Author name: Michael Giberson

Raising Mpg Standards, Part 1: Morris is Not Persuasive in His Claim That Cafe Works

1 Comment / Energy markets, Environmental policy, Regulation, Transportation / By

Michael Giberson At the Freakonomics blog, transportation scholar Eric Morris favors President Obama’s recent deal to dramatically raise CAFE standards (Corporate Automobile Fuel Economy standards) by 2025. A gasoline tax would be far superior public policy, he said, but it won’t work politically. Because he thinks CAFE standards do work, technically and politically, he said …

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Devon Energy’s Bet on Barnett Shale, Made 10 Years Ago, Has Paid off

Economic history, Energy markets, Technology / By

Michael Giberson Yesterday, August 14, 2011, was the ten-year anniversary of the announcement by Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy of its intention to acquire Houston-based Mitchell Energy and Development for $3.5 billion. The prime target of interest lay about halfway between the two company headquarters, in the Barnett Shale surrounding Fort Worth, Texas. Mitchell had figured …

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Power Consumption Reaches New Peaks in Texas, Ercot Narrowly Avoids Rolling Blackouts

1 Comment / Electricity, Energy markets, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Much in the news in Texas these past few weeks have been new peak power records and several grid emergency conditions which saw the ERCOT power system narrowly avoid rolling blackout a time or two. Tom Fowler of the Houston Chronicle‘s Fuel Fix blog has been tracking the story closely, see selected links …

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Epa to Power Industry: Don’t Worry About Reliability, We Can Grant Waivers

2 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy, Politics / By

Michael Giberson Even an article in the New York Times is characterizing the spate of EPA regulations, recently issued or coming shortly, affecting the electric power industry as a “cascade.” Regional power grid operators have been reviewing their reliability projections and becoming alarmed. Here’s Matthew Wald in the Times: WASHINGTON — As 58 million people …

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The Unsustainable Fair Trade Business Model

Economics, Food and wine / By

Michael Giberson Colleen Haight examines the past and present of Fair Trade-certified coffee and wonders whether it has a future in “The Problem with Fair Trade Coffee,” published at the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The title probably should have been “Problems,” plural, as more than one problem gets explored in the article. I’ve argued in …

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

2 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Environmental policy / By

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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Open Up Bidding for Oil and Gas Leases on Federal Lands

4 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy, Regulation / By

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

Energy markets, Environmental policy, Politics, Regulation / By

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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Gasoline Taxes and Cafe Regulations

4 Comments / Economics, Energy markets, Environmental policy, Politics, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Most of the current 18.4 cents per gallon federal gasoline tax is set to expire at the end of September, and there are some indications that it may become the occasion for the next big political fight in Congress. See Politico and Platts for background. Grover Nordquist, of Americans for Tax Reform, says …

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Gas Price Gouging on Rise*

Energy markets, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Gasoline stations are violating price regulations at a higher rate than any other industry under government price guidelines, an Internal Revenue Service survey shows. About 20% of service stations checked were selling gasoline above the legal ceiling price, the agency said. Federal energy chief William Simon told The Milwaukee Journal’s Washington Bureau Thursday …

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