Electricity Affordability: States Need to Ditch Climate Policies
By Roger Donway -- July 10, 2026Editor Note: The Institute for Energy Research (IER) and Always on Energy Research (AOER) issued the following on Independence Day last week.
“BlueStatesHighRates.com, a new interactive index from Always On Energy Research and the Institute for Energy Research, shows that the steepest increases sit in the bluest states across the 50 states and Washington, D.C.”
WASHINGTON DC (07/04/2026) – As Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding on this Independence Day, a new analysis highlights how state energy policies continue to shape the cost of keeping the lights on, starting with the original 13 colonies that declared independence in 1776. The remaining states will be added in the coming weeks.
This expanded “Blue States, High Rates” analysis spotlights the following policies:
- Renewable portfolio or carbon-free electricity mandates
- Net-metering programs
- Carbon pricing or cap-and-trade participation
- Adoption (or absence) of data center consumer protections
- Access to affordable natural gas
- Utilities pursuing independent net-zero goals
Tom Pyle, President of the Institute for Energy Research, issued the following statement:
… Continue ReadingEnergy affordability remains a top concern for American families and businesses.
Wind Tax Credits: 1992–2026 (never enough)
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 9, 2026Ed. Note: This repost is timely given the end of the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit for unstarted wind and solar projects as of July 4, 2026, (One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025). For started (‘safe harbor’) projects, it is business-as-usual, which explains why the projects were started in the first place. If an unstarted project is completed by year-end (highly unlikely), it would also receive the ITC and PTC. Yesterday, the solar chronology was presented.
Wind power has relied on the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit, first established in 1992. The PTC has been extended 12 times: 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2022 (IRA).
Source: Energy Bad Boys.
The 2008 extension is not mentioned in the above graph.…
Continue ReadingSolar Tax Credits: 1978–2026 (never enough)
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 8, 2026Ed. Note: This repost is timely given the end of the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit for unstarted projects as of July 4, 2026, pursuant to the One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025. For started (‘safe harbor’) projects, it is business-as-usual, which explains why the projects were started in the first place. If an unstarted project is completed by year-end (highly unlikely), it would also receive the ITC and PTC. Tomorrow, the history of wind power tax subsidization is chronicled.
“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.”
– Milton and Rose Friedman, Tyranny of the Status Quo (1983), 115.
Aaron Nichols on LinkedIn provided a history of federal solar tax subsidies, beginning with Jimmy Carter. His point was to show that the numerous extensions (14 by my count) were bipartisan.…
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