In recent years, especially under the Biden administration, there has been an unprecedented attack on the supply of reliable and affordable energy, from reducing oil and gas lease sales to the administration’s efforts to shift from reliable electricity sources to renewable energy sources. The partisan Inflation Reduction Act is a central piece of the harmful electrification effort that will undermine the electricity grid. If all of this was not bad enough, there are also governmental efforts to limit Americans from using reliable and affordable energy, such as efforts to severely limit the availability of gas-powered vehicles and bans on natural gas appliances.
Ensuring abundant, reliable, and affordable energy is a must, as is consumer freedom when it comes to energy. The Competitive Enterprise Institute advocates for policies to keep energy abundant, affordable, and competitive. Carbon fuels—coal, natural gas, and oil—provide about 80 percent of U.S. and global energy. They are the world’s dominant energy sources because, in most markets, they beat the alternatives in both cost and performance.
CEI is leading efforts to defend the personal energy choices of Americans. We advocate for policies that will stop government at all levels from banning or restricting what good and services Americans can choose to best meet their needs.
For decades, CEI has opposed regulatory overreach from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies that put undue costs on energy industries and consumers. These include President Biden’s new power plant rule, the “Blackout Plan,” which would ignore the major questions problems detailed in West Virginia v. EPA, increase consumer electricity prices, and threaten grid reliability. CEI’s research and policy proposals have been instrumental on energy issues.
Featured Posts

News Release
Report Urges Congress to End Boondoggle Green Subsidies Now
Congress has a golden opportunity now, during final negotiations over the budget, to wipe out green subsidies passed back in 2022 as part of the…

Blog
New CEI paper: End IRA Subsidies Now
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the flagship climate spending law from the Biden administration. Estimates place its cost between $936 billion and $1.97…

