Brent Bennett, Ph.D., is the policy director for Life:Powered, an initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation to raise America’s energy IQ.
Dr. Bennett has an M.S.E. and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in physics from the University of Tulsa. His graduate research focused on advanced chemistries for utility-scale energy storage systems.
As of June 2022, President Biden has authorized the use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate domestic production of five energy technologies: solar, transformers and grid components, heat pumps, insulation, electrolyzers, fuel cells, and platinum group metals. The Biden administration also invoked the DPA in March to increase the domestic output of critical...
Texas is seeing record June heat, reminiscent of the scorching summer of 2011, and record electricity demand is being forecast. After the disaster in February 2021, many Texans are wondering how long the grid will be able to handle the state’s growing electricity demand. They’re right to wonder, and while the Texas grid should pass...
When we think about how American energy production is being undermined, we usually think about policies emanating from Washington, D.C., and the inexorable march of the federal regulatory state. But a quieter and more sinister movement is afoot to bypass the messy process of lawmaking and regulation and force large corporations to stop financing American...
Today, after nearly three months of taking input from electric market participants, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) is now past the midway point of a lightning-fast effort (by the PUC’s historical standards) to come up with a market redesign plan by the end of this year. The open meeting held last week and...
With the tragic events of Winter Storm Uri fading into history and the expected success of the main electric grid reform legislation, SB 3, later this week, it is a good time to take stock of what we have learned from the event and what changes we can expect for the Texas electricity market in...
On Earth Day 2021, President Biden announced that the U.S. will cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030. The pledge marked a radical about-face from the Trump administration’s prioritization of poverty reduction, economic growth, and U.S. energy dominance over GHG emissions. It is also twice the size of the Obama administration’s pledge to...
Should power generators be required to guarantee that they can provide a certain amount of electricity? That’s what state legislators are considering at the Texas Capitol. A cadre of out-of-state banks and tech companies fretted in a letter to state leaders that such a mandate would “inappropriately and unfairly” impose more costs on renewable energy companies. Instead,...
The story of how Texas was brought to its knees by crippling cold weather leaving millions without power is a complex one, yet entirely predictable and avoidable. The details matter, so it is important to know the long story, but let’s start with the short version: For years, Texas’ grid operator (ERCOT) has overestimated the...
An article appeared in the Dallas Morning News on Nov. 3—and was reprinted on the front page of the Nov. 8 Austin-American Statesman business section—with the title “Can clean energy plug hole in Texas oil patch?”. This article made us stop and think about some of terminology mistakes we make when we talk about energy....
There is a familiar pattern when new electric vehicles enter the market: rave reviews, awards from environmental groups, and highly publicized waiting lists. But Tesla has taken the hype to a whole new level. “Battery Day” was last Tuesday, September 22, and thanks to the uncanny marketing prowess of its founder, Elon Musk, the company has built up serious excitement...
Introduction The drumbeat of press about the declining costs of installing wind and solar generators have led most of the public and our policymakers to believe that an “energy transition” from fossil fuels to wind and solar is just around the corner. However, this belief overlooks the fundamental physical limitations of producing electricity from wind and solar. There is a...
On Tuesday, the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized what is likely their most impactful and controversial rulemaking to-date during the Trump administration, the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule. The SAFE rule modifies the 2012 Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards, reducing the projected overall industry average required fuel economy for model...