Research Brief
Energy
Energy
Providing groundbreaking research and policy proposals for making and keeping energy reliable and affordable.
Research Brief
Energy
How obscuring solar power’s full cost subverts state law
The previous brief in this series discussed the well-known fact that solar power cannot be added to the electrical grid without backup generation. It then noted that, despite that fact, the North…
Energy
Fact check: Duke Energy reaps no billion-dollar fuel cost windfall
Did a new law let Duke Energy illegally pass along $1 billion in fuel costs to North Carolina electricity customers? No. Nevertheless, a recent WRAL news report, amplified by the left-of-center…
Energy
Baseload-for-baseload model bill
AN ACT TO ENSURE RETIRING BASELOAD ELECTRIC GENERATING CAPACITY IS REPLACED WITH AN EQUAL OR GREATER AMOUNT OF NEW BASELOAD ELECTRIC GENERATING CAPACITY Whereas, electricity is a basic human need;…
Research Brief
Energy
Solar’s cost should reflect its need for backup generation
Imagine a car without an engine. It doesn’t need expensive gasoline. It can reach fairly high speeds — if it’s going down a steep and long enough grade. Now imagine…
Agriculture
When diesel spikes, the food system feels it
Global conflicts rarely stay confined to the battlefield. When war disrupts energy markets and global shipping routes, the consequences ripple through the entire economy and have a particularly strong effect…
Energy
Fuel price is no reason to pick renewables over natural gas
For years, the John Locke Foundation’s Center for Food, Power, and Life has been warning of electricity price hikes in the wake of the 2021 passage of the Carbon Plan…
Research Brief
Energy
Powering data centers needs less bureaucracy, more freedom
After years of steady electricity demand, the steep rise in artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and certain other power-hungry industrial customers poses distinct problems for power grids as currently regulated.…
Research Brief
Energy
Warm homes in a cold emergency? Thank nuclear, coal, and gas
On Feb. 1, citing expected “[e]xtremely cold temperatures,” Duke Energy sent an alert to its customers requesting that they “voluntarily reduce their energy use from 4–10 a.m. on Monday, Feb.…
Research Brief
Energy
Offshore wind: known and speculative national security risks
Citing national security risks, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced on Dec. 22, 2025, that it was pausing the leases “for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the…
Energy
Fact-checking a “fact check” on solar and wind energy
On Sept. 5, 2025, the U.S. Energy Department’s official X account posted an Aug. 23, 2025, Washington Examiner article featuring Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The accompanying text in the post…
Freedom Focus
Budget, Taxation & Economy
What is the role of a think tank?
As we begin a new year, it is worth reflecting on the institutions that shape public policy in America — and the principles that ought to guide them. For the…
Energy
Duke rate hikes: The lingering effects of bad policy choices
On Nov. 20, Duke Energy announced that it had requested rate increases from the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) of 15.0 percent for Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) customers and 15.1…