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7.4 million megawatt-hours
Amount of electricity from solar energy the U.S. Energy Information Administration said was generated through June, enough to power about 685,000 homes per year, reports the Washington Examiner. “Aided by a mishmash of federal and state incentives, coupled with plummeting solar panel prices, installations are increasing all over the country — generation this year is more than double the 3.5 million megawatt-hours over the same period last year.”
It is really freezing in D.C. I have to admit I was surprised. Al Gore told us this wouldn’t happen!
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by TPM, to a crowd at the Heritage Foundation, in a speech about energy policy.
Republican Tea Partiers in Congress, like Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), insist that energy rules setting higher standards for, among other things, light bulb efficiency are proof of a “nanny state,” evinced by First Lady Michelle Obama speaking against childhood obesity.
Pres. Obama is blamed for “dictating” that Americans must use compact fluorescent light bulbs but a) Obama is not to blame, and b) no one is dictating any such thing.
- The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law by Pres. George W. Bush
- Nothing in the act bans the use of incandescent bulbs or requires they be replaced with compact fluorescents. The act does increase efficiency standards on all bulbs
- The U.S. Energy Department projects higher standards will save money for both families and businesses
- Independent observers have seen no evidence of constituents lobbying members of Congress to “save incandescent bulbs”
