The Obama administration hated coal power. The former president’s detractors referred to his policy agenda in this policy area as a “war on coal,” and that wasn’t an exaggeration. The so-called Clean Power Plan, among other policies, seemed organized more around an ideological objection to coal energy from coal than any desire for workable regulations…
Air Pollution in North Dakota, an Oil and Coal State, Is Down 25 Percent Over the Last Five Years
To hear some environmental activists put it, you’d think North Dakota were an industrial wasteland where energy industry titans are allowed to pollute the land and air with impunity. Those of us who actually live here can see that lie for what it is with our own eyes. Our state has a proud tradition, stretching…
Jason Bohrer: The Clean Power Plan No Longer Threatens North Dakota’s Economy
Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, did a big favor for states like ours that use coal to generate electricity. His recent decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan lifted a massive regulation from our state’s economy, sparing our industries and households the effects from a weakened power grid, higher power prices and the…
Audio: Berkeley Scholar Calls Wind Energy Subsidies “Completely Perverse”
Steven Hayward, a Senior Resident Scholar at Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, has produced a report for Minnesota’s Center of the American Experiment which finds that power sources like wind and solar aren’t really accomplishing what their supporters say they are. This despite what Hayward described as “completely perverse” subsidies so massive they sometimes allow renewable…
Shortages Are What Happens When the Government Tries to Dictate Outcomes in the Marketplace
The politicians always think they know best. Energy policy is no departure from this simple truth. The politicians use all manner of policy – from tariffs to regulatory red tape to subsidies and mandates – to dictate where we get our power. In Australia, much like here in America, public policy aimed at pushing that…
Stenehjem Joins North Dakota to Group of 13 States Threatening to Sue California Over Coal Divestment Initiative
UPDATE: ND Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread has signed on to a similar effort opposing California’s push. You can read his press release here, and the letter here. In California, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has begun what he’s calling the Climate Risk Carbon Initiative. Arguing that because of climate change investments in fossil fuel energy production are…
Jeremy Rham: North Dakota Needs Wind Energy
Sayanythingblog.com and AgWeek recently published Connie Krapp’s op-ed entitled “Before Permitting Another Wind Mill North Dakota’s PSC Must Publicize Costs for Taxpayers and Energy Consumers.” The op-ed specifically referred to Otter Tail Power Company’s involvement with EDF Renewable Energy’s Merricourt Wind Farm near Ellendale. Ms. Krapp’s op-ed was decidedly negative. However, our company’s upcoming proceedings…
All of a Sudden North Dakota and the EPA Are Getting Along
In years past, when I’d talk with colleagues and others from out of state, I’d joke that North Dakota’s official pastime is suing the federal government. Because our state does it a lot, and regulations implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency have always been a frequent target. But of late, under the Trump administration, there…
Slow Blogging Today
I won’t be keeping up my usual pace of blogging today as I’m on the road. The folks at the Lignite Energy Council were kind enough to invite me down to their annual meeting in Bismarck today to talk about media and communications. It’s a fun opportunity. While I use the blog and social media…
The Jobs Argument for Wind Power Is Baloney
In a recent editorial the Grand Forks Herald tries to gloss over the very real problems with wind power. Namely that it largely wouldn’t exist without taxpayers picking up pretty much all of the costs of production, and that it’s an intermittent power source which (barring some future technological invention or innovation) will always have…