MINOT, N.D. — “Xcel Energy plans to shutter its two remaining coal plants in the Upper Midwest a decade earlier than scheduled — a move that will make the utility coal-free in the region by 2030,” Mary Divine reported for the St. Paul Pioneer Press this week. That’s big news. All the more so because it’s…
Heidi Heitkamp and Mac Schneider’s Political Party Votes to Ostracize the Oil and Gas Industry
This is not good news for North Dakota Democrats: The DNC quietly voted over the weekend to ban donations from fossil fuel companies, HuffPost has learned. https://t.co/A75ecxwrFU — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 12, 2018 It’s an election year, so the Democrats like Senator Heidi Heitkamp and House candidate Mac Schneider are calling themselves independents instead…
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…
Pro-Fracking Ad: "Help Me Stay Rich"
This pro-fracking video, created for the fight over fracking taking place in Colorado, is pretty funny. But, like most good humor, there’s truth behind it. Senator John Hoeven has argued – most recently in the pages of the Wall Street Journal along side Senator John McCain – that America can leverage its boom in natural…
Fun Earth Day Fact: Renewable Energy Was Just 7.8% Of American Power Last Year, And That's Down From…1949
Earth Day is tomorrow, and here’s something that might blow your mind as you read the stories about our allegedly impending global warming apocalypse and the efforts to head it off. “Renewable energy (including hydropower) provided only 7.8% of energy consumed in the US last year,” writesUniversity of Michigan Professor of Economics Mark Perry. “That…
Sen John Hoeven: Unleash The Energy Industry To Help Address Unemployment Problem (Video)
North Dakota Senator John Hoeven announced today legislation that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline and also allow the export of natural gas. Currently, with a few exceptions, it is illegal to export unrefined oil and natural gas. With American markets inundated with natural gas, producers want more access to international markets. Specifically, Senator Hoeven’s…
John Hoeven: Let's Fight Russia With Natural Gas
North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, recently returned from a visit to Ukraine, thinks we can use trade policy to help put an aggressive and resurgent Russia back on its heels. With domestic production of natural gas surging, Hoeven is pushing for President Obama to relax restrictions on exporting gas. Russia, one of the largest exporters…
North Dakota Flaring Down, Capture Up 135% Since 2011
I missed the most recent iteration of the Department of Mineral Resources “director’s cut” report yesterday, but some of the numbers are pretty interesting. Especially in the area of natural gas. Gas flaring has captured a lot of negative headlines for the state. Back in July of last year Reuters reported that the state was…
Flaring Up Slightly As North Dakota Sets 13th Consecutive Record For Daily Oil/Gas Production
The latest report on oil and natural gas production in North Dakota is out. You can read the “director’s cut” from Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms below. Yet again, North Dakota set new daily production records for oil and natural gas. There were 1,086,571 MCF’s of gas produced in North Dakota daily in…
Rep. Kevin Cramer: "I will not sit idly by and watch this President steal the jobs, hopes, and dreams of my constituents."
“I will not sit idly by and watch this President steal the jobs, hopes, and dreams of my constituents,” Rep. Kevin Cramer said today on the floor of the House of what he described as President Obama’s war on coal. “Nor will I sit idly by while he and his EPA impose their mediocrity on…