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
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…
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…
Search Posts
News Release
‘Richard Windsor’ To Testify Before Congress
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 – Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute commends the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., for calling…
The Hill
Free-market group riffs on Woody Guthrie in gas export push
CEI, a think tank and advocacy group, says there’s a serious message behind the satirical video and song. “With what right does Dow seek to…
News Release
Free-Market Group Sings Out Against Dow Anti-Gas Export Campaign
WASHINGTON, D.C, Sept. 4, 2013 – Dow Chemical has launched an aggressive campaign to get federal regulators to interfere with natural gas exports. In response,…
Citation
Observers say Binz nomination in doubt in light of unprecedented attention and attacks
William Yeatman of the conservative free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute said that Binz’s work with the Colorado PUC raised concerns, including his actions in support of…
Study
EPA Overreach: Higher Cost, Less Energy, Greater Risk
Full Document Available in PDF Since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a suite…
Edmond Sun
State leaders decry EPA haze regulations
The EPA has been hurting the coal industry since 2009 with senseless regulations, said William Yeatman, assistant director of the Center for Energy & Environment…
Tulsa World
‘EPA Regulations and Your Pocketbook’ forum features agency’s foes
William Yeatman, assistant director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, called the EPA "out of control." The…
News OK
PSO plan to phase out coal generation may cost too much, group says
William Yeatman, assistant director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said PSO's plan underreported the costs of switching to…
News Release
Free-Market Coalition Urges House To Abolish the Renewable Fuel Standard
WASHINGTON, D.C, Aug. 14, 2013 – Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and 10 other free-market organizations called for repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Letters
Free-Market Coalition Urges House To Abolish the Renewable Fuel Standard
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and 10 other free-market organizations called for repeal of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
National Journal
Keystone XL: Not Enough Attention to Core Issues
In the protracted conflict over the Keystone XL Pipeline, too much attention is paid to peripheral issues and not enough to the core issues. Peripheral…
News Release
Unhappy Anniversary: A Year of Treasury Department Stonewalling
WASHINGTON, D.C, Aug. 7, 2013 – Today marks one year since the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed two Freedom of Information Act requests for documents…
Citation
Think tanks worry what Binz-led FERC would do on grid cost allocation, demand response
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Colorado-based Independence Institute are concerned that Binz will not keep consumers’ interests in mind if he leads FERC and…
News Release
Horner on Politico Story: ‘When the law is inconvenient, pretend it’s something else’
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2013 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute responded today to a story published by Politico, which takes issue with an…
Legal Brief
Michael E. Mann v. National Review, Inc., et al. – complaint
The Competitive Enterprise Institute received a letter on August 21 from an attorney representing Penn State University Professor Michael E. Mann that demands that CEI…
Daily Caller
‘Ideological mercenary’: World Bank follows in Obama’s footsteps on coal
“One might say this signals the war on coal has gone global,” Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow Chris Horner told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
News Release
New Study: EPA’s Shocking Record of Failure on Statutory Deadlines Raises Serious Questions
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 10, 2013 — The Environmental Protection Agency has routinely failed to comply with statutory deadlines established for three core Clean Air Act…
Study
EPA’s Woeful Deadline Performance Raises Questions About Agency Competence, Climate Change Regulations, “Sue and Settle”
Full Document Available in PDF The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) record of compliance with statutory deadlines established for three core Clean Air…
Washington Examiner
What happens in the backroom of a sue-and-settle lawsuit?
William Yeatman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute discovered the details after a Freedom of Information Act request produced 659 pages of EPA emails.
