[Graeme]

Fossil Fuel Industry's Tired Battle Against Clean Energy Is Also A Losing One

The assault on successful renewable energy legislation continues, long after the facts have proven that state renewable policies deliver clean, affordable, and reliable energy solutions that the majority of Americans support. Apparently, the fossil FOSL -0.62% fuel industry and its so-called “free market” allies didn’t get the memo.

There’s a great line in the opening scene of Ridley Scott’s 2000 blockbuster Gladiator where a soldier says to his general, as they are about to slaughter an overmatched foe, “People should know when they’re conquered.” The general replies, “Would you? Would I?”

So I can’t really blame the fossil fuel industry for fighting old battles in an effort to undo approaches that have increased investment in renewable energy in states around the country, created thousands of jobs, and continue to lower energy costs with each passing day.

The usual targets of their attacks are state laws that require a certain percentage of the state’s total energy generation to come from renewable sources like solar, wind, or hydropower. Ohio is the most recent battleground, where state legislators began hearing testimony last week on S.B. 310, a law that would freeze Ohio’s energy efficiency and renewable energy standards at their 2014 levels. Sometimes called renewable portfolio standards (RPS) or renewable energy standards (RES), these laws are in place in 30 states. They have not only proven economically successful across the country, but they are popular in both red and blue states alike.

Just last month, for example, a scientific poll found that Kansas’ 2009 renewable energy law enjoys overwhelming support across political lines: 73% of Republicans, 75% of Independents, and 82% of Democrats support the law. In fact, two-thirds of those polled said they would support increasing the state’s renewable energy law, even if it increased their energy bills.

This is Kansas, mind you – not California – whose State Legislature is virtually 100% conservative Republican.

In Texas, which is the largest generator of wind energy in the country, the Republican comptroller has touted the state RPS as an economic driver: “After the RPS was implemented, Texas wind corporations and utilities invested $1 billion in wind power, creating jobs…and increasing the rural tax base.”

Everyone knows that Texas’ history is deeply rooted in oil and gas. But the state RPS is popular among elected officials that have witnessed the remarkable economic boom it sparked. Texas has already surpassed the RPS goal set for 2015. More than 1,300 companies employ more than 100,000 Texans in industries directly and indirectly related to renewable energy.

The state’s Public Utilities Commission concluded that mass deployment of wind reduces the price of electricity for the entire market – each 1,000 MW of wind lowers the wholesale price of electricity by $2.38/MWh.

Colorado’s program has also been a success. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that the state’s RPS is supporting nearly 4,000 direct and indirect jobs and generating a billion dollars in capital investment along with millions in leasing revenue for landowners who benefit from the policy.

There are other analyses, too, that show that RPS laws actually reduce energy prices, and the overall cost of renewable energy continues to fall. Solar panel prices dropped 60% between 2011 and mid-2012 – and they continue to plummet. Austin Energy is in talks to purchase half a billion dollars of solar energy from SunEdison at an astoundingly cheap $50/MWh (for comparison, natural gas is currently priced at more than $65/MWh).

But still, the attacks keep coming, full of questionable studies from fossil fuel-funded think tanks.

I can’t blame them. I’ve been fighting for what I believe in for decades, and I’ve had more defeats than wins. But I never gave up, and neither will the fossil fuel companies. What’s different now, however, is that the evidence against them is so convincing that voters, energy customers, and most everyone else recognize that opposition to renewable energy is based on lost corporate profits. Cries of “higher energy costs” and “lost jobs” are no longer credible arguments against the clean energy revolution. They may never know they’ve been conquered, but everyone else will.

forbes

[ROCKMAN]

It always makes me smile when I see reports of how the oil patch so opposed to/afraid of alternate energy sources. You can believe it or not... matters not to me: I know of no one in my world that even thinks about the alts one way or the other. Oil is selling for the highest average yearly price ever and the world is consuming more oil than ever before in history. Me worry? I'm afraid of the alts??? LOLLLLLLL. What worries me 24/7 is not finding new locations to drill a well.

