Environmental policy

Is Subsidising Renewable Energy is a Good Way to Wean the World off Fossil Fuels?

9 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Environmental policy, Politics / By

Michael Giberson The Economist is hosting an online debate on the motion, “This house believes that subsidising renewable energy is a good way to wean the world off fossil fuels.” Matthew Fripp of the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University has presented the affirmative case for the motion, Robert Bradley, Jr., of the Institute for …

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California Regulators Approve Generous Contract to Multinational Corporation at California Ratepayer Expense

Electricity, Environmental policy, Politics, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Discovering that renewable power mandates can be expensive, California-style: “California Approves Solar Contract Despite High Cost“: Ultimately, the commissioners voted for Abengoa’s contract mainly because Abengoa already has spent five years and $70 million to develop Mojave Solar and has gotten all the permits and financing to start construction. They noted that getting …

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Massachusetts Observes That Green Power Mandates May Be Raising Consumer Costs

1 Comment / Electricity, Environmental policy, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Let’s just say when the best example of a success story is a long-term contract signed by a utility and the Cape Wind project, you haven’t exactly resolved concerns about the practicality or cost-effectiveness of the law. From the Boston Herald, “AG: Energy costs rising under Mass. renewables law“: The Green Communities Act, …

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Paul Krugman Comments on Hydraulic Fracturing and Solar Power

13 Comments / Economics, Energy markets, Environmental policy, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Paul Krugman commented on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and on solar energy the other day. His main thrust is the good news he finds on solar energy, but he detours into a few comments on fracking to generate a charge of political hypocrisy. Fracking is, he says, “a technology that imposes large costs …

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A Good Non-Technical Introduction to Shale Gas

1 Comment / Energy markets, Environmental policy, Technology / By

Michael Giberson Paul M. Barrett, for Bloomberg, has written up a pretty good introduction to natural gas from shale. The article delves a bit into the history and geology of the subject, but focuses more on the business efforts that turned a modestly interesting rock into a significant economic resource and the environmental politics that …

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Wherein the Jobs Jobs Jobs Rhetoric Hampers Solar Power Development

3 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Environmental policy, Technology / By

Michael Giberson If you believed what politicians say about green energy and jobs, you probably think they fit together like peanut butter and jelly squished between layers of bread. Has there been a renewable power subsidy announcement or ribbon-cutting ceremony where the word “jobs” was not featured in the first two or three sentences uttered …

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Beacon Power Files for Bankruptcy; Boulder Co Contemplates Municipalization of Power Assets; Other Energy Stories of Note

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

Michael Giberson Brief notes about other energy stories in the news. Flywheel energy storage company Beacon Power has filed for bankruptcy. News stories have highlighted the point that Beacon was a recipient of federal energy technology loan guarantees, which will give an additional boost to Solyndra critics, but I predict the apparent lack of high-level …

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Praise for a New York Times Article on Natural Gas Fracking (or, How Property Rights Help Mitigate Potential Environmental Harms)

Energy markets, Environmental policy, Law, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson I’m writing in praise of a New York Times article on natural gas fracking. Yes, really! Even more surprising, I’m writing in praise of a New York Times on fracking written by Ian Urbina. Yes, really! What is this marvel, you ask? I answer, “Rush to Drill for Natural Gas Creates Conflicts With Mortgages.” What is so …

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National Research Council Committee on the Renewable Fuel Standard: Costly Program of Uncertain Benefits

3 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy / By

Michael Giberson Congress asked the National Research Council to evaluate the economics and environmental effects of the advanced biofuels mandate in the Renewable Fuels Standard (“RFS2”). The result? It isn’t pretty: barring unforeseen technological advances that dramatically reduce costs or oil prices consistently in the neighborhood of $190 a barrel or higher, RFS2 just doesn’t …

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A Coasian Look at Pesticide and Genetic Drift

2 Comments / Economics, Environmental policy, Law, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson A few weeks back Lynne drew attention to an interesting property dispute between neighboring farmers in Minnesota, currently the subject of legal action (see news summary here, related court decision here). In brief, the issue is pesticide drift from conventionally farmed crops onto a neighboring organic farm, and whether the organic farm can …

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