by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 31, 2026 | Energy Rant
Industrial facilities love a good checklist: swap in premium motors, add variable frequency drives, call it efficiency. But when it comes to motors and drives, that plug-and-play mindset can backfire. In many cases, the difference between real savings and wasted...
by Jeff Ihnen | Nov 18, 2025 | Energy Rant
This week, Rant readers get a threefer on 1) self-inflicted opposing policies, 2) common sense versus uncommon senselessness, and FOOD! Consumers and taxpayers have paid about $50 billion in subsidies to the ethanol industry over the last 40-plus years. Why? Because...
by Jeff Ihnen | Nov 4, 2025 | Energy Rant
Two weeks ago, I described how liquid-air energy storage systems work. Concisely: Electricity drives air compressors that compress air to rather extreme pressures. This air compression generates a lot of heat, which is the lowest form of energy. Heat is stored in...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 18, 2025 | Energy Rant
Four years ago, in the Four Horsemen of the Rebound, I lampooned what is known as Jevons’ Paradox. A paradox is a statement of contradiction or puzzle. For example, I remember Zeno’s Paradox from my goofy philosophy professor in college. Our class discussed...
by Jeff Ihnen | Oct 31, 2023 | Energy Rant
Last week, I received an email from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy with the headline, Housing, Energy, and Consumer Groups Applaud Senate Opposition to Raising Energy Prices for Americans. “In a bipartisan vote today, the U.S. Senate rejected an...
