Why Offshore Wind Faces Lawsuits By David T. Stevenson, Director Center for Energy & Environmental Policy September 14, 2021 (originally released on 9/13/2021)     Nantucket residents have filed a landmark lawsuit over federal approval of Vineyard Wind, the first industrial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. Federal law protects existing ocean uses: commercial fishing, vessel traffic, the viewshed, and endangered species from new energy projects. Since federal approvals of all offshore wind projects will likely use the same flawed process, a court win for this lawsuit may stop all the projects.   ...[read more]

The Blockchain and Digital Assets- Critical to Delaware   by Charlie Copeland Co-Director Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending May 19, 2021     DELAWARE IS SITTING ON A POT OF GOLD!   In Q1 2021, according to the Wall Street Journal, $2 billion of "digital asset" transactions happened on the Ethereum network, up from only $94 million the previous quarter.   These "digital asset" transactions were smart contracts - the sale and use of tokenized information using "blockchain technology." It is disruptive. It is growing very fast. It chan...[read more]

Offshore wind too ugly for the Hamptons but OK for other beach resorts?     By David T. Stevenson Director Center for Energy & Environmental Policy May 4, 2021 (Photo source:  Vanity Fair and CRI's creative)     Officials in New York and the Federal Government determined that the proposed offshore wind turbine lease area off the Hamptons is too close and ruins the serene ocean viewshed. They also noted it is a threat to navigation, fishing, and endangered marine mammals.      The Fairway lease areas sit as close as 12 miles off the Long Island coast near the Hamptons.   In official comments to ...[read more]

A look into "Delaware's Economic Recovery": strongly suggests it's time for a tax cut   by Dr. John Stapleford Co-Director, Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending April 29, 2021     On April 13th, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank president, Patrick Harker, spoke to members of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. According to Harker, the real Delaware economic recovery is underway, but it is "a work in progress."   Total Delaware employment is almost 25,000 jobs below the pre-COVID-19 level. The unemployment rate has fallen (currently at 6.3% vs...[read more]