After budget-stricken Spain eliminated subsidies for new renewable energy this year, Germany is now following the example by making significant cuts to its solar subsidy program. Bloomberg reports: Incentives for solar units pushed capacity past government targets, prompting Merkel to cut subsidies even as she seeks to wean Germany off …
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new rule to regulate CO2 emissions from power plants, which would effectively ban new coal power plants, as its emissions standards are too low to be met by conventional coal-fired facilities. This stands in stark contrast with the President’s supposed “all of the …
When it comes to finding alternate pathways to force their green agenda onto Americans, President Obama and his Administration know how to dream up creative solutions. In this latest installment, Energy Secretary Steven Chu is directing Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) to invest in a smart electrical grid that also serves …
The Obama Administration voiced its support Monday regarding TransCanada Corporation’s plans to construct the interstate portion of the Keystone XL pipeline that does not require presidential approval. Remember that President Obama rejected TransCanada’s permit application to construct a 1,700-mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas refineries just this January. Has …
Democrats are urging President Obama to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to avert “potential danger to the economy” and improve “the [P]resident’s reelection chances,” Politico reports. Tapping the SPR, which exists for moments of national crisis, would constitute playing politics with a national security asset in addition to being …
With debt and spending out of control, the good news is that the House Budget Committee is taking important steps toward focusing Congress on its most basic duty: budgeting. By speedily passing several budget process reform bills, Chairman Paul Ryan (R–WI) and others on his committee are moving Congress in …
The U.S. coal industry is facing a grim outlook in 2012, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) pollution rules are one big reason. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards and the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule have contributed to the premature shutdown of several coal plants and the idling of coal …
At this State of the Union address, President Obama proudly stated that “American oil production is the highest it’s been in eight years” and declared that his Administration would “open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources.” While President Obama spoke favorably of the role …
Leading up to his third State of the Union (SOTU) address tonight, President Obama appears once again less interested in facilitating real job growth than in creating the mere appearance of job creation. In a SOTU preview video released over the weekend, Obama declared that American energy fueled by homegrown …