86 item(s) were returned.
Executive Director
The Solar Foundation
There is an investment vehicle available to oil and natural gas development that is not available to renewable energy resource projects. There is a current effort in Congress to change that situation. Most political leaders today claim they support an “all of the above” energy strategy. Yet solar and other renewable energy resources are currently restricted by the lack of access to master limited partnerships (MLPs). MLPs are business structures that are taxed as a partnership, but whose ownership interests are traded like corporate stock on a market. MLPs have the advantage of avoiding double taxation. Projects done through MLPs… [more]
View Insight
Legislative Director
Congressman Matt Cartwright
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 requires the safe disposal of solid waste and hazardous materials. In 1980, RCRA was amended to exempt waste from the production and development of oil and natural gas (E&P waste). In 1988, the EPA issued a Regulatory Determination further exempting oil and natural gas producers from RCRA’s most stringent safety requirements. This left the task of regulating disposal of these wastes to states, which they have done to varying degrees. Recent reports show the extent of the problem and highlight the potentially fatal consequences. The regulatory determination was issued before fracking,… [more]
View Insight
Pennsylvania’s Act 13 of 2012 created a three-year Natural Gas Energy Development Program that will allocate $20 million in grant funds to purchase or convert vehicles to natural gas. The goal of Act 13 is “to help the state’s ongoing effort to move towards energy independence.” Last week, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection issued the first $6.7 million of the competitive grant funds to 18 organizations across the state. The grant money comes from Pennsylvania’s drilling impact fee, which has raised $200 million from the gas industry flourishing in the Marcellus Shale. The grants are capped at 50 percent of… [more]
View Insight
The new Secretary of Energy and MIT physicist, Ernest Moniz, has often cited nuclear power as an important means of developing a low-carbon future for America. Moniz has also advocated the use of natural gas for its economic, environmental and energy security benefits, as outlined in a report he authored while at MIT, “The Future of Natural Gas.” So what can we expect from the next Secretary of Energy? Throughout his confirmation process, which has taken place over the past six weeks, Secretary Moniz reiterated the need for an “all-of-the-above” strategy, while expressing his belief that the government is underinvesting… [more]
View Insight
According to a recently released Harvard Law School report, the website FracFocus.org “fails as a regulatory compliance tool” for energy companies developing oil and gas wells using hydraulic fracturing. FracFocus, an online national hydraulic fracturing chemical registry managed by the Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, was established to provide the public with access to reported chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing within their area. Currently 11 of the 18 states that require disclosure of hydraulic fracturing chemicals allow companies to use FracFocus as their reporting method. FracFocus was also proposed by the Bureau of Land… [more]
View Insight
Professor of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology
Thanks to breakthroughs in seismic imaging, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, the US in 2012 reduced its reliance on much dirtier coal by shifting to gas-fired power plants. This trend is expected to continue, spurred by low gas prices and increased regulation on coal. The move to shale gas is being heralded as a key to economic prosperity and a clean energy future. But there are other options for displacing baseload electricity from retired coal plants, the principals being nuclear, renewables and energy efficiency. Will the gas bonanza enable or postpone the transition to these cleaner options? While natural gas… [more]
View Insight
A recent report by analysts at Ernst and Young predicts that the global LNG market will shift away from its current pricing model, tied to international crude oil prices, to more spot or hub-based pricing. The report, “Global LNG: Will new supply and new demand mean new pricing?” explains that strict oil indexation will become less tenable because “From the global supply side, oil is becoming somewhat scarcer while gas is more plentiful,” thus creating the “inherent conflict of persistently-high oil prices and a growing surplus of natural gas.” More specifically, the report concludes that oil indexation of gas contracts… [more]
View Insight
A bill, recently introduced by Illinois State Representatives John Bradley and David Reis, to regulate hydraulic fracturing in the state is attracting support from both industry and environmental groups. The bill, House Bill 2615, introduced on February 21st, 2013, would impose new requirements on the oil and gas industry, such as: Public disclosure of all fracking chemicals before fracking begins Presumed liability of the oil and gas drillers for any environmental contamination near fracking sites, until proven otherwise Restrictions on venting and flaring of natural gas The bill’s supporters believe that it outlines an effective compromise that could open up… [more]
View Insight
Advisor
Fuel Freedom Foundation
The recent projections for future energy consumption from Exxon Mobil’s report, “Outlook for Energy,” and the EIA’s “Annual Energy Outlook, 2013” essentially said the same thing concerning the potential for natural gas and its derivative methanol: Natural gas use now is only about 1 percent of the total fuel used in vehicles, and by 2040, it will only rise to 4 percent. This increase will take place in the trucking sector and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Owners of automobiles will not rush to natural gas, because of a lack of pumping stations and the low density of natural gas. Adam… [more]
View Insight
Update: See a video recording of the event here OurEneryPolicy.org’s high-level panel discussion, moderated by Chief National Correspondent for the Fox News Channel Jim Angle, and featuring James Connaughton, General James L. Jones, and Timothy Wirth, had an overall tone of optimism for energy policy for next four years and beyond. Here are some event highlights: The panelists saw hydraulic fracturing as presenting an economic, energy security, and emissions reduction opportunity, but agreed that smaller “mom and pop” operations engaging in substandard industry practices could turn public opinion against fracking. However, there is an opportunity for industry leaders, such as… [more]
View Insight