorium on the Gulf of Mexico. Those are actions that suggest to me very clearly that this president is not in favor of expanding American energy production and creating American jobs.”

Chamber of Commerce to Obama Administration: Bright Future for U.S. Energy Requires ‘Government Getting Out of the Way’ Wednesday, February 02, 2011

CNS News

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the key to solving the nation's energy challenges in a struggling economy is for the government to allow the private sector to develop domestic energy resources, including traditional sources such as oil and gas, as well as renewables.

Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the Chamber's Institute for 21st Century Energy, said this work requires the “government getting out of the way so investments can be made and revenue can be generated” by the private sector.

Harbert spoke Tuesday at the Chamber’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., at an event to unveil the institute’s new plan, “Facing Our Energy Realities: A Plan to Fuel Our Recovery.”

Conservative Activists in Denver to Join Sen. DeMint

CCM News

CCM National Chairman Ken Blackwell and CCM Colorado Chairman Bob Beauprez will join U.S. Senator Jim DeMint and Americans for Prosperity’s Jim Pfaff for a press conference at the Democrat National Convention this Tuesday, August 26th at 10 am MDT. The event, sponsored by CCM, will call on liberal leaders to provide real solutions to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil and will also highlight American Energy Freedom Day which is October 1, 2008. On that day, the current prohibitions on energy leasing on most of the Outer Continental Shelf and on oil shale leasing on federal lands will expire – unless the liberals who control Congress proactively act to extend them.

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333William Devlin, Senior Pastor-Manhattan Bible Church
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
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Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
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Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
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