EIA: Petroleum and Natural Gas Will be the Most-Used Fuels in the United States Through 2050

EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2022 reference case (which assumes current laws and regulations) projects that U.S. energy consumption will grow through 2050. According to the reference case, petroleum will retain the largest share of energy consumption throughout that period, followed by natural gas. Renewable energy is projected as the fastest-growing energy source through 2050. EIA […]

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On Tax Day, Big Wind Gets A Windfall

The wind industry often peddles the false claim that conventional energy sources like natural gas, coal, and nuclear receive more subsidies than wind power. Industry lobbyists at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) use this myth as a talking point to push for more subsidies, including the federal Production Tax Credit. In reality, the exact […]

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DOE vs. EIA: Who Should You Trust on Wind Energy?

Last week, the U.S. Energy Department released a report on the future of America’s wind industry. The report, Wind Vision, offers a lofty goal: wind energy could supply 35 percent of U.S. electricity by 2050 (for context, wind currently supplies 4.5 percent and coal is our largest electricity source at 39 percent). At nearly 300 pages, […]

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Lies, Damned Lies, and “Conversations with AWEA”

In a desperate attempt to provide cover for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) made an embarrassing gaffe. It is no secret that the EPA and the NRDC have been bedfellows for a number of years. The NRDC draws up blueprints for new regulations, and the EPA puts those blueprints […]

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Europe’s “Green Energy” Dream has Become a Nightmare

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s “Today in Energy” chart on November 18 illustrates a huge problem with Europe’s aggressive renewable energy subsidies and mandates — European electricity prices have risen at an astonishing rate, compared to American prices: EIA attributes much of the problem to Europe’s regulatory policies, noting, “In 2013, average residential electricity rates […]

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U.S. Oil Production Reaches Highest Levels Since 1989

U.S. oil production averaged 7.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2013, reaching the highest levels since 1989, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Domestic oil production hit 7.9 million bpd in December 2013, an 11 percent increase compared to December 2012. The following chart shows U.S. oil production between 1989 and 2013. Meanwhile, on the […]

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Krugman: Forget Taxing Carbon, Let's Just Ban Coal

The proponents of a carbon tax claim that it is a “market-based” approach to curbing so-called “negative externalities” (such as greenhouse gas emissions). They argue that a “putting a price” on carbon, for example, is far more efficient than command-and-control regulations where the government imposes its own technology choices on the energy sector. Yet in […]

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