It's as if the alt proponents have to invent an enemy to explain why the alts haven't replaced fossil fuels by now. I guess it's just too painful to admit the truth: the public has yet to embrace the alts to a significant level for a variety of reason. Much easier to invent the oil bogeyman to scare the "children". LOL.

[Graeme]

More balderdash from the oil patch. The fact that you respond is evidence enough that you are affected. Who is the most corrupt industry on the planet? The oil and gas industry.

A corruption index published by Transparency International, based on 13 surveys globally, finds that the oil and gas industry and mining are the industries that account for most global corruption. The evaluations were performed by business leaders in each country, including the Corruption Perceptions Index, the Bribe Payers Index and the Global Corruption Barometer, and looked at bribery and “state capture” or the degree to which a country’s laws have been impacted by the influence of companies.

Although the article doesn't state who the "bogeyman" is, in the US, there are several conservative groups who have tried to stop renewable energy growth: American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Heartland Institute as reported by Washington Post. But they have failed.

The Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank skeptical of climate change science, has joined with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to write model legislation aimed at reversing state renewable energy mandates across the country.



It remains unclear whether the new drive to repeal state renewable standards will succeed: Similar efforts over the past two years have failed in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oregon and Washington.

Last year, ALEC introduced 77 bills to advance a big oil agenda.

It may be little surprise that ALEC's attack on renewables was spearheaded by one of its looniest members: the bill was brought to ALEC in May 2012 by the Illinois-based Heartland Institute, a group best known for billboards comparing people who believe in climate change to mass murderers like the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

ALEC is usually very secretive about its model legislation and its efforts in the states, but ALEC did not disguise the fact that it had made the Electricity Freedom Act a priority for the 2013 session. ALEC's Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force Director Todd Wynn published blog posts on the topic and was quoted in the press discussing how ALEC was working with Heartland to promote the repeal bills.


ALEC, the Heartland Institute, and the Beacon Hill Institute all have received money from foundations associated with Charles and David Koch, and each are also part of the State Policy Network, an umbrella group of right-wing organizations that claim adherence to the free market. SPN has received at least $10 million in the past five years from the mysterious Donors Trust, which funnels money from the Kochs and other conservative funders. SPN was also a "Chairman" level sponsor of ALEC's 2011 Annual Conference and ALEC is an Associate Member of SPN.

But even though the ALEC/Heartland anti-renewable energy fight found little success in 2013, the group is not giving up.

ALEC is still trying to repeal RPS this year.

Despite the overwhelming failure, ALEC is still at it in 2014, “crafting new model bills that aim to weaken solar net metering policies, open loopholes in disclosure requirements for fracking chemicals, and establish restrictions for state agencies that will be required to limit carbon pollution from power plants under the upcoming Environmental Protection Agency standards.” ALEC drafted the model bill, Electricity Freedom Act, to help state legislators repeal renewable energy standards.

[ROCKMAN]

"The fact that you respond is evidence enough that you are affected". Yes... horribly affected. As a result of the tremendous advances in alternative energy sources the US oil patch has been forced to produce an extra 650 million bbl of oil this year generating about $50+ BILLION more in gross revenue.

How will we ever survive the onslaught of the alts? The horror... the horror. LOL.

[Graeme]

You missed the point. The "oil patch" has been bashing "alt"s for years but in spite of continued efforts in this regard, you have failed. USA will be quite a different country in ten years in terms of power generated by "alts". This trend of growing renewables is now unstoppable. Read the title of the thread.

[Graeme]

How Fossil Fuel Interests Attack Renewable Energy

Fossil fuel-funded front groups repeatedly spread disinformation on renewable energy standard and net metering policies in an effort to overturn pro-clean energy laws in 2013 and 2014.

A new report details the efforts of these front groups to eliminate clean energy policies across the country. The fossil fuel lobby aggressively uses lobbying and propaganda to achieve their goals. Self-identified “free market think tanks” are among the most effective advocates for the fossil fuel industry to lobby for policy changes. Dozens of these so-called free market organizations, a majority of which are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), worked to influence state level energy policies and attack the clean energy industry.

