Environmental groups and the solar industry are up in arms as the state of California is set to significantly reduce its financial incentives for solar power. The LA Times reports, “California is poised to reduce payments to homes and businesses that go solar for clean electricity they supply to the power grid — a landmark shift in how the state promotes a crucial technology for fighting climate change.” The state’s Public Utilities Commission plans to cut the base rate solar customers are paid from 30 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity they don’t use down to just 5 cents. The proposed reduction has enraged…

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is having major ripple effects across the global energy market. With increased sanctions from the West, oil spiked to over $110 per barrel today and it continues to climb.  Americans are feeling the hurt in their wallets every time they fill up their gas tanks. As Fox Business reports, one American city synonymous with the liberal green agenda is the first to reach a new price high. San Francisco has become the first city in the United States to breach an average of $5 a gallon, according to an industry expert as the Russia-Ukraine conflict juices oil…

At PTF, we’ve outlined the many ways that so-called ‘green’ policies often help to subsidize or enrich the wealthy. So, while Hollywood celebrities decry fossil fuels (even as they board their private jets), it’s important to remember that many are making money off of the green policies they endorse. One case in point is California. The state’s net-metering program allows homeowners with solar panels to collect rebates for any extra power they produce and send back to the grid. The problem is this compensation to homeowners is completely out of line with what other power generators are paid, and sometimes are as much as…

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal outlines the problems facing California Governor Gavin Newsom as he prepares for a recall election this fall. The piece summarizes the challenges Newsom faces on numerous issues including crime, COVID lockdowns, housing and homelessness, and Green New Deal energy policies concluding that voters are frustrated about how Newsom and others seem to have a “progressive detachment from the problems that Californians are experiencing in their daily lives.” This is certainly true when it comes to energy policy, as the editorial notes: Young middle-class families are struggling to afford the state’s high cost-of-living, which…

When it comes to bad energy policies, odds are that California has either tried it, proposed it, or is it otherwise championing it. So, we can’t say it comes as a huge surprise that state regulators are now seeking to ban fracking and other practices that help make energy cheaper for workers and families. As The Bakersfield Californian reports this week: California oil regulators have issued a draft rule that would ban fracking and certain other well-stimulation techniques in line with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration one month ago that the controversial practice will halt statewide within three years. The “discussion…

California Governor Gavin Newsom used his authority to issue an order that would stop issuing fracking permits by 2024 and halt all oil drilling by 2045 in the state. Last year, Newsom said he did not have the authority to ban fracking on his own and looked to the Legislature to do it instead. Two Democratic State Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Monique Limon of Santa Barbara answered the Governor’s call and introduced a bill that would ban fracking by 2027. As Power The Future previously reported two weeks ago, “Fortunately, some common sense was on display in…

California has been a leader in championing anti-energy, anti-business and anti-jobs policies, and the results speak for themselves. The state suffers from some of the highest retail electricity rates in the nation, making the businesses there less competitive on a national and global level. So it was no surprise earlier this year when CNBC reported that companies – including Oracle, Palantir and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise – were eagerly moving their headquarters out of the state. California’s population and job growth have both slowed to a trickle, with many citing concerns about high taxes, cost of living and heavy regulations. But rather…