Energy

Bill Harsch: “In the absence of an effective Attorney General�I am taking the initiative to argue for a reduction in Rhode Island�s soaring electricity rates in front of the Public Utilities Commission”

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 26, 2006 |

Suppose the electric company offered you a rate cut. Would you answer…“Yes, I’ll take it”, or“No thank you, I’d prefer that my rates be stable instead of low”.Bill Harsch, candidate for Rhode Island Attorney General, wants you to know that this question is not a hypothetical one, because the State of Rhode Island has determined…

New England Wind Update

By Carroll Andrew Morse | May 30, 2006 | Comments Off on New England Wind Update

1. According to Kevin Dennehy of the Cape Cod Times, the Federal legislation championed by Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy and Massachusetts Congressman William Delahunt intended to kill the Cape Wind project has been mellowed. Cape Wind proposes constructing a set of wind turbines in Nantucket Sound capable of generating three-quarters of the electricity used by…

Rethinking Ethanol

By Carroll Andrew Morse | May 8, 2006 |

60 Minutes ran a story last night on ethanol as a fuel for automobiles. There now exists a proven fuel blend called E85 that is 15% traditional petroleum, 85% ethanol. The ethanol can be produced from corn which can be grown in abundance in the United States. Automobile engines using an advanced fuel injection system…

Senator Jack Hamlet

By Carroll Andrew Morse | May 1, 2006 |

Back in February, the Projo editorial page dubbed Senator Lincoln Chafee “Senator Lincoln Hamlet” for taking too long to make up his mind on which way he would vote on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court. (The Senator disputes the notion that he took an inordinate amount of time to…

Oil Futures

By Marc Comtois | April 25, 2006 | Comments Off on Oil Futures

At the behest of Congress, President Bush has offered a few solutions to the current gas crisis, including an investigation into whether the oil companies have engaged in price gouging. This last lays at the heart of the current debate. Bill O’Reilly certainly chalks it up to a sort-of-conspiracy and is particularly suspicious of the…

Energy Numbers, Part 2

By Carroll Andrew Morse | February 7, 2006 |

Some of the numbers in the White House’s description of the Advanced Energy Initiative worry me. It seems, judging by the amount spent, that a serious effort is being made with respect to coal and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles…The President’s Coal Research Initiative. Coal provides more than half of the Nation’s electricity supply, and America…

Senators Chafee and Reed Filibuster Defense Appropriations

By Carroll Andrew Morse | December 21, 2005 |

Ramesh Ponnuru at National Review Online is reporting that Senator Lincoln Chafee has joined with the Democrats (including Senator Jack Reed) to filibuster this year’s Defense Department appropriation until a provision allowing oil-drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is removed. By the way, to read a more sensible approach to energy policy, click here.…

An Electric Discussion, Part 1

By Carroll Andrew Morse | November 30, 2005 | Comments Off on An Electric Discussion, Part 1

National Grid, the company that most Rhode Islanders send their electric bills to, says it is not responsible for rising electric rates. Here’s a spokesman from National Grid quoted by Jim Baron in the

An Electric Discussion, Part 2

By Carroll Andrew Morse | November 30, 2005 |

Here’s the seemingly semantic point about deregulation and electricity prices: how is a system where the lowest cost producer is forced by law to set prices at the level of the high cost producer considered “deregulated”. This is more than semantics. Because the current system is considered “deregulated”, a key Rhode Island official is arguing…

Some Perspective on ANWR

By Marc Comtois | September 20, 2005 |

Everyone can read about the good and the bad of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Without further comment, and to add some “perspective,” here is an image of the area in dispute.