A Free-Market Energy Blog

Reagan on Abolishing the U.S. Department of Energy (it’s Trump’s turn)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 24, 2025

“Will the Trump Administration challenge against climate alarm and forced energy transformation reach its logical end? Can commercial nuclear power be privatized away from DOE for this to happen? Can ‘carbon management’ be demoted as part of this? Free market, classical liberal proponents can only hope so.”

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was a mistake on Day 1. It continues to be a harem of government intervention on the supply and demand sides. It should be abolished as an easy budget cut, with the military side moved back to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Remember President Reagan’s campaign pledge to abolish DOE? He continued the promise into his first term, with his energy secretary, James Edwards, promising to work himself out of a job and “spread salt on the earth to make sure [DOE] never rose again.”…

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Steeper Road for Zero-Emissions Vehicles

By Steve Goreham -- July 23, 2025

“A recent survey by the American Automobile Association (AAA) found that only 16% of potential buyers were either “likely” or “very likely” to buy a fully electric vehicle as their next car, … down from 25% in 2022 and was the lowest level of EV interest recorded by AAA surveys since 2019.”

The road to adoption of Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs) is growing steeper. For over two decades, states used incentives and mandates to try to force a transition from gasoline vehicles to ZEVs. But softening market demand, shifting federal policies, and poor economics threaten to halt the ZEV revolution in the United States.

Zero Emissions Vehicles are cars and trucks that produce no tailpipe emissions. These are either electric vehicles (EVs) or hydrogen vehicles. California is the only state with a significant number of hydrogen cars, but its hydrogen car population is declining, so ZEVs mean EVs in practice.…

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No More Easy Ride for Wind and Solar (OBBB guidance, risks ahead)

By -- July 22, 2025

New wind and solar projects are expected to decline sharply over the next two years as the One Big Beautiful Bill’s strict tax credit rules, supply chain restrictions, and aggressive enforcement drive up costs and risk. With subsidies set to expire after 2027 for new projects, the decades-long era of easy tax-driven renewable development is coming to an end.

“Under the new law, eligibility for the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has become far more complex and legally uncertain. That’s by design. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act prioritizes strengthening America’s energy system with reliable, dispatchable power—not tax-driven projects that weaken the grid’s resilience.”

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) marks a major shift in U.S. energy policy—one that places American taxpayers and national interests squarely at the center of federal energy incentives.…

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Energy & Environmental Review: July 21, 2025

By -- July 21, 2025
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On Trump Derangement Syndrome

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 17, 2025
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Sunnova’s Enronish Ending

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 16, 2025
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Examples of Adaptation and Resilience (Part II)

By Terry Anderson and Donald Leal -- July 15, 2025
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The Argument for Adaptation and Resilience (Part I: Theory)

By Terry Anderson and Donald Leal -- July 14, 2025
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Mining the Master Resource

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- July 11, 2025
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NOAA’s 2020 Prediction Bust: “U. S. Winter Outlook: Cooler North, Warmer South”

By -- July 10, 2025
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