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

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…
Search Posts
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…
Real Clear Investigations
A New Beltway Mystery: Follow the Biden EPA Money
Real Clear investigations cited CEI’s expert on the EPA’s spending “I think it will be an uphill battle to recover the money, but it’s…
News Release
EPA Administrator Zeldin announces major deregulatory actions as part of the “Power the Great American Comeback” initiative
Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a series of major deregulatory reforms, including a reconsideration of the Obama-era “Endangerment Finding,” which…
Blog
Plans to build gas plants respond to increased power demand
Energy companies respond to surging AI demand with behind-the-meter solutions. Rising power demand, led by the buildout of data centers for Artificial Intelligence (AI), is leading…
News Release
Competitive Enterprise Institute releases new book as the first part of a major project dedicated to reforming the EPA
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new book, Modernizing the EPA: A Blueprint for Congress, as the first part of a long-term…
Products
Modernizing the EPA: Key Issues at a Glance
This section lists the key issues discussed in the book that Congress should address. Below these issues are specific recommendations for how Congress can address…
Products
Modernizing Chemical Regulations and Other Critical Regulatory Issues
This chapter examines the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that implement several environmental statutes: The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which regulates the production, importation,…
Products
Modernizing Air Regulation
The United States has clean air. Over 50 years ago, nobody could have accurately made this claim. However, for decades, the nation’s air quality has…
Products
Modernizing Water Regulation
Improving and protecting the nation’s water quality has been one of the hallmark achievements of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Office of Water…
Products
Introduction
Over a year ago, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) decided to undertake a major project to reform the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Other agencies could…
Products
Modernizing EPA Science Policies
“Science is the foundation that supports all of our work at EPA,” the first sentence of the agency’s Peer Review Handbook declares. The document continues:…
Products
Modernizing the EPA: Beyond Regulation
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory power warrants most of the attention when it comes to modernizing the agency. However, there are numerous non-regulatory programs…
Study
Modernizing the EPA: A Blueprint for Congress
Forward Kent Lassman, President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute President Richard Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Reorganization Plan No. 3 of…
RealClear Energy
SEC’s Climate Risk Disclosure Rule Would Compel Companies to Make Scientifically False and Misleading Disclosures
In March last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its climate risk disclosure rule, called “The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.” …
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: CRA resolutions, Climate Disclosure Rule, 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
BP embraces petroleum again
British Petroleum is reportedly reembracing its core mission of producing petroleum instead of ESG-related ventures it has been trumpeting and spending money on. CEI…
Blog
SEC abandons legal arguments in favor of climate disclosure rule
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this month that it will no longer defend the indefensible, abandoning in court its arguments favoring mandatory…
Blog
Lawsuit by Texas, Utah could change small reactor regulation
The states of Texas and Utah—along with Last Energy, a company that builds small modular reactors—are suing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), arguing that it…
News Release
CEI-led coalition urges Congress to end Green New Deal policies embedded in the Inflation Reduction Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today sent a coalition letter to Congress urging lawmakers to make it a priority to get rid of the Inflation Reduction…
Blog
House should support the Protecting American Energy Production Act
This week the House of Representatives is expected to consider the Protecting American Energy Production Act (H.R. 26), which was introduced by Rep.
The Independent Institute
Wind and Solar Tax Credits are Destroying the Grid
Rising power demand is revealing the fatal flaw in the increasing penetration of wind and solar on the grid. It’s time to admit that enough…
Blog
Gas stoves are great
The recent approval of a ballot initiative in Washington state to protect natural gas access for consumers has me ruminating on the gas stove issue. I have…
Blog
Congress needs to undo Biden’s sweeping attack on offshore drilling
Today, President Joe Biden announced that he is blocking more than 625 million acres of US ocean from future offshore drilling. The two…
Blog
Electric grid reliability at elevated risk, new report warns
The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) released its 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment Tuesday. This report examines the challenges the power grid will face over the …
Blog
Meta takes a unique approach to nuclear-powered data centers
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is soliciting bids from nuclear developers to deliver between one and four Gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by the…
Blog
New Jersey should rethink its nuclear power ban
Right now, the state of New Jersey has a significant amount of offshore wind power planned for the near future. As part of its net…
Comment
Department of Energy, Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Dishwashers. Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute I. SUMMARY The Notification of Proposed Confirmation of Withdrawal and Request for Comment (proposal) seeks to terminate Department…
Blog
Concerning transmission provisions in the Energy Permitting Reform Act
As Congress enters its lame duck period, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, introduced by Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY),…
New York Post
As EPA czar, Lee Zeldin should scrap these three awful Biden rules FAST
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) to serve as the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Once confirmed, he’ll have a big…
Forbes
Court’s NEPA Ruling Casts Doubt On CEQ Authority
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dropped a bombshell this week that could reshape how federal agencies implement environmental laws. In …
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Nuclear renaissance with Nick Loris
In this week’s episode we cover a new vision for the Securities and Exchange Commission, affordable housing in Hong Kong, and how…
Blog
New nuclear deals are good for technology and the power grid
Headlines over the last month have cropped up about technology companies signing various deals with companies in the nuclear power space. First Constellation Energy and…
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