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
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. It covers “the…
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…
Search Posts
Blog
Robert E. Murray, RIP
Robert E. Murray, founder of Murray Energy and a fiercest opponent in industry of global warming alarmism, died age 80 on October 25 at his…
Inside Sources
A Celebration: U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty Becomes Official
The most consequential deregulatory action taken by President Donald J. Trump in his first term — the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris…
EnergyWire
5 energy issues to watch if Trump wins
EnergyWire cites CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman on U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dishwasher policy. “We’re hopeful that some of the progress we’ve seen in…
The Western Journal
2 more years of AOC: New York’s 14th congressional district goes to her again
The Western Journal cites Competitive Enterprise Institute on Green New Deal. In total, the deal would cost the average American household nearly …
Blog
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Calls for Carbon Pricing
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on October 15 proposed a policy statement to (1) “clarify its jurisdiction” over Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) and…
Blog
In Debate, Biden Confirms That He Is for and Against the Green New Deal
Climate science and energy policy made a surprise appearance during the first presidential debate on September 29 in Cleveland. Moderator Chris Wallace had not included climate…
Blog
Fuel Economy: DOJ Defends One National Program Rule
The Department of Justice (DOJ) last week filed its initial reply brief in Union of Concerned Scientists v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a case…
Blog
NEPA Reform Gives More Power to the People, Less to Environmental Lawyers
The Trump administration’s recent changes to the National Environmental Policy Act would reduce the years of red tape and litigation that frequently blocks job-creating energy…
Blog
Tax Breaks for Wind and Solar—Bad Energy Policy, Bad Post-Coronavirus Recovery Policy
The House of Representatives’ $1.5 trillion dollar infrastructure package is being sold to the public as a post-coronavirus job creation bill. It now includes the…
Daily Energy Insider
New England Ratepayers Association’s Stance on Full Net Metering Gains Support
Daily Energy Insider quotes CEI Senior Fellows Marlo Lewis and Ben Lieberman regarding the NERA’s stance on retail net metering: NERA in April filed a…
Blog
Supreme Court Decision Big Win for Energy—and America
Today the Supreme Court handed down a 7-2 decision allowing the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a 600-mile project bringing natural gas produced in…
News Release
#NeverNeeded Report: EPA Should Grant Waivers to Renewable Fuel Standard, Congress Should Sunset the Program Entirely
A bipartisan group of governors of five states -- Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming -- have requested a waiver from requirements of the federal…
Products
Suspend and Eventually Eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has faced many unexpected turns since it was created by Congress in 2005 and expanded in 2007, so the impact…
Blog
EPA Finalizes Rule Limiting State Abuses of Clean Water Act to Block Fossil Energy Projects
On June 1, the EPA issued a final rule clarifying that the Clean Water Act cannot be used by states to block energy projects based…
Blog
IRS Relaxes Requirements for Renewable Energy Tax Credits—Coronavirus Edition
On May 27, the IRS issued a notice expanding the tax relief for renewable energy developers seeking to qualify for tax credits. Ironically, this announcement…
Blog
Trump Administration to Grant One-Year Extension for Wind, Solar Credits
The Trump administration indicated this week it will adjust tax credit deadlines to help renewable energy investors to help their businesses survive the economic crisis.
Blog
Coronavirus Emergency Is No Reason for Delaying Energy Project Approvals
On April 29, five members of Congress sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that nicely summarizes why the energy infrastructure approval and…
Blog
Hurry, See “Planet of the Humans,” Before It’s Banned
Planet of the Humans, the new documentary film from director Jeff Gibbs and executive producer Michael Moore, contains a stunning evisceration of so-called green energy and the people profiting from it.
Blog
EPA Takes Step in Support of Coal-Refuse-to-Energy
Green groups oppose efforts to deal with the coal refuse problem that plagues many coal mining communities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The EPA is…
Blog
Pipeline-Starved New York City Avoids Natural Gas Shortages this Winter, but May Face Problems in the Future
New York City made it through another winter without any serious natural gas shortages, but it may not be so lucky next year. National Grid…
Blog
The Next Alleged Environmental Threat: Coal Falling off Trains
Proponents of climate change are repurposing older statutes into climate policy tools, even though they were never intended for that purpose. The environmentalists’ goal is…
Blog
Federal Court Decision Underscores Need for NEPA Reform
The comment period has closed for the Council on Environmental Quality’s proposed updates to the implementing rules for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Many…
Blog
Energy Special Interests Demand Handouts in Massive Coronavirus Stimulus Bill
Energy special interests began swarming the Capitol, as Congress passed a second emergency spending bill addressing the coronavirus pandemic and began to put together a $1 trillion or larger stimulus…
Blog
Report Misconstrues SAFE Rule ‘Rollbacks’
A recent Rhodium Group report purports to show by the numbers that the fuel economy “rollbacks” effected by the Trump administration’s forthcoming Safer Affordable Fuel…
Blog
Trump Wants Less Federal Meddling in Home Energy Use, but Some in Congress Want More
Federal energy efficiency standards have a long history of unintended adverse consequences, from more expensive light bulbs with questionable light quality to dishwashers that take…
Blog
House Panel Hears Testimony on USE IT Act
On February 6, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies…
Blog
House Energy and Commerce Democrats Release Omnibus Climate Bill
Senior Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a discussion draft of their omnibus climate bill on January 28. The draft bill begins…
Blog
Trump Administration Better on Permit Approvals for Energy Projects than for Minerals Projects Like the Pebble Mine
The Trump administration is doing a good job reducing red tape and streamlining the permitting process for energy production and energy infrastructure projects, but on…
Blog
Department of Energy Finalizes Process Rule for Appliance Efficiency Standards
There are a number of problematic Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards for home appliances. Perhaps worst of all is the one resulting in dishwashers…
Blog
Study Projecting Net Carbon Dioxide Benefits through 2050 Defended
Last Friday on the Daily Kos, an anonymous blogger called “Climate Denier Roundup” (CDR) posted a hit piece on a new study by Kevin D.