News Release
Massive Public Opposition to EPA’s Bristol Bay Study
WASHINGTON, D.C. July 2, 2013 – A record number of Americans have rejected the EPA’s Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Resourceful…
News Release
CEI, Independence Institute Announce Opposition to Obama’s FERC Pick
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 28, 2013 — The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and the Colorado-based Independence Institute today announced their strong opposition to President…
Letters
Coalition Letter on the Domestic Alternative Fuels Act of 2013 (H.R. 1959)
Full Document Available in PDF The undersigned organizations urge you to oppose H.R. 1959, the Domestic Alternative Fuels Act of 2013. The…
Daily Caller
Report: Obama’s EPA power balloons
“Since 2009, however, EPA has centralized a great deal of environmental policymaking,” said William Yeatman, author of the report and assistant director of the Center…
News Release
New Report Reveals Significant Increase in EPA Actions Under the Obama Administration
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 26, 2013 — A new report released today by the American Legislative Exchange Council shows a substantial increase in the power…
News Release
Free Market Groups Oppose Natural Gas ‘Fix’ for Ethanol Mandate
Washington, D.C., June 26, 2013 – Twelve free-market public policy organizations today released a joint letter urging House Members to oppose H.R. 1959, The…
News Release
President’s Climate Plan Undemocratic, Bordering On Authoritarian, Disingenuous on Keystone
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 25, 2013 – President Obama’s climate agenda released today is being done without public or congressional support and is being pursued in…
News Release
CEI Has ‘Major Concerns’ With New Climate Agenda
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 24, 2013 — Competitve Enterprise Institute Experts Myron Ebell, Marlo Lewis and Christopher Horner will be available tomorrow to comment on President…
News Release
‘Richard Windsor’ Was Up on His Ethics, Cybersecurity and Records Management Training
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 3, 2013 — Richard Windsor may not ever have existed as an employee at the Environmental Protection Agency. But he was up…
Legal Brief
CEI v EPA – May 29 Complaint
The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed suit in federal court to compel the Environmental Protection Agency to turn over text message records of Gina McCarthy, Assistant…
News Release
CEI Sues for EPA Nominee Text Messages on Dates She Testified Before Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 29, 2013 — Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed suit in federal court to compel the Environmental Protection Agency to turn…
Free Beacon
Overseeing Failure
The failure of Fisker is indicative of the government’s inability to prop up whole sectors of the economy, said William Yeatman, an energy policy expert…
News Release
CEI, Southeastern Legal Foundation, Lawmakers Seek Supreme Court Review of EPA “Endangerment” Regs
Washington, D.C., April 23, 2013 – In a lawsuit challenging over-reaching greenhouse gas regulations, the Competitive Enterprise Institute joined the Southeastern Legal Foundation,…
Legal Brief
CEI and ATI v. EPA – March 28 Complaint
Full Document Available in PDF Plaintiffs COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (“CEI”) and AMERICAN TRADITION INSTITUTE (“ATI”) for their complaint against Defendant UNITED STATES…
Free Beacon
Libertarians: Keep Lights on for Earth Hour
Calling its alternative to Earth Hour “Human Achievement Hour,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute says Earth Hour sends the wrong message by representing “a rejection…
Free Beacon
A Lot of Hot Air on Energy in the SOTU
And as Brian McNicoll of the Competitive Enterprise Institute notes, “If the president is serious about across-the-board energy,…
Free Enterprise
Hazed and Confused: Arizona Fights Anti-Coal Regional Haze Rules
The U.S. Chamber report authored by Competitive Policy Institute policy analyst William Yeatman, “EPA’s New Regulatory Front: Regional Haze and the…
Daily Caller
Colorado ex-Gov. Bill Ritter on shortlist for both Energy and Interior posts
William Yeatman, an energy policy analyst who wrote the report for the Washington, D.C.-based Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Independence Institute in…
Washington Examiner
Treasury demands non-profit pay previously waived FOIA fees for carbon tax emails
The Treasury Department filing was the latest development in a case that began last November when CEI appealed to the federal court to reverse Treasury's…
The Colorado Observer
Claims of Fracking Health Impacts Rich With Emotion, But Lack Proof
“I don’t want to impugn anyone’s particular symptoms, but if your property or person is affected, you have recourse in the courts,” said William Yeatman,…
The Colorado Observer
REPORT: New Energy Economy Comes With Hefty Price Tag
A report from an analyst with the Independence Institute and Competitive Enterprise Institute released Tuesday found that initiatives undertaken as part of Colorado Gov.
