Research Brief
Energy
Energy
Advocating for making energy more affordable and reliable, Locke provides groundbreaking research and policy proposals that looks to halt the government’s destructive green energy transition.
Research Brief
Energy
Measuring the Reliability of North Carolina’s Different Electricity Generating Sources
In determining the reliability of different electricity generation sources, a source's "capacity factor" is a useful measure of how much it produces vs. how much it says it can produce.…
Energy
Offshore Wind Costs Are Getting Worse
UPDATE: A press release sent out by Orsted on October 31, 2023, stated that “Following a decision by its Board of Directors, Ørsted will cease development of the Ocean Wind…
Energy
New Law Stops North Carolina from Repeating Pennsylvania’s ‘Crazy’ Trucking Mistake
I recently wrote about “How the Budget Stops California from Setting North Carolina’s Transportation Policy.” I described how Gov. Roy Cooper had signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” in 2020 with…
Research Brief
Energy
Governor’s Vetoes Would Harm Ratepayers and Reliable Electricity
Gov. Cooper vetoed bills that would define nuclear energy as clean energy and help a new natural gas pipeline get permitting. Cooper and certain environmentalists seem to think the vetoes…
Energy
Virginia’s Power Provider Also Seeks More Natural Gas Plants
In August, Duke Energy filed an updated resource plan with the North Carolina Utilities Commission. The plan featured three possible portfolios, but Duke made it plain that the third portfolio (P3) was…
Energy
China Permits Two New Coal Plants Per Week
A key fact — and important graphic — in last week’s brief describing North Carolina’s China Carbon Time for 2023 has already been rendered obsolete. It’s even more bad news…
Research Brief
Energy
What Is “China Carbon Time,” and What Does It Mean for States’ Efforts to Decarbonize Their Grids?
While states consider enormously expensive plans to rework their entire electricity systems to cut CO2 emissions, energy-based emissions are still increasing across most of the world, especially China. China Carbon…
Energy
Updated Duke Plan Would Add More Nuclear and Natural Gas and Keep Offshore Wind at Bay
Duke Energy Corporation has filed its update resource plan with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC). This action follows the NCUC’s initial Carbon Plan and the U.S. Supreme Court’s action…
Energy
In the Tank
The increased interest in renewable energy has led to the implementation of biofuel incentives and mandates by many state governments in the United States. Production of biofuels using edible crops,…
Energy
Costs Are Up 57% on Already Super Expensive Offshore Wind Projects
When government decides to buy something, cost increases are sure to follow. One reason is that people are generally less cost-conscious when they’re spending other people’s money. Government decision-makers are…
Research Brief
Energy
How Much Does Offshore Wind Power Threaten Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales?
Since 2017, the population of North Atlantic Right Whales has declined by 30 percent. By allowing offshore wind energy development off the North Carolina coast, the federal government has pushed…
Energy
No, We Didn’t Just See the Hottest World Temperatures in 125,000 Years
A headline of “BREAKING: Computer Model Produces Results As Designed” would not sound quite as horrifying as what credulous media treated us with last week. For example, WRAL, which is…