Blog
Trump Promotes Energy Abundance and Decries Prophets of Doom at Davos
President gave a powerful speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in which he challenged the politically correct platitudes and energy-rationing agenda that dominate discussion…
Study
The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act: Myth vs. Fact
Beginning in the 1970s, concerns that the refrigerants used in most air conditioners and refrigerators were leaking into the air and depleting the Earth’s ozone…
Blog
EIA Projects Renewables Will be “Most Used” Energy Source in 2050—but …
“With the rapid growth of electricity generation, renewables—including solar, wind, and hydroelectric power—are the fastest-growing energy source between 2018 and 2050, surpassing petroleum and other…
Blog
Year in Review 2019: Climate Policy
The Trump administration this year continued to dismantle key components of President Obama’s climate policy “legacy.”…
Blog
2019: A Great Year for Light Bulb Freedom
Whatever else one may say about 2019, it was a banner year for consumer choice when it comes to light bulbs, culminating in the December…
Blog
Free-Market Coalition Opposes Transportation and Climate Initiative
Eleven Northeast states plus the District of Columbia on December 17th released a draft memorandum of understanding this week on how to implement their Transportation and…
Blog
White House Blocks Most Green Energy Tax Credits in Final Spending Bill
The spending packages to fund the federal government through the end of the 2020 fiscal year ending on October 1st, which were passed by the…
Blog
Flex-Fuel Vehicles and Ethanol No Panacea for Energy Independence
Back in September, I posted a rebuttal to pollster Frank Luntz, who advised President Trump on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News program to promote E85—motor fuel…
Blog
Congress Racing To Extend and Expand Electric Vehicle, Wind, and Solar Tax Credits
It would be comforting to think that the House’s impeachment proceedings have so poisoned relations between Democrats and Republicans that the Congress won’t be able…
Blog
Supreme Court to Hear Important Natural Gas Pipeline Case
Next February, the U.S. Supreme Court will review the 2018 decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et al. v. …
Blog
Climate Mass Migration Myth
The paper “Climate Migration Myths,” published in the latest edition of the prestigious journal Nature Climate Change, is a large-scale beat-down of the notion that climate…
Blog
Wind and Solar Tax Credits: Special Interest Subsidies
The House Ways and Means Committee on November 19th released a draft of its “Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act” (summary). The sponsors propose to extend,…
Blog
House Committee Releases Tax Bill to Extend Electric Vehicle, Wind, and Solar Handouts
In what amounts to the tax component of the Green New Deal, the House Ways and Means Committee released a draft of its “Growing Renewable Energy…
Blog
Congress Breaking Promises, Extending Tax Credits for Electric Vehicles, Wind, and Solar
It is not unusual for Congress to keep extending a supposedly temporary federal program, and that includes the tax credits for electric vehicles and wind…
Blog
Free-Market Groups Support Trump Light Bulb Reform
The Bush and Obama administrations imposed a number of restrictions on light bulbs, but the Trump administration is pushing back on behalf of consumers. Today,…
Comment
CEI Comments on Energy Conservation Standards for General Service Incandescent Lamps
The undersigned free market organizations have a longstanding interest in bringing to light the deleterious consequences of regulations, which are often neglected by federal agencies…
Blog
Trump Administration Challenges Constitutionality of California Climate Pacts
Just when I thought the Trump administration could not get any bolder in challenging California’s self-anointed power to determine national climate policy, the Department of…
Blog
Stop State Government Abuse of Clean Water Act
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute led a coalition letter in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule, “Updating Regulations on Water Quality Certification.” The rule would…
Blog
Repeal of Trump Power Plant Rule Fails in Senate
The U.S. Senate today defeated by 53-41 a Democrat-sponsored Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval that aims to overturn the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule,…
Blog
United States, Carbon Tax Laggard?
The United States “lags” other nations’ use of carbon taxes, ClimateWire (subscription required) reports. Specifically, the United States ranks 40th out of 44 countries in…
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
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
Founder; Chairman Emeritus
- Automobiles and Roads
- Aviation
- Business and Government