Study
2012 Cost Analysis of the New Energy Economy
Full Document Available in PDF From January 2007 to January 2011, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) pushed through the General Assembly a…
Atlanta-Journal Constitution
More electric car charging stations open in Atlanta
“The EV charger credit is just a variation on the old theme of robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said Marlo Lewis, Senior Fellow at the…
News Release
EPA Email Release “Gravely Compounded Unlawful Activity We Have Exposed”
Washington, D.C., January 14, 2013 – At about 4:55 p.m. on Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency finally complied with a court order to deliver the…
Washington Examiner
Ethanol mandates and starving kids in Guatemala
Our federal law requires refiners buy ethanol. This results in ethanol imports from places like Guatemala. This spurs the ethanol industry in Guatemala. This exacerbates…
Washington Examiner
In Ireland, carbon tax cuts deficit and pollution
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative advocacy group, has even filed a Freedom of Information suit seeking the release of Treasury Department emails containing the…
News Release
CEI: EPA Administrator’s Resignation A Good First Step
Washington, D.C. – December 27, 2012 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute released the following statement on the news today that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson will…
Washington Examiner
William O’Keefe: Will the Carbon Tax Make a Comeback?
The centerpiece of Mr. Clinton’s first budget was a tax on energy use, as measured in British thermal units, or BTUs. At that time,…
News Release
EPA IG to Investigate Agency Email Practices
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 17, 2012 – Chris Horner, senior fellow on energy and the environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, author of the…
Barrasso
A New Report on the Post-Election Red Tape Rush
William Yeatman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on June 28th, 2012 regarding this sue–and-settle phenomenon –…
Barrasso
Conservative groups press lawmakers to oppose wind credit
Several conservative groups on Wednesday urged lawmakers in states without renewable electricity targets to oppose extending a wind energy tax incentive. They told 158 lawmakers…
News Release
CEI and Coalition Partners Urge Congress to Let the Wind Tax Subsidy Expire
Washington, D.C. – Dec. 12, 2012 – Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, will join leaders and experts…
Bipps
Yes Kentucky, the war on coal is real
William Yeatman from globalwarming.org – whose tagline is “May cooler heads prevail” – recently posted an article spelling out this exact point. According to Yeatman,…
Washington Examiner
EPA administrators invent excuses to avoid transparency
The Environmental Protection Agency is the latest Obama bureaucracy exposed for embarrassing efforts to avert transparency. Its administrator, Lisa Jackson, has been using the email…
Bloomberg
Watchdog Wants EPA Chief’s Use of Alias E-Mail Probed
The allegation about alias e-mail accounts at the agency was first made by Chris Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based…
Bloomberg
Vitter backs group seeking records on ‘carbon tax’ talk
Sen. David Vitter joined Tuesday those opposing and seeking answers on any potential “carbon tax” that could be proposed by Democrats in Congress or by…
National Review
The EPA vs. State Economies
On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency rejected petitions from the governors of Georgia, Texas, Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, and North Carolina to suspend the…
Human Events
Carbon Tax Is Being Floated, But No One’s Biting–Yet
The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Myron Ebell sees another angle. “… [T]he alarmists and the left have a strategy to make a carbon tax part of…
Tri City Tribune USA
PNM Contracts Texas Company to Combat Regional Haze
In the meantime, the Rio Grande Foundation and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, CEI, have issued a press release to criticize the both the federal and…
Fox News
House investigates EPA emails, as agency says administrators have two accounts
The Daily Caller reported first that Jackson was using an email alias, based on research by Competitive Enterprise Institute fellow Christopher Horner. He says the…
Washington Times
Inside Politics: Obama asks for budget prayer from monk
The researcher who uncovered the “Richard Windsor” alias email, Christopher Horner, has repeatedly battled the administration over its global warming efforts. Earlier this year he…
Trib LIve
Carbon Caper: Bogus Policy
Steve Milloy, the publisher of JunkScience.com , writing for Investor’s Business Daily, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Christopher C. Horner, writing in California’s Orange County…
The Hill
House Republicans question EPA over secret email accounts
Chris Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and vocal critical of the administration's environmental policies, claimed earlier this month that, while researching…
Breitbart
EPA Head Used Secret Email to Hide Documents
Christopher Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute uncovered the presence of the email alias while researching his recently released book, The Liberal War on Transparency.
