In the Pipeline: 5/22/13

  • 05/22/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
We suspect foul play. The birds are fighting back. E&ENews (5/21/13) reports: “Wind turbine manufacturer Siemens AG confirmed that a 170-foot blade fell off a wind turbine at a power plant east of San Diego, causing the company to cease operations of the same type of turbine globally… Residents near the Ocotillo Wind power plant discovered the fallen blade Thursday morning.” The birds are taking out the turbines. We’re taking down the ivory towers (metaphorically speaking, of...
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In the Pipeline: 5/21/13

  • 05/21/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
Guns don’t kill birds; turbines kill birds. IER  (5/20/13) reports: “Besides receiving federal subsidies and other financial incentives, the wind industry is getting special treatment from the Obama Administration: wind farms are allowed to kill protected bird species. The Associated Press has found that the Obama Administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind farm for killing eagles and other protected birds, thus shielding the wind industry from liability. Further, the Obama...
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In the Pipeline: 5/20/13

  • 05/20/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
We’re not surprised, but that doesn’t make this any less unsettling. Washington Examiner  (5/17/13) reports: “Two powerful congressional Republicans want to know more - a lot more - about why and how Environmental Protection Agency officials have for several years erected multiple obstacles to conservative think tanks, media outlets and non-profit activists filing Freedom of Information Act requests with the agency… ‘According to documents obtained by the Committees, EPA readily...
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In the Pipeline: 5/15/13

  • 05/15/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
A senior adviser to McCain 2008 wrote this piece, arguing (I kid you not) that a carbon tax is a good thing because it is "relatively hidden." Since when did hiding taxes from the American people become fashionable for conservatives? RealClearEnergy  (5/14/13) reports: “Enter the carbon tax. Besides its intended purpose of reducing carbon emissions, it is politically advantageous, in that it is a tax that is relatively hidden. If phased in over a decade, the annual increase in gas prices...
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In the Pipeline: 3/29/13

  • 03/29/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
We had to recheck the calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st.Washington Free Beacon (3/28/13) reports: “After bankruptcy, a buyout by a Chinese firm, and more than a hundred million dollars in taxpayer money, the lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, Inc., is getting a new name: B456 Systems, Inc… A123, which produces batteries used in electric cars, has changed its name to B456, the company announced Thursday in a regulatory filing.”   What's the price of gasoline in...
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In the Pipeline: 3/26/13

  • 03/26/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
It’s not enough to help us sleep at night, but at least 53 Senators disagree with His Majesty's newest court jester. Washington Examiner (3/25/13) reports: “President Obama’s Energy secretary nominee regards a carbon tax as one of the simplest ways to move the energy industry towards clean technologies, though he notes that government would have to come up with a plan to mitigate the burden this tax places on poor people, who would pay the most.”   It would be great if the House...
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In the Pipeline: 3/25/13

  • 03/25/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
Show me the Moniz. ProPublica  (3/20/13) reports: “When President Obama nominated Ernest Moniz to be energy secretary earlier this month, he hailed the nuclear physicist as a “brilliant scientist” who, among his many talents, had effectively brought together “prominent thinkers and energy companies” in the continuing effort to figure out a safe and economically sound energy future for the country… ‘His connections to the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries threaten to...
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In the Pipeline: 3/22/13

  • 03/22/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
The brains of this operation are hard at work. IER  (3/21/13) reports: “IER President Thomas Pyle sent letters to all 50 U.S. governors this week, detailing how pro-growth policies for energy development on federal lands could redound to the economic prosperity of their states… The letters represent the next phase of IER’s nation-wide strategy to educate policy makers and the American people about the opportunity for economic prosperity that more oil and gas leasing on federal lands...
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In the Pipeline: 3/20/13

  • 03/20/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
That’s odd – I thought there was a sham solar company in the US too. There must be different trademark laws overseas. Gizmodo(3/19/13) reports: “The Shams Power Company opened their Shams 1 concentrated solar power station this week in Abu Dhabi. The station generates 100 MW and can power 20,000 homes while reducing CO2 emissions by 175,000 tons per year.”   The President can be as proud of “our” increase in oil and gas production as he wants. But if he or any of his handlers...
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In the Pipeline: 3/19/13

  • 03/19/13
  • AEA
  • Blog
I think it goes something like: “You give them an inch, and they come after you with a chainsaw for your puppies and freedom.” E&ENews (3/18/13) reports: “A group of leading economists -- including Nobel Prize winners Kenneth Arrow, William Sharpe, Thomas Sargent and Joseph Stiglitz -- called on President Obama to back a carbon price on aviation… In a letter dated Thursday, the experts urged Obama to support the market-based measure as the cost-effective way to promote more efficient...
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