In June 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama said, “If we continue to let our trade policy be dictated by special interests, then American workers will continue to be undermined, and public support for robust trade will continue to erode.” That’s exactly what’s happening with respect to energy trade. Special interests …
Senators Ron Wyden (D–OR), Dianne Feinstein (D–CA), Lamar Alexander (R–TN), and Lisa Murkowski (R–AK) finally released a discussion draft of their much anticipated nuclear waste bill this morning. It essentially accepts the assumption that the federal government should be responsible for nuclear waste management and disposal and that waste producers …
One foot on a banana peel, the other in the grave. That’s where Fisker Automotive and SoloPower find themselves, struggling for survival despite generous government handouts in the form of loan guarantees and tax breaks. Should either company take a turn for the worse, a tombstone in Heritage’s “Green Graveyard” …
In the interest of trying to make better choices for consumers, Congress has been determined to legislate efficiency mandates for American homes and businesses since the late 1970s. The latest and much-awaited efficiency legislation is being reintroduced in the Senate tomorrow, with a House companion bill coming as early as …
Opponents have called it “another Solyndra waiting to happen.” An estimated $2.6 billion offshore wind project near Massachusetts could be awarded a $350 million Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee and a 30 percent federal tax credit, according to recent reports. The much beleaguered 468 megawatt, 130 turbine Cape Wind …
If confirmed as the next Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, Dr. Ernest Moniz will take over an agency that has increasingly injected itself into making investment decisions with taxpayer money that would be more efficiently made by the private sector. The Heritage Foundation disagrees with many of the policy recommendations …
Despite a fiscal cliff and sequestration worries, more than $1.2 billion in cash payments for energy projects (in lieu of tax credits) have been issued by the Department of Treasury and Department of Energy since January 1, according to documents from the U.S. Treasury. Through February 14, $1,254,769,726 was distributed …
Just what America needs: More taxpayer-funded green energy projects. The Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service released plans to re-allocate more than $150 million in remaining manufacturing tax credits for “green” energy projects originally authorized by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus bill), …
Despite billions of dollars in unused loan authority remaining under the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office, negative publicity surrounding the loan guarantee programs (which offer taxpayer dollars to government-approved companies) has tampered with applications, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. More than $51 billion in …
Representative Paul Ryan (R–WI) is receiving criticism for including two solar-generation projects in his budget plan as “failed” projects despite the fact that Mesquite Solar 1’s project in Phoenix is generating electricity and SolarReserve’s project is under construction and recently entered a contract to sell power to California’s largest utility. …
