“DOE’s energy efficiency regulations generally have the effect of increasing the cost of products and reducing competition and innovation.”
“In most other cases, it would be better for DOE to scrap its rules and allow private market actors to develop standards and information tools in their place.”
Julian Morris of the Reason Foundation recently submitted COMMENTS OF REASON FOUNDATION ON THE REGULATORY BURDEN REDUCTION in a Request for Information (RFI) by the U.S. Department of Energy (Document Number 2017-10866, Docket ID DOE_FRDOC_0001-3375, 82 FR 24582, 5/30/2017.)
Excerpts from his comments follow. (For the full comments, including footnote sources, see here.)
This comment seeks to address questions raised by the Department of Energy in its Request for Information regarding “existing regulations, paperwork requirements and other regulatory obligations that can be modified or repealed, consistent with law, to achieve meaningful burden reduction while continuing to achieve the Department’s statutory obligations.”…
Continue Reading“The blackout in South Australia that left the entire province without electricity for more than 24 hours was caused by too great a reliance on wind energy, coupled with the closing of the areas last coal-fired power plant.”
While the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page retains a free market, limited government outlook, the body of the paper continues to move left, following much of the media.
The July 11, 2017, WSJ article on Australia’s energy problems, “How Energy-Rich Australia Exported Its Way Into an Energy Crisis,” with the subtitle “The world’s No. 2 seller abroad of liquefied natural gas holds so little in reserve that it can’t keep the lights on in Adelaide—a cautionary tale for the U.S.” laid blame on LNG exports rather than relying on intermittent electricity sources.…
Continue Reading“Seattle tops the list with 226 days of heavy clouds each year, or about 62%. Portland is next with 222 days of heavy clouds.”
“It rarely gets real hot in western Washington (most houses don’t have or need air conditioners, and only one of my neighbors has one). But that reduces the rationale for solar panels further, since they are best at cutting peak power demand by supplying electricity and absorbing heat of the sun on hot afternoons.”
The new Administration is shifting federal energy policies and that concerns companies, employees, and advocates of solar power. “Sunset for solar incentives? Panel installers worry about industry’s outlook,” Seattle Times, July 1, 2017) quotes one solar CEO on what may be a solar apocalypse for Washington state’s solar industry:
… Continue Reading“Solar energy is looking at 2020 as a critical year,” Jeremy Smithson, CEO and founder of Puget Sound Solar, said last week about the scheduled sunset date for state renewable-energy incentive programs designed to make solar more affordable.