Introduction The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is broken. The problems with the RFS are legion— it is based on incredibly mistaken assumptions about domestic oil production, it gives EPA control over the fuels we use, and increases the cost of fuel. Congress could soon consider two types of reforms to the RFS—either a full repeal of the entire program, or a partial repeal that only would affect corn-based ethanol.[1] A partial repeal of the RFS does not fix the biggest problems...
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Last week, Mac Zimmerman penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal  lambasting Congress for considering legislation to raise the federal gasoline tax to save the broken Highway Trust Fund (HTF) from insolvency. As the Policy Director for Americans for Prosperity explains, HTF wouldn't need saving if it hadn't been grossly misappropriating funds for years. But most importantly, Zimmerman makes clear that America - and especially the middle class - simply can't afford any increases in...
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The House and Senate energy committees are currently considering a variety of energy reform proposals. Given the poor track record of broad “energy bills” such as Energy Policy Act of 2005 (which created the Renewable Fuel Standard) or the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (which expanded the RFS), it is paramount to focus on pursuing policies in a broad energy bill that promote free markets, expand domestic energy development, and reform broken regulatory schemes. Below are a...
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its estimate of global fossil fuel subsidies for 2015 at $5.3 trillion—almost ten times higher than the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) calculation of $548 billion for 2013.[i] The difference is not the change of a 2-year span, but the methodology. The IEA uses a “price-gap” methodology, which is the difference between end-use prices and supply costs that include shipping costs, margins, and value-added taxes. In other words, the...
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This week, food industry leaders Mike Brown and Rob Green penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal encapsulating the numerous, costly flaws of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  Mr. Brown, president of the National Chicken Council, and Mr. Green, executive director of the National Council of Chain Restaurants, explain how this broken mandate is forcing American taxpayers to fork it over at the pump and for the food on their plate. Below is an excerpt from the piece:

Consider: Between...

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In December, the Obama administration released revised Draft Guidance to examine the impacts of climate change under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires that federal agencies look at the environmental impact of their major actions. The administration’s new greenhouse gas guidance would make an already costly and time-consuming process even more onerous without providing any new and actionable information.

This administration’s proposal is the latest move by the...
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This week, AEA President Tom Pyle penned an op-ed in The Hill decrying the wind industry's dependence on taxpayer-funded corporate welfare. Below is the text of the op-ed:

Does wind lobby care more about keeping word or handouts? By Thomas Pyle As the 2016 presidential race takes shape, here’s an idea Republican and Democratic contenders alike can get behind: let’s put an end to corporate welfare. Unfortunately, right out of the gate, many of the candidates have chosen to...

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New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman published an opinion piece this week titled, “Germany, the Green Superpower.” In the piece, Friedman lauds the country’s effort to transition from coal to renewable energy sources like wind and solar—known as Energiewende—as a success:

“…what the Germans have done in converting almost 30 percent of their electric grid to solar and wind energy from near zero in about 15 years has been a great contribution to the stability of our planet...

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) claims in a new study that the world will have to triple “investments” in renewable energy to stave off the most severe effects of climate change. The presumption is that governments will continue to mandate the use of less fossil fuels and that renewables will need to make up the gap—and still provide energy to billions of people around the world. IEA should have examined a more fundamental question: why are we weaning ourselves off of fossil...
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