When he’s not busy picking “winners” like Solyndra, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has time to engage in original, peer-reviewed research. In a forthcoming paper, Chu and his co-authors argue that federal mandates for energy efficiency actually don’t increase prices for consumers, because the extra hoops force the producers to learn how to innovate. As usual, Chu’s views are at complete odds with basic economics. In a June 14 article for E&E titled “For energy efficiency,...
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  A recent report by the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) makes the case that Americans should reject the Keystone XL pipeline because its construction would raise gasoline prices in the U.S. The NRDC report is based on absurd economic arguments and distorted analysis from another research group. Most ironic of all, NRDC has been a strong advocate of a government cap on carbon dioxide emissions, with the express purpose of raising the cost of fossil fuel energy. It’s therefore...
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  American refineries are closing and more closures are likely, often because of overly-burdensome regulation as well as lower gasoline demand. Several refineries in Pennsylvania are idle and possibly closing if no buyers come forward. The refining industry is one of the most highly regulated in the country and has been struggling for years to maintain minimal profit margins. In the face of even more regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who are, imposing...
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The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is touting a new study claiming that ethanol reduced gasoline prices by more than a dollar per gallon in 2011. As with similar studies in the past, the methodology used here to calculate this number rests on a basic fallacy in how they frame the question, which we’ll explain below. Beyond framing the question incorrectly, there is the obvious point that ethanol has lower energy content than conventional gasoline . If ethanol really were efficient, it...

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  A recent study by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) found that two most prominent regulations affecting fuel use in the United States—the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards—have competing requirements that will have a negative impact on the more than 120,000 convenience stores that sell motor fuel around the country, as well as the Americans that frequent them. Under the RFS, which was set by Congress in 2005 and...
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  Explaining the ANPR The Environmental Protection Agency announced in 2008 that it was well on its way to regulating at least 85 percent of the energy used in America in the name of global warming (nevermind the fact that global temperatures have inexplicably not increased since at least 2001).[1]  Because energy is an indispensable part of economic activity, if EPA’s plans go forward they will exercise some regulatory control over most of the American economy. The problems created by...
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  Results of a new national survey conducted for the American Energy Alliance reveal healthy skepticism among likely voters regarding the real value of Federal Government regulations. According to the survey results,  a large majority of Americans now believe that increasing regulations on energy and manufacturing companies often result in more cost than benefit. Sixty five percent of survey respondents agreed that federal regulation result in more cost than benefits. The President has...
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  The federal mandate to blend corn-based ethanol into the U.S. vehicle fuel mix is an economically absurd practice. On a level playing field, conventional gasoline would be used for the foreseeable future, as it is the most efficient method (all things considered) to deliver energy to U.S. vehicles. At most ethanol would have a small share of the market in the absence of federal government support. However, a study  from Iowa State University argues that the growth in ethanol production...
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  One of the problems with making purchases based on “the greater good”—as opposed to the direct benefits and costs—is that your estimate might turn out wrong. For example, many people simply assumed that electric vehicles were “good for the environment” and so were willing to spend more, and put up with more hassles, thinking that they were helping future generations. Yet some recent studies suggest that the environmental case for electric vehicles is more dubious. Electric...
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  WASHINGTON D.C. -- The American Energy Alliance released a white paper today detailing the factors that contribute to the rising cost of gasoline -- a combination of crude oil costs, taxes, distribution and marketing, refining costs, infrastructure issues, and regulations. The white paper, entitled "Rising Gasoline Prices and the U.S. Refining Industry" combines the scholarly research of the Institute for Energy Research with the public policy advocacy of the American Energy Alliance as a...
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