News Release
EPA Denies RFS Waiver Petitions
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 16, 2012 — EPA administrator Lisa Jackson denied petitions from seven governors today to waive the biofuel blending requirements established by the federal…
Albuquerque Journal
State’s San Juan Plan Cost Analyzed
An independent analysis of the state’s proposed compromise to settle the regional haze dispute at the Juan power plant concludes it would hit PNM ratepayers…
Study
The Regional Haze Settlement Agreement Is a Terrible Deal for New Mexico
Full Document Available in PDF After months of negotiation, the New Mexico Environment Department in early October proposed a settlement to end…
Forbes
Why You Should Care That Courts Overturn EPA’s Carbon Pollution Standard
The 2012 elections ensure that President Obama’s “war on coal” will continue for at least two more years. The administration’s preferred M.O. has been for…
Legal Brief
CEI vs. Dept. of Treasury – Complaint Re: FOIA Requests
Full Document Available in PDF This lawsuit seeks to compel Treasury to respond fully and completely to two FOIA requests dated August…
News Release
CEI Sues To Force Release of Carbon Tax Emails
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 13, 2012 – On Tuesday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed suit to force the Treasury Department to release more than 7,300…
Washington Examiner
Think tank to sue Treasury to make carbon tax proposal emails public
The Competitive Enterprise Institute will file the suit in federal district court tomorrow because Treasury Department officials denied the non-profit organization's request for a waiver…
Denver Post
Is Colorado’s “new energy economy” still viable in light of recent setbacks in the industry? No
It's been a rough stretch for Colorado's "new energy economy." Over the last few months, the Centennial State's green energy industry, which the new energy…
Washington Times
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Liberal War on Transparency’
An intriguing and painstakingly in-depth glimpse into the hypocrisy of the Obama administration, “The Liberal War on Transparency: Confessions of a Freedom of Information ‘Criminal,’”…
Free Beacon
Waging War on Coal
The EPA imposed haze plans on North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Nebraska in 2011 and 2012 that will increase energy compliance costs by almost…
Free Beacon
Anti-Coal Regulation on Fire
In a suit filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Oct. 23, the…
Free Beacon
The Ethanol Election Delay
Last October, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Action Aid petitioned the EPA to review the so-called renewable fuel standard that mandates that 13.8 billion gallons…
SNL
Groups resume bid to require retrofits, close exemptions under Regional Haze Rule
However, William Yeatman, assistant director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the right-leaning Competitive Enterprise Institute, argued that the prospects for environmental petitioners…
Denver Post
Layoffs, failures test Colorado’s “new energy economy”
"It's not just Colorado," said William Yeatman, an energy analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based free-market think tank. "Renewable-energy manufacturing is taking…
The New American
Ethanol Mandates Plague Developing Countries With Rising Food Prices
From Brian Koenig's article in The New American: At the very least, critics note, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which mandates a percentage…
Washington Examiner
EPA refuses to talk about think tank suit demanding ‘secret’ emails
From Mark Tapscott's article in The Washington Examiner: Environmental Protection Agency officials are keeping mum today about a potential landmine of a lawsuit…
Breitbart
SoloPower: Another Solyndra in Waiting?
