Energy Policy

The following report by Jonathan Lesser was originally published at the National Center for Energy Analytics. You can view the original publication here. Executive Summary There is a deep problem with one of the core concepts in the rationale for regulating carbon dioxide. It’s called the “social cost of carbon” (SCC). As a concept, SCC has some theoretical merit. However, it should not be used for making energy policy choices. The SCC can vary by orders of magnitude, depending on the research model. Moreover, it is often divorced from underlying scientific or economic principles, reflecting instead the assumptions and preferences of the modelers. Yet the SCC is used to justify staggeringly expensive regulations and mandates. Set aside the ongoing debate Read More ›

The following piece by Bill Peacock, originally published at Master Resource, references Senior Fellow Jonathan Lesser’s report, “The Crippling Costs of Electrification and Net Zero Energy Policies in the Pacific Northwest,” co-authored with Mitchell Rolling. You can read that report here. “The data make it clear that the only possible rationale for renewable energy—making significant reductions of CO2 emissions—cannot be achieved. The costs of attempting to do this are already imposing heavy costs on economies across the world.” By the 1800s, wind and solar were both mature and successful technologies. Yet as soon as Western society developed the wealth and technology to take advantage of fossil fuels, they were discarded—along with batteries for electric cars—with no place in the modern Read More ›