energy security

Two FERC Cases and Why They Matter

Last week’s D.C. Circuit cases illustrate why environmental lawyers need to understand FERC.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been called the most important environmental agency that no one has heard of. At the end of last week, the D.C. Circuit decided two undramatic FERC cases that illustrate FERC’s environmental significance. One involved a bailout to coal and nuclear plants, the other involved water quality. The first …

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Debunking Myths About Energy Security and Independence

The phrases “energy security” and “energy independence” get thrown around a lot in debates about clean energy, climate change, oil drilling and any policy having to do with our energy supply.  And they get used in at least two highly misleading ways by groups that are often diametrically opposed to each other. First,  supporters of …

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Energy Efficiency and National Energy Policy

In terms of the key pillars of energy policy, energy efficiency is a win-win-win-win.

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Costs and Benefits of Offshore Oil

In thinking about the economics of  off-shore oil, the main benefit is increased energy security.  According to an RFF study, Netted out, the Brown and Huntington estimates suggest that the effect of increased U.S. oil production is about $1 per barrel (or 2.4 cents per gallon of gasoline); for each barrel of increased U.S. oil …

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