In late February 2023, the price of carbon permits on the European Union’s carbon market hit 100 euros ($106.57) per metric ton  – the amount of increased costs that factories and power plants must pay when they emit carbon dioxide. The benchmark EU Allowance (EUA) contract had hit a high of 101.25 euros per metric ton. EUAs are the main currency in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) which forces manufacturers, power companies and airlines to pay for each metric ton of...

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...

On this episode of The Unregulated Podcast Tom Pyle and Mike McKenna discuss the latest inflation numbers, the fumbling future of electric vehicles, and preliminary thoughts on the 2024 presidential primary. This week the show is joined by Nate Fischer, CEO of New Founding, for a discussion on the most pressing issues facing the United States.

Links:

• Italy: Europe ICE Ban a suicide
• Only the Rich can Afford
• Ford Halts Production of E F-150
• Senator Kennedy Strikes Again: Climate
• Nate...

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...

On this episode of The Unregulated Podcast Tom Pyle and Mike McKenna discuss Joe Biden inflating currency and deflating a Chinese spy balloon (after it completed its mission).

Links:

• House ESG Working Group
• Meanwhile, Biden isn’t Getting Much Love
• Dems say no on Joe
• Chinese Spy Balloons
• BP Scaling Back Renewables
• Free Beacon: Jobs, Doerr
• Podesta: This is Just the Beginning
• E&E News on Lithium

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...