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  • Department of Energy

    Morning Bell: Time to Make Cuts in the Department of Energy

    Disco, mood rings and bell-bottom pants are relics of the 1970s relegated to the dustbin of cultural history. But one product of the 70s is still going strong and growing at a rapid rate, despite America’s monstrous fiscal crisis. It’s the Department of Energy (DOE), and in the last 10 … More

    Solar Power on the Taxpayers’ Dime

    Someone should really tell the Department of Energy (DOE) about the federal government’s spending crisis. On Monday, it granted a $2.1 billion loan guarantee to a German developer to help finance a 1,000 megawatt solar thermal power plant in Southern California. But wait, there’s more. Add to that a $1.6 … More

    Low-Flush Toilets: The San Francisco Treat?

    San Francisco’s environmentally friendly low-flush toilets are doing what they’re supposed to do: save water. The toilets reduced the city’s annual water use by 20 million gallons, but they have had the unintended consequence of causing sewage problems. The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Skimping on toilet water has resulted in … More

    Reject All Energy Mandates: It’s Just Another Subsidy

    With cap and trade out of the realm of possibilities, Members of Congress have turned their attention to mandating so-called clean energy. Some Members hoped for a lame duck vote on a renewable electricity standard (RES), which would require that a certain percentage of our nation’s electricity production come from … More

    The Jaczko Fiasco

    Controversy continues to grow around Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko’s unilateral decision to order the NRC staff to stop its work on Yucca Mountain.  The chairman defended his actions in a letter to the editor published by Energy Daily last week (subscription required).  He suggested that he was authorized … More

    No Loan Guarantee, No Nuclear? Not Quite

    The prospects for new nuclear energy in the U.S. were purportedly set back this weekend when Constellation Energy pulled out of the Calvert Cliffs 3 nuclear energy project in Maryland. They argued that the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program was too expensive and complicated to be workable. No loan … More

    How Much “Cash for Caulk” Do We Need?

    Congress is back, but before Members head home again to campaign, they have to first do what they do best: spend other people’s money. Today, Congress will vote on the Rural Energy Savings Program Act, H.R. 4785—a bill that would authorize $5 billion over five years for the Department of … More

    The Department of Energy Cannot Afford to Save Energy

    Some households just can’t afford to save energy. When the upfront costs of new light bulbs exceed the savings from using less electricity, people will stick with the old ones. That also appears to be the case for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In spite of supporting regulations that … More

    DOE Reinvades Showerhead Use

    For anyone who has ever taken a timed shower or gone to a laundromat to cut down on their household utilities bills, it should not come as a surprise that an efficient showerhead is an easy way to cut costs. Likewise, luxury shower and bath lovers might consider the extra … More

    NRC Decision Game Changer for Nuclear Blue Ribbon Commission

    The Secretary of Energy’s request that the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future not consider Yucca Mountain has been debatable from the beginning.  After all, America’s electricity ratepayers have already invested over $10 billion into the repository.  And besides that, federal statute clearly states that Yucca Mountain will be … More