January 2012

Marc Gunther on the Brewing Solar Pv Trade Wars

Michael Giberson Marc Gunther asks, “Should we worry about Chinese government subsidies to its solar industry? Or send the Chinese a thank-you note?” The issue is a “dumping” complaint filed by several U.S. based manufacturers with the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging China so subsidizes its solar PV production that the PV panels are being sold …

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Robert Rapier on the U.s. Exports of Gasoline – Isn’t This a Good Thing?

Michael Giberson At Robert Rapier’s R-Squared Energy Blog he offers his list of  Top 10 Energy Stories of 2011. One of the stories: the U.S. was a net exporter of finished petroleum products such as diesel and gasoline for the first time since 1949.  In a post today he notes that some people have been troubled by the …

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Congressman Markey Worries About U.S. Natural Gas Exports

Michael Giberson Congressman Ed Markey recently sent a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu inquiring into the possibility that natural gas exports may be harmful to the public interest (see press release, copy of letter). Markey’s concern is that exports will tend to push U.S. gas prices (currently around $3 or $4 per mmbtu) to …

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Coal Company to Epa: Regulate Me, Please

Michael Giberson It looks like a “man bites dog” headline in the New York Times: “A Coal-Fired Plant That Is Eager for U.S. Rules.” As operators of coal-fired power plants around the country welcome a court-ordered delay on tighter pollution rules, the owner of a retrofitted plant here says that the rules cannot come too soon. …

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Claims by Lobbyists That Deserve to Be Laughed at

Michael Giberson Sometimes politicians and lobbyists make claims that deserve to be laughed at in the most public way possible. Here is an example from the ethanol lobby, via The Hill‘s Congress Blog: US ethanol makes history by sacrificing a subsidy By Bob Dinneen, president and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association – 01/05/12 11:26 AM ET …

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The “First Feel-good Sustainability Story of 2012,” So Long As You Ignore the Costs

Michael Giberson Consider the claim in the headline, “How One Man’s Roof Paid for His Car.” Here’s the introduction: It’s the first feel-good sustainability story of 2012. A man in Orlando, Florida installed solar panels on the roof of his home, sold the excess power back to the grid, and then used that money to …

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Cheap Natural Gas Undermining Solar Dreams

Michael Giberson NPR reports from Pennsylvania how low natural gas prices have helped put the damper on some solar power dreams: Barbara Scott had 21 solar panels installed last March on her house in Media, Pa. Scott’s family was the first in the community, and she was prepared to evangelize, “We can have open houses …

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Ethanol Industry Allows Its Politicians to Permit Expiration of Its Tax Credit and Tariff

Michael Giberson The Des Moines Register has one version of the story – the agribusiness industry decided it could do without the subsidy since the renewable fuels mandate seemed securely in place: So established is corn-fed ethanol that the industry allowed the expiration of the 45 cents-per-gallon tax credit for ethanol production, as well as the …

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New York Attorney General Proposes to Prohibit Use of Business-related Reasoning in Gasoline Wholesaling

Michael Giberson It sounds kind of funny to say the New York Attorney General wants to prohibit business-related reasoning in gasoline wholesaling. After all, gasoline wholesaling is a business activity and generally business-related reasoning would be entirely appropriate. It sounds like asking a court not to act on law-related reasoning or asking a politician not to …

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