Over at Bloomberg, Julie Johnsson and Mark Chediak document how low natural gas prices are reshaping electricity markets. Wind, nuclear, and coal all look expensive compared to natural gas generation: With abundant new supplies of gas making it the cheapest option for new power generation, the largest U.S. wind-energy producer, NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE), has shelved [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Energy’
The Natural Gas Glut is Reshaping Electricity Markets
Posted in Energy, Environment, tagged Coal, Energy, Environment, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Wind on January 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Oil and Natural Gas Prices Move Even Further Apart
Posted in Energy, Environment, Microeconomics, tagged Energy, Natural Gas, Oil on January 9, 2012 | 3 Comments »
In 2010, I wrote a series of posts documenting how oil and natural prices had decoupled from each other (see here and here). For many years, oil prices (as measured in $ per barrel) were typically 6 to 12 times natural gas prices (as measured in $ per MMBtu). That ratio blew out to around [...]
How Do Consumers Spend Engine Efficiency Advances? On Bigger, Faster Cars
Posted in Energy, Microeconomics, tagged Auto, Energy, Gasoline, Incentives, Offsetting Behavior on January 5, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Auto companies have made great strides in improving engine efficiency in recent decades. But those improvements haven’t done much to improve the fuel economy of America’s passenger car fleet. Instead, consumers have “spent” most of those efficiency improvements on bigger, faster cars. MIT economist Christopher Knittel has carefully quantified these tradeoffs in a recent paper in the American Economic [...]
Is Our Luck Running Out on Oil Supplies?
Posted in Economy, Energy, Macroeconomics, tagged Energy, Macroeconomics, Oil on October 23, 2011 | 4 Comments »
In an excellent new paper, Jim Hamilton asks whether the “phenomenal increase in global crude oil production over the last century and a half” reflects technological progress or good fortune in finding new reserves. The two aren’t completely distinct, of course. Better technology helps find more resources. But the heart of the question remains: have we been [...]
Taxes and Energy Policy
Posted in Budget, Energy, Environment, Politics, tagged Energy, Environment, Politics, Taxes on September 29, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Last week I had the opportunity to testify before two Ways and Means subcommittees–Select Revenue Measures and Oversight–about the way our tax system is used as a tool of energy policy. Here are my opening remarks. You can find my full testimony here. As you know, our tax system is desperately in need of reform. It’s needlessly complex, economically [...]
Can Natural Gas Replace Oil for Diesel?
Posted in Energy, Environment, tagged Energy, Natural Gas, Oil on December 24, 2010 | 4 Comments »
In a series of posts (most recent here), I’ve noted that oil and natural gas prices have become unhinged from each other. Oil (denominated in $ per barrel) used to trade at 6 to 12 times the price of natural gas (denominated in $ per MMBtu). But lately that ratio has been north of 20, [...]
Will Budget Concerns Ever Influence Carbon Policy?
Posted in Energy, Environment, Politics, tagged Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Politics, Taxes on October 10, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Climate change legislation died an ignominious death in the Senate earlier this year. If you’d like to understand why, check out Ryan Lizza’s autopsy of the effort in the latest New Yorker. Lizza documents how the “tripartisan” trio of John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham came up short in their effort to craft a [...]
The New Normal in Oil and Natural Gas Prices
Posted in Energy, Environment, tagged Energy, Natural Gas, Oil on September 7, 2010 | 16 Comments »
In previous posts (most recent here), I noted that oil and natural gas prices have disconnected from their usual historical relationship. For many years, oil prices (as measured in $ per barrel) tended to be 6 to 12 times natural gas prices (as measured in $ per MMBtu). That ratio blew out to more than 20 [...]
The End of Cap and Trade?
Posted in Energy, Environment, Microeconomics, Regulation, tagged Climate Change, Energy, Environment on July 12, 2010 | 2 Comments »
No, not for carbon. For sulfur dioxide. As noted by Mark Peters at the Wall Street Journal: The original U.S. cap-and-trade market, which succeeded in slashing the power-plant emissions that cause acid rain, is in disarray following the issuance of new federal pollution rules. The collapse in the pioneering market where power producers trade permits [...]
Energy Use and Waste in the United States
Posted in Data, Energy, tagged Data, Energy on May 1, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The latest Technology Review has a great information graphic showing the sources and uses of energy in the United States. The most important take-away? That almost 45% of energy input is lost as waste heat. And, of course, that almost 85% of energy inputs come from oil, natural gas, and coal.
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