22 item(s) were returned.
On Tuesday, President Obama outlined a package of efforts his administration is pursuing to ensure that energy traders are not responsible for “market manipulation” that drives up the cost of oil and consequently gasoline. President Obama called on Congress to “pass a package of measures to crack down on illegal activity and hold accountable those who manipulate the market for private gain at the expense of millions of working families.” Specifically, Obama suggested that Congress should provide funding to better police energy trading, and policing of those investors usually go for stock apps when trading online. He suggested that Congress… [more]
View InsightLast week President Obama signed an executive order to coordinate the Administration’s activities on natural gas development. The order will convene the Interagency Working Group to Support Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources, and will bring together at least 13 federal agencies. The working group will coordinate interagency policy, work to share scientific, environmental, technical and economic information, and engage in long term planning with regards to research, natural resource assessment, and the development of infrastructure. The order states that “States are the primary regulators of onshore oil and gas activities,” but that “the Federal Government… [more]
View InsightTo date, no offshore wind farms have operated in the United States. However, several projects under consideration or development could change that. In February, the federal government completed an environmental review of designated “wind energy areas” off the mid-Atlantic coast, and found that lease sales for wind energy would not create environmental problems. This finding may facilitate the sale of wind energy leases off the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware as early as this year. [New York Times] The Cape Wind Project, a wind farm off Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, could be the first operational offshore wind energy… [more]
View InsightA Senate bill that would have cut $24 billion in tax breaks to oil companies over 10 years was blocked by Republicans yesterday. The bill, endorsed by President Obama hours before the vote, would have used $11.7 billion of the $24 billion to extend renewable energy tax credits and fund clean energy initiatives. The remainder would have gone toward deficit reduction. Critics of the bill have said that it would do nothing to reduce gas prices. Would legislation like this impact gas prices in the short- to medium-term? Should the U.S. remove subsidies from one industry in order to subsidize… [more]
View InsightAddressing high gasoline prices at a February 23 speech in Miami, President Obama made a case for continued investment in fuel economy and alternative fuel sources like algal biofuels and natural gas. The U.S. cannot drill its way out of high gas prices, he said, adding that anybody who says otherwise “doesn’t know what they’re talking about or just isn’t telling you the truth.” [Fox News] “It’s the easiest thing in the world to make phony election-year promises about lower gas prices,” Obama said. “What’s harder is to make a serious, sustained commitment to tackle a problem that may not… [more]
View InsightPresident Obama sent his requested FY2013 budget to Congress Monday, and requested, among other energy-related items, significant increases to energy R&D, renewable energy investments, and energy efficiency programs. From the request: “In light of the tight discretionary spending caps, this increase in funding is significant and a testament to the importance of innovation and clean energy to the country’s economic future.” Among the energy-related budget requests: $27.2 billion to the Department of Energy, a 3.2% hike over FY2012 $5 billion for DOE’s Office of Science $2.3 billion for DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office – a 29% increase –… [more]
View InsightJ.C. Ward Jr. Professor of Nuclear Energy Engineering
Cornell University
The President said in his State of the Union Address, “And nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy.” He then talked about opening federal land for oil and gas exploration, implied that relying on foreign oil is not a good thing, and stated, “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.” Considering the President’s all-of-the-above platform, and the goals implicit in it, we’d be wise to evaluate our national relationship to oil. The U.S. currently produces around 7.6 million… [more]
View InsightPartner
KL Gates
In the State of the Union President Obama renewed his commitment to the widespread adoption of renewable power as a critical piece of America’s energy and economic future. In last year’s speech he included a proposal to have 80 percent of US electricity come from renewables by 2035. Even making incremental steps towards these goals requires better access to financing for these renewable energy projects. Energy projects, and particularly renewable energy projects, require a lot of money to build. There appear to be 3 key challenges for a renewable energy company to access capital in today’s market. (1) Low natural… [more]
View InsightLast Wednesday, the Obama administration officially denied approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. A rider included by the GOP in the payroll tax plan President Obama signed last month required the Administration to decide on the pipeline within a 60-day window. In rejecting the pipeline, the White House said “imposing an arbitrary 60-day deadline on this process would make it virtually impossible for an adequate review [of the pipeline] to take place.” House Speaker John Boehner criticized the decision saying “President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese. [There’s] no… [more]
View InsightProfessor of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology
In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a Clean Energy Standard (CES) requiring that 80 percent of the nation’s electricity come from clean energy resources by 2035. Over the past decade, Congress has debated renewable electricity standards, typically allowing energy efficiency to meet a portion of the target. For example, in 2009, an RES was included in the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009, requiring 15% renewables by 2021, and 27% of this target could be met by energy efficiency. What happened to energy efficiency in the President’s proposal? A well-designed CES policy would enable… [more]
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