From John Sexton's article on Breitbart: William Yeatman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute says of SoloPower, "It looks like it will fail for…
News Max
Author Horner: Liberals Waging War on Transparency
From Henry J. Reske and Kathleen Walter's post on Newsmax: As far as liberals are concerned, transparency in government is a great idea…
Washington Examiner
New book claims officials use private emails to skirt FOIA laws; most departments fail Bloomberg transparency test
From Mark Tapscott's column in The Washington Examiner: Christopher C. Horner is a happy warrior attorney and senior fellow at the conservative Competitive…
Capital Press
Open Ideals Bounce Back
From a Capital Press editorial: The problem of using different email systems is "epidemic" in the Obama administration, according to Chris Horner, a…
Politico
House passes ‘No More Solyndras’
From Andrew Restuccia's article in Politico: Conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, take issue with the provision allowing…
Bloomberg
Republicans Drop Energy Efficiency From Platform
From Ari Natter's article in Bloomberg: “I think it's direct recent empirical evidence of wayward stimulus spending,” William Yeatman, an energy policy analyst…
Environmental Finance
Anti-Solyndra bill doesn’t go far enough, say lobbyists
From Environmental Finance: “Why is [the DOE] running an investment bank?” asked William Yeatman, energy policy analyst for think-tank the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
CEI Files Groundbreaking Lawsuit against EPA for Hiding Agency Records on Private E-mail Accounts
Washington, D.C., September 11, 2012 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute today filed suit in federal district court for the District of Columbia challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s…
News Release
CEI Files Suit to Force Administration to Comply with FOIA
Washington, D.C., September 10, 2012 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute has filed a lawsuit to compel the Treasury Department to stop stonewalling and produce internal…
Comment
Comments on National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter
Full Document Available in PDF 1. A Secondary NAAQS for Visibility Either Conflates or Conflicts with the Regional Haze Program; If the…
SNL
Vacated CSAPR could open power plants to onerous haze rule requirements
Chief among the concerns for states, according to William Yeatman, assistant director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the right-leaning Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
SNL
Ethanol vs. the World
From The Wall Street Journal: For more evidence, consider the ethanol waiver requested by the hunger charity ActionAid and the free-market Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
As Corn Production Shrivels, EPA Stalls on Ethanol/Hunger Issue
Washington, D.C., August 10, 2012 – Today, the U.S. Agriculture Department released its much-anticipated crop data report, revealing sharply reduced corn supplies due to…
National Journal
Carbon Tax: Bad Politics, Bad Policy
Carbon taxes have been in the news of late. On July 10, former GOP Congressman Bob Inglis of South Carolina launched the Energy and Enterprise…
Power Magazine
EPA’s “Sue and Settle Rulemaking” Criticized in New Report, Congressional Hearing
From POWER magazine: The EPA's Regional Haze program, established by the Clean Air Act in 1977, seeks to remedy visibility impairment at federal…
Power Magazine
A North Carolina Politician Commits A Happy Fracking Blunder
Some notable achievements have resulted from mistakes. Columbus put America on the map in a misguided attempt to reach the East Indies by sailing…
Washington Times
Carbon tax proposal by left-right coalition sparks backlash
From Daniel Wiser's column in The Washington Times: Continuing discussions about the carbon tax have sparked a backlash among other conservative policy analysts.
Politico
Low-key carbon tax talks fuel conservative outcry
From Darren Goode's article in Politico: But conservative carbon tax critics did a pre-emptive strike — leaking the agenda to select reporters hours…
Politico
Big Solar Projects Ignite Backlash
From Eric Obernauer’s article in The New Jersey Herald: As for the subsidies now received by fossil fuel industries, Brian McGraw of the…
News OK
EPA rule will be costly for Oklahoma, U.S. Chamber study says
From Jay Marks' article in The Oklahoman: “Despite all the publicity for other regulations, one of EPA’s more dubious, and arguably illegal regulatory…
PJ Media
Lead Paint Rule All Wet
If you are planning home renovations, expect to pay extra if you live in an older home. A federal court has ruled that a U.S.
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