The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released a report showing that wind and solar power generation outpaced coal and gas in 2014. Wind generation increased by more than any other power source and solar generation more than doubled. Equally impressive, wind energy is dominating new power generation going forward. Out of 20 gigawatts in electricity generating capacity utilities expect to add to the grid in 2015, wind energy will account for 9.8 gigawatts–more than any other energy source. Natural gas comes in second with 6.3 gigawatts and solar third with 2.2 gigawatts. Those three sources combined account for 91 percent of the added capacity. Perhaps this explains the current “war on renewables” being waged by groups like Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and the American Energy Alliance. These groups, which have close ties to the fossil fuel conglomerate Koch Industries, are in print and on the airwaves constantly demonizing wind and solar. Even worse, they do this under the pretense of championing conservatism and defending the free-market—not as the special interests shills they really are. Their attacks often center on the premise that wind and solar are somehow inferior to fossil fuels and that these energy sources only exist because they are being propped up by government subsidies. Nothing could be further from the truth. As the EIA data shows, utilities are more and more choosing wind and solar over coal and gas. Why? Because diversifying their fuel mix with wind and solar helps keep their fuel costs down and their electricity rates more stable. Fossil fuel prices are very volatile—as anyone who drives a car or truck can attest. They can...
For at least the past six months there has been a relentless campaign to do away with the production tax credit(PTC) for wind energy. This effort, waged largely under the conservative banner, is not at all what it seems. The groups and people that attack the tax incentive for wind energy often frame their concern as protecting taxpayer wallets or supporting a level energy playing field, yet they are completely silent on the plethora of tax breaks and other goodies showered on coal, oil and natural gas. A philosophical stance against government subsidized energy production that looks honestly at all energy-related incentives might have merit, but that is clearly not the case here. Instead, the attacks on wind are a special interest driven effort to make sure gas, oil and coal have a distinct tax advantage over wind energy. The one thing that links most, if not all, of those targeting the PTC is a connection to the large fossil fuel conglomerate Koch Industries. Groups like Americans for Prosperity, Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation, American Jobs Alliance and American Energy Alliance all have ties to Koch and are all campaigning against the PTC. It is also worth noting that these groups are the same ones who were still peddling the notion that better automobile fuel efficiency equates to unsafe cars long after auto manufacturers—and the marketplace—had proved them wrong. They are also the ones who kept telling us that incandescent light bulbs had been banned even as improved incandescent bulbs, which met new energy standards, were already on store shelves. There is no underlying conservative basis for singling out wind energy, just the...
During Senate consideration of legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline an important milestone was reached on climate change. Five Republican senators voted for an amendment sponsored by Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) stating that “climate change is real and human activity significantly contributes to climate change.” While five is not a huge number, it hopefully signals that stewardship-minded Republicans are starting to finally assert themselves on climate. These five, Lamar Alexander (TN), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Susan Collins (ME), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Mark Kirk (IL), deserve our gratitude and encouragement for taking a genuinely conservative, fact-based stand on climate change. They need to hear thanks and kudos from stewardship-minded conservative and center-right constituents. Please contact them today. A similar amendment by Republican Senator Hoeven from North Dakota, which acknowledged human contribution to climate change but omitted the word “significantly,” came only one vote short of the 60 votes needed for passage. It garnered the support of 15 Republicans, that–in addition to the five above and Hoeven–also included Senators John McCain (AZ), Bob Corker (TN), Rob Portman (OH), John Thune (SD), Jeff Flake (AZ), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Orin Hatch (UT), Mike Rounds (SD), and Rand Paul (KY). These senators also merit encouragement from their constituents. And it is worth noting that these Republican Senators are not alone. Three likely Republican presidential candidates also acknowledge the basic facts of climate change. Jeb Bush and Chris Christie have been clear on this point, and just recently they were joined by Mitt Romney, who told those gathered at a conference in Salt Lake City that he is “one of those Republicans” who thinks...
With gasoline prices at their lowest in years, odds are that we will soon be seeing reports about gas guzzler sales on the rise, people traveling more, and maybe even a comeback of the Hummer. Such short-sighted responses might reflect human nature, but they are not conservative. Edmund Burke, widely regarded as the father of modern conservatism, considered prudence the key virtue in both personal and political decision-making. Given the historic volatility of gasoline prices, decisions that assume low prices going forward are certainly not prudent. Gas prices are lower, in part, because greater automobile fuel efficiency and driving habits are helping hold down demand. Reducing demand keeps downward pressure on pricing. If efficiency goes down and demand goes up, prices will respond in the opposite direction. The other reason gas prices are lower is increased supply. This is due to oil production coming from Bakken shale in North Dakota and the recent decision by OPEC to keep supply up. Producing oil from Bakken shale is more expensive than producing oil from the Middle East fields, and OPEC is trying to drive down prices to the point that Bakken production is no longer profitable. If OPEC’s gambit is successful, prices will go up due to decreased U.S. production. If it fails, OPEC will eventually have to cut production to bring prices back up. Either way, low prices are not here to stay. Furthermore, oil is a finite resource. We have already tapped much of world’s easily accessible and cheap to produce oil. Occasional price dips are the exception, not the rule. The prudent, and therefore conservative, response to low...
After multiple efforts in Congress–Republican and Democrat–to protect the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles have been stymied by a few public land opponents in the House Natural Resources Committee, the President used his authority under the Antiquities Act last month to grant the area extra protection as a national monument. It was the right move. The San Gabriel Mountains are an essential asset, providing LA County with most of its remaining open space for recreation and supplying a third of its drinking water. Still, there are those who–looking through partisan shaded lenses–were quick to criticize the designation. In an op-ed appearing in the Riverside/San Bernardino Press Enterprise, Bridgett Luther reminds everyone that protecting the San Gabriels has always been a bi-partisan endeavor and that Antiquities Act authority is a Republican tool. Luther served as Director of the California Department of Conservation in the Schwarzenegger Administration, is president of Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, and a former staff member of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship. Click the link below to check it out: BRIDGETT LUTHER: Protecting San Gabriel Mountains is a bipartisan...
