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    Tales of the Red Tape #22: A Real Waste of Regulatory Energy

    If you’re concerned that the Solyndra scandal is hampering other energy initiatives, worry not. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is moving right along with its review of urinal efficiency. Not urologically speaking, of course, but in terms of the ceramic catch of nature’s call. The federal plumbing police last … More

    Morning Bell: The Solyndra Legacies

    The Obama Administration has been knee-deep in scandal after green energy “model” Solyndra went bankrupt less than two years after receiving a $500 million loan guarantee from the federal government. Now, they are up against another controversy. Days before a recent deadline, the Department of Energy brazenly approved two additional … More

    Solyndra to Solar City: Lesson Not Learned in Green Energy Loan

    Basking in the glow from the $535 million fire left when Solyndra crashed and burned, the Department of Energy is ready to subsidize additional hundreds of millions in loans to solar energy companies. The logic of this latest round is stunning: One company supposedly needs the government subsidy because its … More

    Setting the Record Straight on Federal Disaster Funding

    Liberals have spent the past two weeks asking Congress to write a blank check for federal disaster funding. They’ve concentrated their attacks on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) for seeking offsets in other areas of the budget to cover the additional aid. They’ve portrayed Cantor as a callous conservative, … More

    Congressmen Ask White House for Documents on Solyndra’s Federal Loan

    One day after solar company Solyndra closed its doors, two U.S. congressman are asking the White House for all documents related to the federal government’s $535 million loan guarantee. The probe also seeks correspondence between administration officials and the company’s investors, seeking to uncover if the White House engaged in … More

    Did the Wright Brothers Need the Government to Make Man Fly?

    Forget entrepreneurs, captains of industry, inventors, and scientists. According to Obama Energy Secretary Steven Chu, we have the U.S. government to thank for all the wonders of technology. In a speech yesterday at Senator Harry Reid’s National Clean Energy Summit, Chu showed America his true colors–and the philosophical bent of the … More

    Your Tax Dollars Going to an Energy-Efficient TV Competition

    Doesn’t the Department of Energy (DOE) have enough needless programs and spending projects on its plate? DOE recently announced that it is launching a new program in cahoots with the Consortium for Energy Efficiency in which they will award the producer of the most efficient television. Producers will compete internationally … More

    Sweetheart Deal for Kentucky Uranium Enrichers, Bad Deal for America

    The Department of Energy (DOE) holds approximately the equivalent of 59,000 tons of natural uranium. This includes low-enriched uranium, highly enriched uranium, depleted uranium left over from past enrichment, and natural uranium. With additional processing, much of it could be used to fuel America’s nuclear reactors. Depending on the spot … More

    No Reason to Tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

    In response to OPEC’s inability to come to agreement on boosting oil production, the White House indicated that it would not shy away from tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which holds 700 million barrels of unrefined petroleum reserves in underground salt caverns, in order to smooth over oil … More

    Tales of the Red Tape #9: Regulators Going Off on Microwave Ovens

    At the behest of Congress, the Department of Energy (DOE) has “invested” several years and considerable tax dollars in devising restrictions on the amount of electricity it takes to run virtually every household appliance. Alas, a regulator’s work is never done. Having assumed control over the energy we use to … More