“Science is science and facts are facts. My administration will ensure that there will be total transparency and accountability without political bias. The American people deserve this and I will make sure this is the culture of my administration.”
– Donald Trump, quoted in “What Do the Presidential Candidates Know about Science?” Scientific American, September 13, 2016.
In the “Presidential Science Debate 2016,” a science literacy project with media partner Scientific American, candidate Donald Trump gave answers that continue to elucidate his views on energy and the environment. (Answers were also provided by Hillary Clinton and Jill Stein, Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson did not choose to participate in the questionnaire.)
Trump’s energy/climate policy views have been previously chronicled here:
Trump’s energy views, below, are not quite free-market or libertarian with a seeming role for nuclear power despite its non-competitiveness and a possible continuation of renewable-energy subsidies.…
Continue Reading“Profile costs exist due to the fact that wind has bad timing; when the wind is blowing strongly the market isn’t demanding high amounts of electricity and vice-versa.”
With nearly a century of federal government oversight in electricity markets, one might expect the regulatory equivalent of a well-oiled machine, in this case the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
To its credit, FERC has generally given favorable treatment to market-based solutions opposed to top down control. [1] However, the push for green energy has changed how many markets behave for the worse. Far from a well-oiled regulatory machine, we have a Rube Goldberg device that produces curious outcomes. One great example is the way utilities gladly overpay for wind power.
In “Profile Costs as a Component of Integration Costs in Wind Energy”, published in Stanford University’s Comparative Advantage (Vol.…
Continue Reading“Ontario’s government signed contracts with wind generators that guaranteed them 13.5 cents per kWh. Solar generators actually get paid more. So with the Hourly Ontario Electricity Price at around 2.5 cents, someone has to pay for the 11-cent subsidy for wind power. Therefore, the more renewable power generated, the greater the Global Adjustment Tax becomes.”
The love affair between U.S. President Barack Obama and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is largely based on their symbiotic view of climate change and the need to radically alter their respective economies to prevent the hypothesized damage. Some of the Canadian experience with green energy and its cost pre-date Trudeau’s rise to power. Much of the experience comes from power market machinations conducted in the province of Ontario.
Alberta Downturn, Climate Taxation
The most recent Canadian green energy shock is occurring in the province of Alberta where the New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Premier Rachael Notley gained political office a few months ahead of the national election that brought Mr.…
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