Following the Olympic closing ceremony, a lot has happened in the world. Trump gave the longest and most incoherent State of the Union address in history. The US started waging war on Iran. In a more encouraging demonstration of higher intelligence, we saw Punch the monkey and his plush orangutan … [continued]
The first time I ever heard the phrase “untaxed externalities,” it was when Elon Musk used it more than a decade ago. It is a term of art used by economists to describe things that have a cost that the people who make things don’t have to pay. But they … [continued]
Under the auspices of the India Smart Grid Forum, the think tank founded as an umbrella organization over India’s 28 state utilities to provide thought leadership, share leading practices, and bring international insights to India, I’m delivering bi-weekly webinars framed by the Short List of Climate Actions That Will Work. With the … [continued]
A common theme off and on for years regarding Tesla is subsidies, and it’s a popular one again. The idea from critics is that Tesla is getting billions of dollars of subsidies and that’s why it’s a viable company. Let’s hone in on that thought and see how accurate it really is.
The article, noting that we spend $400 billion on oil subsidies globally, indicates that taxpayers want their governments to stop subsidizing this rich, over-mature industry, yet politicians keep the money funneling toward them.
Over the past decade, there have been many attempts and efforts made to reduce fossil fuel consumption subsidies, and between 2012 and 2016 these subsidies were almost halved from a 2012 high of half a trillion dollars, but new data from the International Energy Agency shows that these subsidies crept up in 2017.
When we try to envision the future of mobility, we tend to focus on technology or one or two companies. The problem is that this fast-changing future is complex, with multiple layers.
In a blatant money-grab for the coal industry, Rick Perry’s Energy Department is pushing for direct subsidies to dirty, un-economical coal-fired power plants.
Is it a sin that electric car owners don’t pay gas taxes? No, not at all, but you’d never know it listening to some people squawk. There are anti-electric car types who think this is a huge deal, instead of kind of an embarrassing story for internal combustion cars. Let’s … [continued]
In a video released just last month, Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute points out that the lower cost, lower risk, and scalable mass-production of modular renewable technologies (like wind turbines and solar panels) means they are now outcompeting central power stations in the world market. (See above graph.) He … [continued]
