August 11, 2011

At Freakonomics, the Realization That State Solar Power Policies May Be Less Than Optimal

Michael Giberson File it under “Ya think???” A post at Freakonomics by Steve Sexton concludes that California’s solar power subsidies may not be making the best use of the technology. Sexton points out, for example, the 1,923 residential rooftop systems installed in cloudy San Francisco rather than sunnier California locations: If San Francisco’s residential solar …

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Electricity Restructuring and the Failure to Quarantine the Monopoly

Lynne Kiesling In 2011, roughly fifteen years after the passage of the first state-level electricity regulation restructuring legislation (in states like California, Pennsylvania, Maine, …), retail competition for residential customers remains anemic in most of the 15 states + DC that have implemented restructuring and allow retail choice. Lots of possible theories exist for such …

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Open Up Bidding for Oil and Gas Leases on Federal Lands

Michael Giberson PERC’s Shawn Regan argues in favor of allowing environmental groups to bid in federal auctions for oil and gas development leases, a way to help ensure that use of federal lands reflects both the value of energy resource exploitation and the value of protecting those lands from development. The theory is that if …

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Advisory Committee’s Fracking Report Spurs Outpouring of Spin

Michael Giberson Even before the natural gas subcommittee to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board released it’s “Ninety Day Report” on hydraulic fracking today, anti-fracking groups shifted their spin operations into high gear. On Monday, a letter to President Obama sponsored by 68 groups called on him to “employ any legal means to put a …

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