In the Pipeline: 7/31/13

Here’s what passes for Presidential logic: A $7 billion infrastructure project (ie. Keystone XL) financed privately is “not a jobs plan”, but spending $50 billion in taxpayer dollars on bridges is “putting people immediately to work.”

E&E News (7/30/13) reports: “On the latest stop of his new jobs tour, President Obama visited an Amazon.com distribution center in Chattanooga, Tenn., to propose a new “grand bargain for the middle class” that would lower business tax rates in exchange for new transportation and infrastructure investments. Obama also mentioned several other proposals today that he said would support middle-class job growth, such as new investments in the energy sector including the wind, solar and natural gas fields. But one energy-related project that Obama panned this afternoon was the Keystone XL pipeline. In recent days, Obama has caught flak from pipeline supporters for his low estimates of the number of jobs that would be created by the project. ‘They keep talking about this oil pipeline coming down from Canada that’s estimated to create about 50 permanent jobs,’ Obama said today. ‘That’s not a jobs plan.’”

For all the PR hype, subsidies, and political fanfare, you’d think renewables would generate more than this. If you’ve been reading anything from IER, you already know better.

The Institute for Energy Research (7/29/13) reports: “The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its International Energy Outlook 2013 on July 25, reporting that global energy demand will grow by 56 percent between 2010 and 2040. According to EIA, most of this growth will come from the developing countries where strong economic growth is driving additional energy demand. EIA estimates that China and India will account for half of the world’s increase in energy consumption through 2040.  China, for example, used 3.4 percent more energy than the United States in 2010, but is expected to double U.S. energy demand by 2040. Further, while nuclear and renewable energy are projected to be the fasting growing sources of supply, fossil fuels are still expected to supply almost 80 percent of that demand in 2040. As a result, based on current policies and regulations, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to increase by 46 percent between 2010 and 2040, with almost 70 percent of the increase coming from countries in developing Asia.”

Huh, what a funny little coincidence.

The Washington Free Beacon (7/30/13) reports: “A former top Energy Department official has taken a position on the board of a company that received millions in taxpayer money from the department through a stimulus program that has come under criticism from Congress and independent watchdogs. San Francisco-based ECOtality announced in a July 9 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it has appointed Brandon Hurlbut, former chief of staff for recently departed Energy Secretary Steven Chu, to its board. Hurlbut led DOE’s transition from Chu to current Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. He also served as the White House’s deputy director of cabinet affairs and worked for President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.”

No word on the 3 light bulbs powered by this wind turbine, but odds are they weren’t on much anyways.

The Industrial Wind Action Group (6/1/13) reports: “Shocking images of tornado damage in the Oklahoma City area. ABC News meteorologist Ginger Zee reports a wind turbine blade slammed into the child care facility at Canadian Valley Technology Center. No one was hurt.”

This is one to watch late tonight on CSPAN.

The American Energy Alliance (7/30/13) reports: “The American Energy Alliance was joined today by eight other free market organizations in support of Rep. Tim Murphy’s (R-Pa.) amendment to H.R. 1582, The Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2013. The Murphy amendment protects Americans by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to follow public and transparent procedures when utilizing a ‘social cost of carbon’ (SCC) metric to justify any significant regulation.”