green cronyism (page 12)

Fuel Fix carries the following headline: Obama budget would slash oil tax breaks Good. Energy costs are highly impactful, especially on poor consumers. We need a healthy, level playing field for competing energy providers to compete for our business, not government favors. It’d be an encouraging…

That’s the real takeaway from a media-hyped Pew Charitable Trusts report, “Clean Economy Rising: Solar Shines in North Carolina.” My newsletter today explains. Here’s a snippet: There is not one page in the Pew report that does not underscore the fact that the ballyhooed “success” of solar energy in…

The earth itself is turning out to be the big mother Gaia of all “deniers” … — Yours truly, 8/27/14 A comment by David G. Victor and Charles F. Kennel in the new issue of Nature has sparked controversy. Victor and Kennel are openly calling for…

   To hear them tell it, solar is a powerhouse industry that would collapse like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge if any state support were removed. … “Solar energy has mainstream appeal” — it clearly does not. Basketball has mainstream appeal. Fast food has mainstream appeal. iPhones have…

The Economist discusses a new study from Charles Frank of the Brookings Institution that uses a cost-benefit analysis to rank various forms of energy, going beyond levelized cost (click the image for a larger version): Of particular interest to North Carolina policymakers should be this: Frank’s model…

What is making a strong industry grind to a halt? Oh, the removal of government support in money and guaranteed business. We’re told that’s kryptonite to strong industries. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Australia’s investment in renewable energy all but dried up in the first half of…

Last year, when North Carolina lawmakers were debating capping and ending the state’s expensive renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS) mandate, I wrote that North Carolina was positioned to lead the nation in protecting electricity consumers from expensive electricity. Well, cronyism won and North Carolina…

The News & Record reports today on Rep. Pricey Harrison’s primary race against former Greensboro City Councilman Mike Kee. In it, Harrison makes the following boast about her opposition to corporate welfare: Harrison opposes incentives to businesses, which she sees as a form of “corporate welfare.” To…