Senate Should Reject Fossil Fuel Hawk for Renewable Energy Office

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

I can’t lie: I’d completely forgotten about poor ol’ Dan Simmons.

In a previous engagement, I’d written about Simmons when President Donald J. Trump appointed him as the interim head of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), a post in which he’s served ever since. And I must admit the reason he’s fallen off my radar is that he hasn’t done anything so horrific as to raise red flags.

The EERE budget battles have raged on, with one side trying to slash the budget to the bone while Congress keeps reattaching the meat, to the consternation and I dare say irritation of many members of the administration (and to the fury of Bob Murray, a coal executive with whom Trump is tight).

For those of you who don’t know EERE, its primary mission is to provide technology assistance to renewable energy and has funded some of the latest breakthroughs in the solar industry. Money has continued to flow to research (even if it has been intermittently), and the office has at least treaded water instead of drowning.

So the damage that has been done by Simmons has been minimal, and with so many other anti-solar policies coming from the Trump Administration on seemingly a daily basis, the former conservative think-tanker didn’t make the cut of things I worried about.

Until now.

The Hill reports the Trump Administration is going to try to make the appointment of Simmons as the head of the EERE official, which would require Senate confirmation. Which is why I believe the Senate should actually do its duty and reject Simmons when he comes before them. His record as as an anti-renewables apostle is clear, though he does his best in interviews for the position he wants to fill to deny it. As The Hill notes:

[Simmons] previously served in leading roles at the Institute for Energy Research (IER) and the American Legislative Exchange Council, both conservative groups that generally oppose policies like tax credits and grants aimed at boosting solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy.

And this:

Simmons said in a 2013 Heartland Institute podcast that boosting renewable energy would hurt consumers.

“No matter what the renewable guys say, what they will admit is that their type of power — the wind and solar — is more expensive and will increase the price of electricity,” he said.

Does that sound like a guy who has any clue about the wind and solar industries? And does it sound like someone who should be anywhere near the EERE?

Right, of course it doesn’t – and it’s time to start calling our Senators to let them know that.