Elections 2012

What Should the US Energy Industry Expect Under a Second Obama Administration?

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Now that the votes are in and media attention has shifted from a contentious US presidential election to the looming fiscal cliff, energy companies in the oil and gas space as well as wind, solar and other sectors are keeping a sharp eye on what the next four years of energy policy might look like.

The regulatory requirements associated with developing oil and gas on federal lands became a polarizing issue during the election, with republicans claiming the process is too strict, overly burdensome and impedes companies from producing resources vital to the US economy. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 14, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Wind and Solar Cheer US Election Results

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The American Wind Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries of America, the leading groups for the most important renewable energy industries in the country, were feeling pretty good in the wake of Tuesday’s elections.

Both groups issued press releases on Wednesday, with the AWEA putting its focus on the success of candidates who supported the production tax credit, which the organization now believes has a good chance of being extended before its Jan. 1, 2013, expiration, and the SEIA taking advantage of the opportunity to heap copious praise upon President Obama. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 9, 2012 at 10:30 AM

As US Votes, Taxes and Environment are Election Focus at Energy Gathering

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A frenzy of speculation built across the energy sector in the US as the country went to the polls after a long and contentious campaign season. In contested counties in Ohio and Florida, early voting ran ahead of 2008 levels but analysts, energy voters and much of the world were settling in for an extended process of determining the president of the US.

In Austin, Texas where Breaking Energy has been covering the US Association for Energy Economics North America conference, the looming election was a subject of acknowledged importance, with both conference sessions and off-line discussions focusing on what the future would be like under an Obama or a Romney presidential term. At the same time, convention attendees speaking to Breaking Energy largely expressed relief that the campaign race might soon be over, and that they would be able to turn to meaningful long-term investment and market questions. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 6, 2012 at 7:30 PM

What should the world’s top energy economists be discussing?

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 /  Published November 5, 2012 at 10:15 AM

Who Obama and Romney Listen to on Energy: Part 2

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From the start Heather Zichal, chief energy adviser to President Barack Obama, struck Elgie Holstein as an unusual Washington player.

He got to know her when Zichal was a Congressional aide for Senator John Kerry, a position she held from 2002 to 2008. One day, she sought out Holstein, a veteran policy adviser who had served in the Clinton administration, because she needed information on refinery economics. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 1, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Who Obama and Romney Listen to on Energy: Part 1

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It’s hard to imagine two people less alike than Harold Hamm and Heather Zichal, the top energy advisers to the presidential candidates.

Hamm, energy czar for Mitt Romney, is a billionaire oil man who rose to success with only a high school diploma. Raised as a sharecropper’s son, he is now the 35th richest person in America.
Heather Zichal, President Barack Obama’s deputy assistant for energy and climate change, is the daughter of a medical doctor. She was an intern for the Sierra Club while at Rutgers University. After graduating, she soared up Washington’s policy ranks to a top White House position in little over a decade. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 31, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Benefits and Risks Associated with Increased US Natural Gas Use

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The dramatic ramp up in US natural gas production in recent years caught many by surprise, as an anticipated need for imports changed seemingly overnight to mainstream talk about exporting natural gas as LNG.

In addition to the export conversation, there are numerous other applications for natural gas that are now attractive given the fuel’s abundance and historically low price. The power generation, petrochemical and transportation sectors are three major sources of increased consumption, but there is even a company using cheap gas to melt down waste plastic in order to separate out crude oil that can be sold back to refineries. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 26, 2012 at 1:00 PM

The End of Big Energy?

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The term “big oil” carries quasi-political connotations of a kind of shadow state that has often attracted sharp criticism. But if we look at the end of “big oil,” will we like what we see?

Energy companies are often called on to operate like states rather than private firms. They are held responsible for the safety, health and livelihoods of enormous numbers of people, they are entrusted with resources owned by the public and by virtue of their size and reach they are often as much partners as targets in tackling political problems at home and abroad. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 25, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Politics and Power Markets

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When it comes to energy and politics, the United States is not what it appears. Deregulation of the power markets is one example. Some regions of the nation have developed robust power markets. Others regions do not and they don’t want it.

The regionalization of the power markets means there is no such thing as a national grid. According to The ISO/RTO Council, the United States has seven formalized power markets and vast regions where no markets exist at all. Approximately two-thirds of US consumers are served by the seven deregulated power markets. The objective of these markets is to provide buyers and sellers price discovery, liquidity, and non-discriminatory access to wholesale power. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 22, 2012 at 8:30 AM

To (the Future) Mr. President: Our Energy Problem Won’t be Solved with Incomplete Equations

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Tuesday night, Obama championed his commitment to more oil and gas exploration, as well as reinforced the doubling of U.S. clean energy production under his leadership. And Romney, advocating our energy independence, solidified his strong commitment to drilling and promoting a surplus of oil and gas.

What I’d like to know, however, is their plans on the other side of the energy equation: the demand side. No matter how much new generation we bring to the table, energy independence just isn’t possible without curbing our exponentially rising need for electricity. And so far, neither candidate has pontificated on how to make this possible. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 19, 2012 at 10:00 AM
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