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On energy, President Donald Trump has Made America Great Again. In 2019, after 62 years, the United States achieved energy independence, meaning that as a nation we produced more energy than we consumed. In 2019, the United States produced more oil and more natural gas than either Russia or Saudi Arabia. In fact, in June 2020, the U.S. actually exported oil to Saudi Arabia! 

The oil and natural gas renaissance came about with the introduction of hydraulic fracturing, which the Obama...

Biden has pledged to stop new drilling on federal lands and waters, which would have severe consequences for the nation’s oil and natural gas industry. A federal ban on drilling would hamper oil and gas production across much of New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming—three of the nation’s largest oil and gas producing states, as well as offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, which produces 2.3 million barrels of oil and gas per day. For perspective, the U.S. owns 2.46 billion acres of...

The statements above are an indication that Biden would make it difficult for developers to obtain federal permits to build fossil fuel infrastructure such as pipelines, forcing them to use more expensive,...

Both Biden and Harris have stated that they would ban fracking. Biden indicated that he would ban new hydraulic fracturing in his debate with Bernie Sanders in March 2020, although he would not admit to that declaration when campaigning in Pennsylvania this year. Also, in September 2019 during a CNN town hall event, Kamala Harris said “There is no question I am in favor of banning fracking.” Fracking accounts for about 80 percent  of our abundant and low cost natural gas, used for...

California set its first renewable portfolio standard in 2002 and currently requires 60 percent of its generation to come from renewable energy by 2030 with the next 40 percent of generation to come from zero-carbon sources by 2045. These non-carbon sources will likely be wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower. California is shuttering its last nuclear plant in the next few years and new nuclear cannot compete economically with these other non-carbon sources.

During a recent heat wave,...

According to RBC’s Head of Global Commodity Strategy, Helima Croft (subscription required), “Joe Biden’s energy agenda would likely be pragmatic, by Democratic Party standards, with no wholesale assault on the traditional fossil fuel sector.” She notes that a Biden presidency would be a sharp departure from the Trump presidency on energy policy, but the shift away from fossil fuels may not be as seismic as some in the Democratic Party wish or the public anticipates. She also noted...

Senate Democrats are rolling out their own “climate action” document, much in the same vein as the “Climate Crisis Action Plan” released earlier this summer by House Democrats.

Senate Dems’ “Case for Climate Action ” says global warming is “scary stuff” and that by following their plans Americans will have better technology, cheaper energy, and “things that simply work better.” California’s Democrat-controlled government has been in pursuit of its own climate...

California prides itself on being at the forefront of the so-called energy transition, having set its first renewable portfolio standard in 2002, requiring 20 percent of its electricity to come from renewables by 2010. In 2008, California increased the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 33 percent by 2020, followed by SB 350, which in 2015 increased the standard to 50 percent by 2030. Then, in 2018, SB 100  accelerated the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 60 percent by 2030,...

While Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden is touting his $2 trillion climate plan as a way to stimulate the U.S. economy from the lockdown caused by the coronavirus, China is building coal-fired plants and is using record amounts of diesel in its construction program. China is currently planning to build over 200 gigawatts of coal-fired generating capacity—almost the same amount of coal-fired capacity that the United States currently has in its generating fleet. Once built,...

Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden’s $2 trillion energy plan includes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Clean Cars for America proposal. To enable the proposal, Biden will provide consumers rebates to swap old, less-efficient vehicles for newer American vehicles along with targeted incentives for manufacturers to build or retool factories to assemble zero-emission vehicles, parts, and associated infrastructure. These supposedly zero-emission vehicles are still not...