All posts by Gabe Elsner

Gabe Elsner is the founder and former executive director of the Energy & Policy Institute. He is a thought leader on defending policies from attacks by incumbent energy interests and his work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Daily Mail, The Australian, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, and National Public Radio. The Energy & Policy Institute’s work has protected dozens of public policies that support the growth of the clean-tech industry.

Southern Company’s Kemper Scandal and Why Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Will Never Work

Southern Company's Kemper scandal illustrates that investments in carbon capture and storage technology and “clean coal” have wasted billions of dollars, remain too expensive, and are not viable options to...

/ July 12, 2016

Yes on 1 for the Sun: The Anti-Solar Ballot Initiative from Utilities and Fossil Fuel Interests

The Koch Brothers and utility-funded Consumers for Smart Solar unveiled its amendment ballot campaign, Yes on 1 for the Sun, to restrict the solar market in Florida.

/ April 20, 2016

Public Interest Groups Call on Executive Nominations Committee to Reject Michael Richard’s Appointment Over Communications between Michael Richard and Governor Hogan’s Office

The emails demonstrate that in just the first month of his appointment, Michael Richard, coordinated with his previous office on matters both confidential and restricted.

/ March 25, 2016

FirstEnergy Ohio Bailout – Bad for Ratepayers, Bad for Ohio

186,000 ratepayers would be forced to pay an additional fee to prop up the company’s uncompetitive coal and nuclear plants, which cannot compete in the free market.

/ January 19, 2016

C. Boyden Gray: Tobacco, Tea Party, and Dirty Energy

As someone with deep ties to right-wing political circles, and strong financial ties to the tobacco industry, C. Boyden Gray fits the bill as the ideal lobbyist for the dirty energy industry....

/ January 4, 2016

Richard Fink: The Koch Brothers’ Big Tobacco Man Behind the Kochtopus Curtain

Richard Fink has long been one of the Koch Brothers’ inner circle, playing the role of both political strategist and close confidante. Some say the Koch Empire wouldn’t have been...

/ January 2, 2016

Special Interests Behind Anti-Solar Ballot Initiative Consumers for Smart Solar

The utility-backed Consumers for Smart Solar would preserve the status quo, preventing homeowners or businesses from contracting with solar companies that can install solar for no upfront cost.

/ November 16, 2015

Paul Chesser, Fossil Fuel Pundit, Attacks Tech Industry’s Cleantech Investments

The biography of Paul Chesser includes a long list of fossil fuel-backed front groups that he’s currently involved with, which may explain his blatant anti-renewable energy stance.

/ November 12, 2015

Americans For Prosperity Leads Fossil Fuel Front Group Push for Crude Oil Exports, Anti-Renewables Lobbying

The fossil fuel-funded Americans for Prosperity wrote a coalition to Congress signed by 21 front groups calling for the elimination of the oil export ban.

/ November 4, 2015

Ohio Energy Study Committee Relied Upon Flawed Testimony

The Ohio Energy Mandates Study Committee relied on a flawed testimony from Strata Policy, a front group with financial ties to the Koch Brothers.

/ September 30, 2015