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Ford Motor Co. recently announced plans to invest $3.5 billion  to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan with Chinese partner Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL)—the world’s number 1 maker of electric-car batteries with 13 factories in Europe and Asia. CATL would license technology to Ford to produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and would provide the U.S. automaker with technical assistance. Building LFP batteries in Michigan enables Ford to obtain...

It is anticipated that President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon release new and expanded regulations that will result in coal’s demise.  EPA is expected to release six new rules  covering everything from carbon to coal ash, which are expected to trigger new coal plant retirements as the cost of keeping coal plants operational with the new regulations increases. Most of the existing coal plants have already paid off their capital costs, but these regulations could...

AEA's sister organization, The Institute for Energy Research, has released a new report comparing the environmental quality of the major oil-producing countries.

For many years there has been a political movement centered in North America and Europe seeking to halt oil and gas production in the countries of those regions. Proponents claim this effort is justified in the name of protecting the environment and saving the earth from climate change, but this political movement has done...

Nationwide, wholesale natural gas prices have fallen about 50 percent since the end of October. But, the opposite trend has emerged in California, where prices have risen 63 percent. Colder weather increased demand while maintenance on an interstate pipeline reduced supply. That along with reduced natural gas inventories in the region made for a very tight natural gas market. For example, one resident owes $330  for the month of January—385 percent higher than the average monthly bill of...

The hubbub about banning indoor gas stoves that Biden’s Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) suggested last month and which was poo-pooed by the White House, saying President Biden did not support the ban, continues. Now, Biden’s Department of Energy is setting energy efficiency standards for consumer cooking appliances that would ban most indoor gas stoves. In its current form, the Energy Department admits its proposal would effectively take  half of gas stove...

On February 7, 2023, in his state of the union address, President Joe Biden stated, “Here at home, gas prices are down $1.50 a gallon since their peak.” While the statement is true, he fails to indicate that they are still almost a dollar higher than when he took office on January 20, 2021. And according to Gas Buddy, which provides real-time prices and projections, gas at the pump is expected to rise back to $4 a gallon this year . Gasoline prices peaked in June of 2022 at over $5 a...

A recent study by the Anderson Economic Group found the cost to fuel certain electric vehicles to be higher than similar gasoline-powered cars  for the first time in 18 months. In the fourth quarter of 2022, drivers fueling a typical mid-priced Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car paid $11.29 to fuel their vehicle for 100 miles of driving. That cost was $0.31 cheaper than the amount paid by drivers in mid-priced electric vehicles charging mostly at home, and over $3 less than the cost borne...

Joe Biden’s administration and certain elements in Congress have a plan for American energy: make it harder to produce and more expensive to purchase. Our friends at the Institute for Energy Research have shown the juxtaposition between the administration's words and deeds on this topic in their latest video short.

Since Biden took office, his administration and allies in Congress have taken over 125 actions deliberately designed to...

Electric car manufacturers in Europe are slowing down production because battery cars have proven too expensive for the middle class and the supply of lithium for their batteries is too uncertain. Production in Europe this year is expected to be 12 million cars—a million less than previous estimates. Tesla, for example, is cutting prices to boost demand. Of more than 900 auto executives surveyed internationally, 76 percent  believe that inflation and high-interest rates will slow sales and...

During the holidays, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army issued a proposed redefinition of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA).  The rule would expand the EPA and Army’s regulatory oversight to include traditionally navigable waters, territorial seas, interstate waters and, “upstream water resources that significantly affect those waters.”  According to the two agencies, the revised rule...