• The Heritage Network
    • Resize:
    • A
    • A
    • A
  • Donate
  • No More Solyndras Act: Good Start; Room for Improvement

    This Friday, the House of Representatives will vote on the No More Solyndras Act, which would prohibit any new loan guarantees from Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For applications that are already under consideration or have received conditional commitment, the bill would require the Secretary of … More

    President Obama, Chief Investor: Leave Energy Upgrades to the Businesses

    Reading President Obama’s latest Executive Order (EO) on industrial energy efficiency, one would think American companies were not interested in saving money and gaining a competitive advantage: While our manufacturing facilities have made progress in becoming more energy efficient over the past several decades, there is an opportunity to accelerate … More

    New Auto Efficiency Regs: Special Interests Win, Consumers Lose

    The federal government finalized new automobile efficiency rules today for cars and light trucks for model years 2017–2025. The rules require an average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) in 2025. Proponents of the rule advertise the more stringent mpg standard as a win for producers, consumers, and … More

    “No More Solyndras Act” Shows Addiction to Energy Subsidies Is a Bipartisan Problem

    The latest political squabbling over the No More Solyndras Act is a reminder that politically entrenched energy subsidies enjoy bipartisan support. The No More Solyndras Act prohibits any new loan guarantees from Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For applications that are already under consideration or have … More

    A “Conservative Carbon Tax” Is $0

    Instead of rallying together to fight the Obama Administration’s backdoor environmental regulations, which have exorbitant costs and minimal benefit, some conservative organizations are working with liberal groups to push costs higher by piling on a carbon tax. This would be nothing more than an enormously high, regressive energy tax that … More

    Court Upholds Greenhouse Gas Rule; Congress Needs to Step Up

    Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are a threat to public health and the environment. Although not a surprising decision, the ruling is a disappointing one. Unless Congress prohibits … More

    Biomassive Energy Subsidies in Farm Bill

    The farm bill, which passed in the Senate yesterday, has little to do with farming and a lot to do with handouts. Energy subsidies? The farm bill’s full of ‘em, particularly in the Title IX energy section, and they all need to go. The legislation includes direct handouts and loan … More

    Wind PTC: There’s No Free Lunch

    Real men wear pink. Real women wear fur. And real market-based policy doesn’t include special interest subsidies. Sadly, lots of legislation fails the real free market test. So it is with one of Washington’s favorite energy sources du jour: energy production tax credits (PTC). Sadly, anti-market policies like the expansion … More

    Two Cheers for House Energy Bill

    Often when policymakers introduce legislation in Washington, the title of the bill doesn’t always correspond with what the bill actually does. This is not one of those times. U.S. House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R–CA) recently introduced the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, which would greatly improve access to America’s … More

    At Solyndra, More Jobs Lost—and Even More Jobs Lost

    Documents obtained by The Bay Citizen under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the Solyndra bankruptcy resulted in 1,861 people losing their jobs—over 700 more than the defunct solar company previously reported. In reality, the job loss count is even higher than that. What hasn’t been counted are the … More