These organizations are usually described in neutral, nondescript terms, such as “think tank,” “institute,” or “policy group,” but publicized internal documents from the American Tradition Institute, Heartland Institute, and the Beacon Hill Institute suggest that these types of organizations embrace transactional relationships with the corporate lobbying interests that fund their operations.


This is an exceprt from a new report, issued today by the Energy and Policy Institute entitled "Attacks on Renewable Energy Standards and Net Metering Policies by Fossil Fuel Interests and Front Groups 2013-2014." You can download the 35-page report at this link.

renewableenergyworld

[Beery1]

More pie-in-the-sky from the usual suspect - Graeme, King of cut-and-paste.

What bothers me about this is that Graeme doesn't even bother to rewrite his stuff in his own words, and this is one of the only times I've seen him do more than re-post an article (pretty sad that all he's done so far is attack ROCKMAN's credibility. Usually he never even bothers to defend his posts at all, so I guess this is a step forward.

If Graeme actually contributed to the forum in terms of starting threads that were more than reposting someone else's article, and defending his posts with a bit more than ad hominem attacks, I'd have a lot more respect for his contributions.

[Graeme]

Losers!! The Koch Brothers are losers especially if they continue to attack the RPS and refuse to debate climate change with Tom Seyer!

Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate Group Calls Koch Brothers 'Chicken'

The NextGen Climate Action super PAC, the group founded by environmental billionaire Tom Steyer, is releasing a new ad calling conservative funders Charles and David Koch chicken for refusing to debate Steyer on climate change.

The group is going to air a new ad, obtained first by TPM, poking at the brothers for refusing to debate Steyer. The ad, which will air in the Wichita, Kansas media market (Koch Industries is based in Wichita) during the Sunday news shows, pokes at the brothers for refusing to debate Steyer.

"We've been informed the Koch Brothers declined our invitation for debate," text over a clip of chickens read in the 15-second ad.

talkingpointsmemo

[Graeme]

The Energy and Policy Institute recently gave renewable energy advocates some valuable election tips in a “follow the money” state-by-state look at anti-renewable groups. Among other efforts, EPI released Attacks on Renewable Energy Policy by Fossil Fuel Interests 2013–2014, with the energy politics infomap featured above.

The report tears the masks off front groups like ALEC, Heartland, and the National Center for Policy Analysis. The authors carefully document how and where fossil fuel advocates like Charles and David Koch are laying down big money to slow or reverse the momentum of renewable energy, and thus play politics with destructive climate change.

From the report: “Fossil fuel and utility interests, concerned about the rise of cheap clean energy, are financing attacks on pro–clean energy policies, in an effort to delay the growth of a market competitor.”

For an article on solarenergy.net last month, Scott Thill interviewed EPI executive director Gabe Eisner about the progress — or lack thereof — of energy anachronisms in clean energy politics:

“There are numerous examples of how the Kochs and their allies in the fossil fuel industry have failed, because of political and economic forces supporting clean energy. Kansas is a great example, where bipartisan support stopped an onslaught by the Kochs, their front groups, and their lobbyists.”

The micropolitics revealed in the EPI report pinpoint the locals who are on the Kochs’ payroll. Come election time, this information should boost the chances of voting them out of office. Too, says Thill, it should be useful to those who are retargeting investment and retirement portfolios and other business away from traditional energy producers toward renewable energy companies like SolarCity, SunPower, and First Solar.

With this information, Eisner says, “Citizens can engage their legislators, decision makers, business leaders, and others to support pro–clean energy policies.”

cleantechnica

[ROCKMAN]

Graeme - You seem to be presenting evidence indicating the title of this thread isn't true. That and the fact that the world is currently producing and consuming more fossil fuels then ever before in history. Keep this up and you'll end up on the Koch's Christmas card list. LOL.

[Graeme]

The title is correct. Clean energy growth is increasing. It has nothing to do with production or consumption of ff's. So ff industry battle against "alts" is a losing battle.

[Graeme]

Solar Power Gets Hot, Hot, Hot

With so many homeowners and businesses making greener energy choices, private utilities—along with big oil, gas, coal, and nuclear companies—see the writing on the wall.

