Plugged In

Kenny Stein, IER's Policy Director, joins the show to discuss the recent Affordable Clean Energy(ACE) rule from the Trump administration's EPA and what the future looks like for American coal.

• More on the ACE rule here:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/epa-rolls-back-the-clean-power-plan-creating-the-affordable-clean-energy-rule/

Mary J. Hutzler, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at IER, discusses the recently released report on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), published by IER and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy, which found the true cost of renewable energy to be higher than popularly portrayed.

• One page overview of the LCOE study:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LCOEStudyOnePager.pdf

• Full study:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IER_LCOE2019Final-.pdf

• Response to criticisms from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA):

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/awea-must-not-have-read-the-ier-accce-report/

• Response to reports of other studies contradicting the findings:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/ier-accce-reports-imposed-costs-make-levelized-costs-of-wind-and-solar-comparable-to-dispatchable-resources/

Jordan McGillis, a policy analyst at IER, discusses his recent paper on problems with carbon tax proposals.

• Jordan's paper on carbon taxes:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Carbon-Tax-Policy-BriefFinalText-1.pdf

• More on problems with carbon tax proposals from IER's Robert Murphy:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/climate-change/new-study-admits-even-modest-carbon-tax-would-hurt-the-next-two-generations/

Mark P. Mills, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins the show to discuss his recent report on the so-called "new energy economy" and the realities that make plans like the Green New Deal completely unrealistic.

Links:

• Full Report: "The 'New Energy Economy': An Exercise in Magical Thinking"

https://www.manhattan-institute.org/green-energy-revolution-near-impossible

• Learn more about the Manhattan Institute:

https://www.manhattan-institute.org/

• IER' report on the levelized cost of electricity:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/existing-generating-resources-are-less-costly-than-new-generating-resources/

IER's senior economist Bob Murphy recently visited Connecticut College to present on the economics of climate change. His lecture addresses the disconnect between "mainstream" climate models and proposals like the Green New Deal.

Links:

• More from the talk:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/climate-change/what-i-told-college-students-about-the-economics-of-climate-change/

• Robert Murphy on IPCC data:

https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instituteforenergyresearch.org%2Fclimate-change%2Fusing-ipcc-defeat-un-climate-agenda%2F&token=2a7f05-1-1559160878247

• Bob Murphy on DICE model created by William Nordhaus:

http://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?id=751

• The Bob Murphy Show:

https://www.bobmurphyshow.com/

Hunter Pearl joins the show to discuss the trend of cities across the country suing producers of fossil fuels in an attempt to get fast cash. The team also dives into the potential harms of the practice known as atmospheric trust litigation, through which activist groups are seeking political change on climate through court order.

• Read more on atmospheric trust ligation: https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/regulation/environmental-activism-by-court-order-the-dangerous-and-faulty-approach-of-atmospheric-trust-litigation/

• Read more on cities joining climate lawsuits:https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/regulation/climate-lawsuits-have-cities-seeing-green/

Kenny Stein, IER's Policy Director, provided testimony before the Energy Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology regarding solar and wind technologies on 5/15/19. Along with his testimony is an extended conversation on the role the federal government plays in supporting the wind and solar industries.

• Read his written testimony here:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Energy-Subcomittee-Stein-testimony-5-15-19.pdf

• More on wind and solar tax credits from IER:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/wind-and-solar-tax-credits/

• Watch video of his testimony here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stCbxGz-Fhs&list=PLjYr-vgcXEpxHkNbf2NlTTLBPbgvISaOo

Rob Allerman, the senior director of power analytics at Pattern Recognition Technologies, joins the show to discuss the importance of forecasting for energy producers and the challenges renewable energy sources create for forecasters.

Links:

• More about PRT:

https://prtforecast.com/about/

• More from IER on challenges created by renewables:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/the-100-percent-renewable-energy-myth/

The team sits down with Chris Brown, director of policy & research at Common Sense Policy Roundtable, to discuss what the passage of SB-181 could mean for energy producers in Colorado and consumers around the country.

Links:

• More about CSPR:

https://commonsensepolicyroundtable.org/

• A comprehensive study on the effects of SB-181:

https://commonsensepolicyroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/REMI-Partnership-SB-181-Study.pdf

Allen Gilmer, founder and executive chairman of Drillinginfo, joins the show to discuss why and how he created the service and the important role that data serves in oil and gas development.

Links:

• More about the Drillinginfo:

https://info.drillinginfo.com/

• IER's latest on growth in oil and gas production:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/climate-change/u-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions-decline-while-oil-and-gas-production-increases/