“On behalf of our communities, and the estimated 5.4 million Californians who live within a mile of one or more oil and gas wells, we ask you to take the next step in bold climate leadership: phase out fossil fuel production in California by ending the issuance of permits for new fossil fuel projects, instituting a 2,500-foot public health setback for oil and gas facilities, and committing the state to 100% renewable energy.”

 – Elected Officials to Protect California, “Urge Governor Brown to Commit to Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Production in California,” August 2018.

The climate crusade is losing badly. But in California, where emotions trump reason and Statism trumps economic freedom, it is double-down time.

Frustration is at an all-time high with the keep-it-in-the-ground climate crusade encountering marketplace and multi-level political problems. …

“Generally, I’d like to be remembered for helping to form a better connection and awareness between innovation and free markets and the tremendous improvements modern energy brings to people. That’s the essence of my progressive nature, so maybe I haven’t strayed to far from my early liberal bent, just on the best ways to achieve good results. Be clear on results versus intentions.”

MasterResource from time to time conducts interviews with leading free-market scholars (see Ken Green here). This completes the Tanton interview, Part I of which was yesterday.

Q. Let’s turn from traditional pollutants to climate change. What work have you done here?

TT: My focus has been more on policies that strive to address emissions, rather than climate modeling. I’ll leave that to those more qualified, as long as they adhere to scientific process.…

“I view my 40+ year career as progressions on a common theme; understanding (and promoting) the role of free markets and technology innovation one to the other, both to improve humankind’s’ lot.”

MasterResource from time to time conducts interviews with leading free-market scholars (see Ken Green here). This two-part interview with Tom Tanton continues tomorrow.

Q. Let’s start with your current position and responsibilities.

TT: I’m currently Director of Science and Technology Assessment at the Energy and Environment Legal Institute (EELI). I’m also President of my consulting firm T² and Associates, which stands for “Trust in Technology” not my initials.

EELI is focused on strategic litigation, such as testing the constitutionality of the renewable portfolio standard in Colorado, and on increasing government transparency through Freedom of Information Act requests and litigation.…

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (2005) is amending its interconnection regulations to require public utilities to follow special rules to interconnect wind energy facilities. Wind energy is allowed to behave differently, while other kinds of electricity generation continue to act according to the old rules designed to protect the reliability of the electrical grid.

 – Tom Tanton, Distorting the Wealth of Nature, PERC, September 1, 2005.

Having only entered the fray over electricity system regulation and markets in 2007, I have little context or detail for the above quotation, which appears at the end of the first section of the referenced article.

But I know enough about regulation to know that “special rules” means  propping up the wind energy relative to its more concentrated, dispatchable competitors on the electricity grid.…