Unlike some other denizens of the fossil-fueled set, this gang isn’t beating oil wells into solar panels, retiring nuclear reactors, or embracing wind and geothermal power. Instead, these guys are trying to coax lawmakers into rigging the rules against increasingly competitive new energy alternatives.

You see, the bulwarks of conventional energy are good at math. And the math is increasingly not in their favor.

Solar panels are growing so affordable, accessible, and popular that sun-powered energy accounted for 74 percent of the nation’s new electric generation capacity in the first three months of this year. Wind power comprised another 20 percent, geothermal 1 percent, and natural gas plus other sources accounted for the final 5 percent.

Coal didn’t even register.



The American Legislative Exchange Council—a secretive national network known as ALEC—is stalking state capitols for just this purpose. ALEC’s lobbyists push a broad conservative agenda in statehouses through templated bills they tweak for state lawmakers.

What are these bills calling for? In states like Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma, there are efforts to essentially tax homeowners who lease solar panels. But mostly ALEC is aiming for something bigger: gutting individual state “renewable portfolio standards.”

Those wonky-sounding regulations require utilities to provide a certain percentage of power from renewable sources at some set point in the future.

Alternative-energy leader California, for example, has committed to drawing a third of its juice from climate-friendly sources by 2020.


And who’s paying for this dirty work?

Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the trade association for the 70 percent of the U.S. utility industry controlled by private companies, is behind it—according to the Center for Media and Democracy. It’s joined in this legislative attack by coal giant Peabody Energy, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Koch Industries and other big fossil-fueled interests.

It may be hard to believe, but so far, foes of systematically encouraging renewable energy growth are losing. Badly. Even in Kansas. That state’s GOP-controlled Legislature refused to repeal its renewable energy standard a few months ago in a 63–60 vote.

All 13 state-targeted efforts to chip away at or kill renewable energy standards have failed so far this year. Not one state rolled back its standards in 2013 either.

Who could have guessed that renewable energy would be so hard to foil? Well, anyone who pays attention to all the jobs it generates.

theepochtimes

[AgentR11]

You're asserting virulent antagonism, in a situation where "vaguely disinterested" is more appropriate.

Now, is it true that renewables have a kinda of lefty aroma to them, and are often suitable banner flags to run stupid advertisements on that can move uneducated, right-leaning voters? Sure. Does it represent any substantial risk or interest of the FF industry? No.

Its all just part of the government song and dance of regulation, tax policy, and subsidy, and everyone trying to game the last dollar on the table.

That said, Texas has a huge FF sector.. and guess what.. we also have a huge renewables sector. Energy production is energy production. If some rancher/farmer can make some money turning the wind over his land into electricity, more POWER to em!

[Graeme]

No, you missed the point. ALEC has been trying to roll back state RPS for years. So far this year they have failed. Last year they failed too.

[Graeme]

MICROSOFT DROPS ALEC MEMBERSHIP, MOVES FORWARD WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY

Microsoft has made great progress in its commitment to clean energy and climate leadership in recent years, introducing an internal carbon fee and purchasing large amounts of wind energy to power two of its data centers.

But like other leading tech companies which have increased their commitment to renewable energy – including Facebook, Google and Yahoo – Microsoft’s progress has been undermined by its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a shadowy, increasingly controversial organization that has led an attack by the fossil fuel industry against successful clean energy and climate policies in nearly all 50 states.

Today, we learned that Microsoft is correcting that inconsistency, as news spread, confirmed by Microsoft to Greenpeace, that the company has dumped its ALEC membership.

ALEC’s energy agenda is dominated by deep-pocketed coal and oil interests like Exxon Mobil and Peabody Energy. Those companies write “model legislation” for ALEC to try to pass in states that would repeal renewable energy laws, add fees to home and business owners with solar panels, attack EPA standards for carbon pollution, and mandate climate denial instruction in schools, among other initiatives.

greenpeaceblogs

[Graeme]

Turning Point: In 2014, Politicians Compete For Who Supports Cleantech More

But 2014 might be the year when we turned a corner on this madness, because politicians see that clean energy is a political winner.