Study
End IRA Subsidies Now
Introduction “The first lesson of economics is scarcity,” wrote economist Thomas Sowell. By contrast, “The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson…
Search Posts
News Release
Report Urges Congress to End Boondoggle Green Subsidies Now
Congress has a golden opportunity now, during final negotiations over the budget, to wipe out green subsidies passed back in 2022 as part of the…
Blog
New CEI paper: End IRA Subsidies Now
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the flagship climate spending law from the Biden administration. Estimates place its cost between $936 billion and $1.97…
Study
End IRA Subsidies Now
Introduction “The first lesson of economics is scarcity,” wrote economist Thomas Sowell. By contrast, “The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson…
Blog
Are we losing the subsidized clean energy race to China? Let’s hope so
Do we need to retain the Green New Deal-style subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act or risk losing the clean energy race to China? Many…
Blog
45Q tax credit could help kill off power plants and reliable electricity
The 45Q tax credit serves as an incentive for power plants and industrial facilities to invest in carbon capture and sequestration/storage.The Inflation Reduction Act…
Fox News
Trump’s Energy Department is taking back our home appliances from berserk bureaucrats
In quite possibly the sharpest regulatory U-turn thus far in 2025, the Trump Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to roll back home appliance regulations…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: Clean Power Plan repeal, CRA resolutions and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
Blog
Trump, Congress overturn California’s gas-car ban
President Trump today signed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval to overturn Biden administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers greenlighting California’s plans…
News Release
EPA’s decision to allow California to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 reversed after President Trump signs CRA resolution
California’s green light from the Environmental Protection Agency to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 was revoked after Congress passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA)…
Blog
New nuclear executive orders come at a time when power demand is rising
On Friday, May 23, President Trump signed four executive orders related to nuclear power. These lay the groundwork for reforming nuclear regulation and enabling nuclear power…
Blog
AI boom power surge: Plants revived, fossil fuels reconsidered
Rising power demand is causing retired power plants to be reopened and repurposed. Power demand in the United States was relatively stagnant for many years,…
News Release
CEI praises EPA Administrator for proposing the repeal of greenhouse gas rule and to amend mercury rule
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin today announced the forthcoming proposed repeal of the Biden era Clean Power Plan 2.0 rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions…
Blog
Senate should reject lobbyist sales pitches for alternative energy subsidies
Lobbyists for the companies hoping to cash in on the many alternative energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are crying foul now…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: Expert testimony, Spanish blackout, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
Blog
Eight energy policies that reduce competition and increase energy prices
The US Department of Justice’s Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force was accepting comments from the public in part “seeking information about laws and regulations that…
Blog
Congress needs to do more to address the IRA energy tax credits
Many of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credit reforms that exist in the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act comes…
Blog
Spanish blackout should serve as a warning
If policymakers don’t want Americans to find themselves in the dark, then they should pay attention to the harmful electricity policies in Spain. Spain experienced…
Comment
CEI Comments to Department of Justice Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force
Dear Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force Members: We appreciate this opportunity to provide comments to the task force regarding anticompetitive laws and regulations. There is often…
News Release
CEI leads coalition backing Senate votes to rescind waivers allowing California to reshape car, truck industry
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today sent a letter to the Senate signed by a coalition of over 50 free market and conservative policy…
Letters
CEI leads coalition letter supporting Senate CRA votes against EPA California waivers
Dear Senator: The House recently passed, in a bipartisan manner, three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions rescinding Biden EPA waivers allowing California to reshape the…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: CRA resolutions, IRA reform, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
News Release
DOE adopts CEI view on appliance water and energy limits
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released new rules on appliance energy and water limits Friday that agreed with the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI)…
Citation
GOP Ready Rollbacks of Biden’s ‘Efficiency’ Mandates For Home Appliances
MCRTV cited CEI’s expert on home appliances “Responding specifically to Trump’s executive action, Devin Watkins, attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), observed: ‘Federal…
Blog
CEI sends letter to Senate regarding California waiver CRA resolutions
The US Senate has a unique opportunity to overturn what may well be the most egregious case of unlawful bureaucratic overreach of the past 50…
News Release
Trump executive order restores consumer choice for home appliances
In 2018, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) petitioned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to adopt regulations allowing dishwashers that complete a full cycle…
Blog
Why IRA energy subsidies should be dismantled: A guide
This article is intended to be a useful resource about the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) energy subsidies and is broken into three sections: The first…
Reason
The Case for Eliminating Energy Star
Reason cited CEI’s expert on the EPA A March white paper from the Competitive Enterprise Institute on modernizing the EPA says “green purchasing programs” like Energy…
Blog
House Republican letter urges an end to all IRA handouts via the reconciliation bill
Congressional Republicans were unanimous in their opposition to the Green New Deal when it was introduced in 2019, and for very good reason given that…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: California waivers, IRIS, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
News Release
House moves to stop California ban on gas-powered cars: CEI statement
The House today overwhelmingly passed a resolution rejecting a Biden-era EPA waiver allowing California to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. By…
Letters
CEI joins ATR in a Call for Repealing Green New Deal Subsidies in Reconciliation
We, the undersigned organizations, are writing in support of repealing the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) green new deal subsidies to pay for tax cuts in…
Blog
President Trump’s three new energy executive orders: A quick overview
On April 8, President Trump signed three new executive orders (EOs) that address the United States’s energy sector. The key themes of the EOs include…
Blog
Congress needs to repeal the Biden EPA and California attack on gas-powered cars
The attack on gas-powered vehicles exists on multiple fronts, including through federal and state regulation.Regarding federal regulation, much of the attention has been focused on…
News Release
Senate votes to repeal Biden rule against water heaters
Today the U.S. Senate voted on a joint resolution to repeal a Biden-era Energy Department rule imposing unwarranted energy efficiency restrictions on consumer water…
Daily Caller
GOP-Led Congress Deals Fatal Blow To Biden’s War On Refrigerators
Daily Caller cited CEI’s expert on energy conservation standards DOE officials said they wanted to impose newer energy conservation standards. The Washington, D.C.-based…
News Release
Congress passes resolution repealing Biden energy rule against freezers, walk-in coolers: CEI statement
Congress successfully passed a resolution repealing a Biden Energy Department rule that would have imposed needless restrictions on walk-in coolers and freezers. CEI energy policy…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: The EPA, WOTUS, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: An affordable and reliable future with Gabriella Hoffman
In this week’s episode we cover Republicans for the Green New Deal, diminishing returns from industrial policy in China, and the bottleneck…
Blog
Belgium has learned nothing from Germany’s nuclear phaseout
Doel Unit 1 was shut down in February as part of the country’s nuclear phaseout policy. In 2021, more than half of Belgium’s power came from…
Blog
The true cost of the Inflation Reduction Act
The increasingly poorly named Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed by President Biden in 2022, comes with incredible costs. These come from massive spending, like tax credits and…
Comment
Comment on Interim Final Rule, Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations
Dear Council on Environmental Quality: I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) interim final rule removing its National Environmental…
Blog
Is the Solar for All program authorized?
In 2022, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) without a single Republican vote in the House or Senate.One of the most controversial IRA…
News Release
Report: Energy Infrastructure in Dire Need of Reforms for our AI Future
America’s homes, businesses, and industries rely on the nation’s electric grid system, but that system faces big challenges. A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report examines…
Study
Powering Intelligence: Meeting AI’s Energy Needs in a Changing Electricity Landscape
Introduction The electric grid is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure underpinning modern life, yet it faces growing threats from increased demand, regulatory…
The Washington Times
The true story behind the ‘gold bars’ at the heart of Trump’s biggest climate fight
The Washington Post quoted CEI’s expert on the EPA Daren Bakst, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a…
Real Clear Investigations
The Greenhouse Gas Windfalls Blew Hard for Solar in the Biden EPA
Real Clear Investigations cited CEI’s expert on the EPA “At a minimum, it is questionable how the Biden EPA decided to award the $7 billion,…
C-SPAN
Daren Bakst and Joe Bonfiglio on Proposed EPA Regulatory Rollbacks
CEI’s Daren Bakst appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning on a panel discussing the rollback of the EPA Watch more at C-SPAN…
Blog
Trump cancels Biden’s heat pump crisis
It isn’t easy figuring out the single most ridiculous Biden administration climate policy, but its declaration that electric heat pumps are critical to the…
The United States Environmental Protection Agency
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Leaders Applaud EPA’s Historic Deregulatory Actions to Power the Great American Comeback
The United States Environmental Protection Agency cited CEI’s expert on the EPA’s deregulatory actions Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Director of Center for Energy and Environment Daren…
The New York Times
E.P.A. Declares ‘Greatest Day of Deregulation Our Nation Has Seen’
The New York Times Cited CEI’s expert on the EPA Groups that deny the established science of climate change also cheered Mr. Zeldin’s actions. “The…
Staff & Scholars

Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance

Paige Lambermont
Research Fellow
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
- Energy
- Energy and Environment

Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment

Ben Lieberman
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Consumer Freedom
- Energy

Jacob Tomasulo
Policy Analyst
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment