Editor’s Note: This book review was published just short of 20 years ago in The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics [Vol. 8, No. 3 (FALL 2005): 93–95] by Pierre Desrochers of the University of Toronto.

“Austrian economists have so far contributed very little to energy studies…. This book could therefore go a long way in providing a new set of concrete economic examples and principles for use in classroom discussions.”

Despite its obvious economic and social importance, energy (broadly understood) is an understudied field. True, among academics, one can find several engineers and geologists, along with some economists, geographers, legal scholars, and political scientists, who devote much of their research efforts to devising and/or analyzing various energy-related technologies, supply sources, markets, and institutions.

By and large, however, very few individuals have tried to understand how all the various parts of the energy puzzle fit—or not—together, and much—if not most—of the public discussion of the issue is agenda-driven and ignorant of basic physical and economic principles.…

Ed Note: The solar industry is in “a fight for our lives,” in the words of the head of the Solar Energy Industries Association. (Fifteen extensions of the Investment Tax Credit are not enough.) But the narrative has long been that solar is “competitive,” or almost so. The news story posted below, from 1994, is part of this false narrative.

“Federal officials, aware that solar power breakthroughs have shined and faded almost as often as the sun, say the Enron project could introduce commercially competitive technology without expensive Government aid.” (- Allen Myerson, New York Times, November 15, 1994)

Thirty-one years ago, the ‘newspaper of record’ excitedly reported atop the business section that a breakthrough with solar energy had occurred with the business genius of the upstart energy company Enron.…

“It is ironic that Jason Grumet of the American Clean Power Association argues for continued taxpayer subsidies for wind power…. In 1986, a predecessor organization to ACPA, the American Wind Energy Association, testified, ‘The U.S. wind industry has … demonstrated reliability and performance levels that make them very competitive.’ False.” – Tom Pyle, IER (below)

Here they are–the crony capitalists who seek wealth from the political means (special government favor) rather than consumer demand in the market with taxpayers neutral.

The list comes from a recent letter from “clean” energy trade groups, led by Jason Grumet of the American Clean Power Association, to Senator John Thune and Representative Mike Crapo, urging them “to be thoughtful when phasing out clean energy tax credits.”

Advanced Energy United (AEU)
American Clean Power Association (ACP)
American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)
American Public Power Association (APPA)
Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA)
Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA)
Edison Electric Institute (EEI)
Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA)
Fusion Industry Association (FIA)
Large Public Power Council (LPPC)
National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED)
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
National Hydropower Association (NHA)
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)
Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Of the above “dirty 18,” perhaps the worst is the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).…

“An unlikely coalition of renewables groups, manufacturers and oil & gas companies opposed the bills. ‘It might as well have been the ‘Lobby Employment Act of 2025,’ based on the number of lobbyists hired to fight it,’ wrote state representative Jared Patterson.” (Sheridan, below)

Doug Sheridan is a noted analyst of the climate/energy realism school. With more than 40,000 social media followers, he corrects the bias of the mainstream media in real time. Little surprise that his influence dwarfs that of many prominent ‘magical thinking’ energy pundits, part of a very promising global rethink.

Sheridan’s latest analysis concerns the failure of the Texas legislature to cool the jets of uneconomic, destructive wind, solar, and batteries in the Lone Star State. But how did Texas, of all states, end up where it is today?…