Maybe it started with the TKO loss delivered by the Arizona solar industry to the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and its member utility Arizona Public Service (APS). The utility guys said that homeowners generating their own power were a serious, “disruptive” threat to their business model, so they tried to impose a $100 per month tax on solar consumers. They had to settle for $5. Now, APS says it wants to get into the rooftop solar business.

Then there were the efforts by the Koch brothers and fossil fuel players to launch two years of multi-state attacks on renewable portfolio standards (RPS). They lost in practically every state they made an effort in – including in the Koch brothers’ own backyard, conservative-leaning Kansas.

Now, candidates from both parties are now trying to out-compete each other for who can help cleantech the most. Consider how hard Governor Sandoval (R-NV) worked to ensure Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) didn’t get all the credit for winning the Tesla “gigafactory.” Staunchly conservative Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) just ran an ad featuring himself standing in front of a wind farm. And, in Kansas, the neck-and-neck race for governor recently saw incumbent Sam Brownback (R) competing at a recent debate with his challenger, State Rep. Paul Davis, about which candidate was a more staunch defender of that state’s RPS:

The most pointed exchange came moments later when Mr. Davis turned to the governor and asked if he would support a renewable-energy standard in the state, which would require more green energy from power companies.

“I supported it a lot more than you did,” Mr. Brownback fired back as supporters for both candidates cheered while the men spoke over each other. Mr. Davis continued to press the governor on whether he would veto a bill that eliminated the standard, while the governor went on about waiting for a bill to reach his desk, their voices drowned out by the clamor of the crowd.

cleantechnica

[Graeme]

Statement from Campaign Director Brant Olson on Google Dropping ALEC

“Forecast the Facts was pleased to hear Google Chairman Eric Schmidt announce today on The Diane Rehm Show that Google will pull its support from The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) due to the organization’s support of climate change denial–a move requested by more than 100,000 members of Forecast the Facts since starting its #DontFundEvil campaign last year.

‘As Schmidt said, ‘The facts of climate change are not in question anymore, everyone understands that climate change is occurring, and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and our grandchildren and making the world a much worse place, and we should not be aligned with such people. They are just literally lying.’ We couldn’t agree more, and we hope Google will also take this opportunity review its over $699,000 in contributions since 2008 to another group that is “just literally lying” — climate change deniers in Congress.”

forecastthefacts

[Graeme]

Silicon Valley Companies Follow Google's Lead By Cutting Ties with ALEC

One after another, tech industry titans announced this week that they have, or intend to, sever ties with a libertarian, free-market organization seen by many as one of the most influential forces opposed to action on climate change.

The companies announcing that they will no longer participate in the organization — Alexandria, Virginia-based American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — are Google, Facebook, YELP, Yahoo, Uber, and Lyft.

ALEC's corporate members pay dues ranging from several thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. In exchange, they participate in task forces focused on promoting free-market based health care programs, environmental protections, or education systems. These task forces help to construct the organization's political agenda and strategy. ALEC's annual conference attracts leading libertarian thinkers, conservative politicians, and corporate executives.

And according to critics like Nick Surgey of the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), the group is a leading purveyor of misinformation about climate science, as well as a major obstacle to legislative efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

With the recent tech announcements, though, he said ALEC's influence may be waning.

vice

[ennui2]

Graeme is the kind of guy who comforts himself by seeking out only news articles that confirm his desired world-view, which is a green ecotopia. By applying this filter to the news, he can feel optimistic about the future despite a sea of evidence to the contrary. In its own way, he's doing what someone like timmac does with AGW denial.

Most veterans of the internet know that cherry-picking and copy/pasting articles alone will not win people over to your way of thinking, especially when the articles are plucked from sources that in themselves have an ideological bias. For years I used to copy/paste news about doom onto my FB wall, and the only nod I gave to confirmation-bias was to try to limit it to mainstream sources like Time/Newsweek/National Geographic. But I was still cherry-picking, and it's a bad habit I've pretty much gotten out of my system, because it's not like it turned any of my FB friends into red-pillers anyway.

So I agree that it would be more compelling for Graeme to offer more personalized back-and-forth debate rather than just hiding behind a mountain of drive-by copy-paste.