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Jim Lankford is the right man for this job - a solid individual. Politico(1/2/13) reports: “The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is planning a renewed focus on energy issues in the next Congress… Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) will establish a new subcommittee on energy policy, health care and entitlements next year, POLITICO has learned. The subcommittee will be chaired by Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.).”   For you take the high road and I’ll take the...
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The trusty “we’re running out of oil!” pundits are now “sure, the US will overtake Saudi Arabia and lead the world in oil production…but maybe only for a decade or so” pundits. IER (1/2/12) reports: “For decades, the proponents of so-called green or alternative energy sources have bemoaned the United States’ alleged ‘dependence on foreign oil’ as a chief rallying cry to fire up the average citizen. Americans are very reluctant to pay higher electricity and gasoline prices...
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Maybe peering over the edge of a cliff will attune these bozos in Washington to mortality.  I wouldn’t count on it, though. AEA  (12/31/12) reports: “With our nation’s economic future in their hands, Senate leaders are negotiating behind closed doors in the latest round of political brinkmanship to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. Early reports indicate that some leaders are insisting on an inclusion of the wind production tax credit into any final package, and precisely at the...
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From our family to yours, Merry Christmas. 

This runs contrary to the spirit of Christmas, but it looks like we have no hope. Energy Guardian (12/21/12) reports: “The Obama administration's plan to spend $510 million on refineries to make drop-in biofuels for its Great Green Fleet advanced after House passage Thursday of a $633 million 2013 defense authorization bill.”   Look Ma! We’re famous! The Hill  (12/20/12) reports: “Letter signatories included the American Energy...
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It is increasingly clear that Senator Lamar Alexander has been eating his spinach. IER (12/18/12) reports: “In a speech Thursday on the Senate floor, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) gave the following floor speech in response to the wind industry’s phase-out proposal of the wind Production Tax Credit:”  

In a way, it’s like the government is raising a very dysfunctional family.  One kid gets a timeout while the other continues to raid the cookie jar.  This does not end well...

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Like they always say: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. POWER Mag  (12/1/12) reports: "Forgotten by many proponents is the justification for the PTC in the first place: to reduce CO2 emissions.... [Yet] ... many utilities with large amounts of wind generation steadfastly refuse to release operating data for analysis. I suspect to do so would mean the release of empirical data to build the opposition’s case for insignificant CO2 reduction and poor operating economics. I was...
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Even the Washington Post thinks the wind PTC should end.  Too bad they blow on the carbon tax. Washington Post  (12/15/12) reports: “Some of those who sympathize with the wind subsidy, known as the production tax credit (PTC), say that it represents a second-best approach to supporting green energy. In fact it is not even a third- or fourth-best alternative to a carbon tax. At a cost of $1 billion a year, it offers wind operators a flat tax credit for every kilowatt-hour of electricity...
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It’s like Dan always says: Let the kids play, ref! IER  (12/13/12) reports: “Persuaded by these claims, the Congress enacted the tax credit in 1992 obviously hoping that wind would become self-sufficient and not reliant on the U.S. taxpayer. That has not come to pass and the wind lobby is back in Washington, D.C. with its hand out. The law is fairly simple: it pays wind producers 2.2c per kilowatt hour for their electricity, whether the electricity is necessary or not. In some cases,...
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How do you like ‘dem apples?: “Hollywood wimps out and makes a formula film.” WSJ (12/12/12) reports: “If you somehow missed the twists and turns, Mr. Damon, who played a genius in "Good Will Hunting" and a master spy in the "Bourne" movies, has pled ignorance of the fact that financing for his movie came partly from Abu Dhabi, which, as the Heritage Foundation puts it, has a "direct financial interest" in fanning opposition to domestic energy development.”   Absolutely.  We...
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We realize that taking someone else’s money for your own purposes is always tempting.  Congress should resist. AEA  (12/12/12) reports: “The American Energy Alliance joined five other free market groups today in sending a letter to 158 members of the 112th Congress, urging them oppose an extension of the wind Production Tax Credit that would transfer taxpayer dollars from their states to other states that mandate renewable energy. AEA President Thomas Pyle signed the letter, along with...
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