Just like Columbus Day, The Unregulated Podcast is back. The latest episode is now streaming on our website, or wherever you enjoy podcasts.
"The business case for clean energy has really been improved dramatically, and I do believe that more and more Republicans are starting to recognize that."
E&E News (5/2/25) reports: "The Department of Energy is moving into a critical period that could determine how much it spends, which industries it supports and who drives its agenda for years. Energy Secretary Chris Wright outlined a nine-point plan in February, but many details of the strategy have not been fully fleshed out...What will happen to the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and the weatherization program?...'I’m hoping for a reorganization. … I really wanted that the first go around,' said Tom Pyle, president of the conservative think tank Institute for Energy Research and leader of Trump’s 2016 DOE transition team. Like many conservatives, he says he’d like to seea lot of the applied energy offices put under one umbrella and downsized, with DOE focused more on basic research and tasks such as overseeing the nuclear weapons arsenal...Another issue to watch is the shuffle of its existing staff and the pace of filling open slots for political appointees. Pyle said DOE seems to be 'focused like crazy on staffing, getting personnel.' There are several appointees awaiting action by Congress, including James Danly, Trump’s pick for deputy secretary; Ted Garrish, the choice for assistant secretary of nuclear energy; and Jonathan Brightbill as general counsel. Pyle said there are also 'worker bee' political positions that have not been filled."
When you play politics with the power grid there is a price to pay.
It's not just Spain. Green-blackouts can happen anywhere government puts its thumb on the scale.
Daily Caller (5/2/25) op-ed: "Like most of Western Europe, Spain and Portugal have been at the forefront of the green movement in recent decades. Both nations have embraced renewable energy sources, especially wind and solar, as they have transformed their energy grid infrastructure to rely heavily upon these sources...As the federal government, in cahoots with state and local governments, has pushed electricity grid operators to build more solar and wind power facilities instead of dependable natural gas plants while prematurely shuttering perfectly operable coal power plants, the U.S. grid has suffered. As the American Energy Alliance notes, 'power outages have increased by 93 percent across the United States over the last 5 years—a time when solar and wind power have increased by 60 percent. Texas, who leads the nation in wind generation, and California, who leads the nation in solar generation, have had the largest number of power outages in the nation over those 5 years.'"
