Robert Bryce is a writer, podcaster, and filmmaker based in Austin, Texas. He writes about various energy issues, including nuclear energy and wind power.

Bryce has argued that totally relying on weather-dependent electric generation is unrealistic, arguing in favor of in favor of “fuels of the future” natural gas and nuclear power. ¹

Background

Robert Bryce is an American author, writer and podcaster based in Austin, Texas. He attended the University of Texas in Austin. Bryce has written about the energy business for three decades. ²

Bryce spent twelve years writing for the Austin Chronicle. From 2006 to 2010, Bryce was the managing editor of the online magazine Energy Tribune. From October 2007 to February 2008 he was a fellow at the Institute for Energy Research. From 2010 to 2019 he was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. ³

Books and Articles

Bryce has argued that totally relying on weather-dependent power is unrealistic, including arguing in favor of in favor of “fuels of the future” natural gas and nuclear power. ⁴

Bryce has published six books. His first book, Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron was named one of the best non-fiction books of 2002 by Publishers Weekly. The book is an account of why Enron failed, including profiling the moral and personal failings of various Enron executives. ⁵

His second book, Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America’s Superstate, was published in 2004. This book focused on how Texas businesses, lawyers, and politicians use Texas’s energy resources to generate political power. ⁶

His third book, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of “Energy Independence,” published in March 2008, argued that “renewable sources like wind and solar cannot meet America’s growing energy demand” and criticized ethanol subsidies that Bryce claims are fueling a global food crisis. ⁷

In 2010, Bryce published his fourth book, Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy, and the Real Fuels of the Future. Bryce argued that the world cannot quit using carbon-based fuels in the near future because electric and so-called “clean energy” lack the power that users require. He also asserted that renewable fuels are not green and that the United States is leading the world in energy efficiency. Finally, advocates for “fuels of the future,” which he identified as natural gas and nuclear power. ⁸

In 2014, he published Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong. Reviewer John Daniel Davidson, writing in National Review, said “the big theme of Bryce’s book [is that t]he enemies of innovation, by and large, are environmentalists who claim to be defenders of the ‘natural’ world — so long as it does not include humanity…. The data, which Bryce applies in heavy doses, add up to this: In almost every corner of the global economy, innovation is increasing efficiency and in the process driving up profits and creating wealth and prosperity.” ^{9 10}

In March 2020, Bryce published his sixth book, A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations. He argued that energy needs cannot be met with weather-dependent sources and argues that nuclear energy should play a larger role in fighting climate change. ¹¹

Bryce also produced a film called Juice: How Electricity Explains the World. ¹²

Substack

Bryce publishes a Substack newsletter commenting on energy policy and energy funding. On February 18, 2023, Bryce published “The Anti-Industry Industry: What the media won’t tell you about the $4.5 billion-per-year NGO-corporate-industrial-climate complex.” In the article, he details that the overwhelming majority of the money involved in the energy and climate debate in the U.S. today is not on the side of traditional energy producers. Pulling data from publicly available sources such as ProPublica, Bryce showed that the overwhelming majority of the money involved in the energy and climate debate in the U.S. today is not on the side of traditional energy producers. According to Bryce, in 2021 the revenue of the top 25 NGOs in the “anti-hydrocarbon/anti-nuclear” industry was more than “four times the amount collected by NGOs that support the traditional energy sector,” and that this revenue was “used to fund campaigns on climate change, as well as efforts to promote renewable energy, stop the production of hydrocarbons, halt construction of new hydrocarbon infrastructure, prohibit the use of natural gas, oppose nuclear energy, and electrify everything, a move that would require massive increases in electricity production and the size of the electric grid.” ¹³

By contrast, the top 25 non-profit associations that represent hydrocarbon producers and the nuclear energy industry raised only $990 million. Further, Bryce asserted that the amount of money being collected by the top anti-hydrocarbon/anti-nuclear NGOs is growing. Between 2017 and 2021, “the amount of cash being collected by the 25 top NGOs—which includes entities like the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund—has jumped by 155%, going from about $1.8 billion to $4.5 billion.” ¹⁴

In “The Billionaires Behind The Gas Bans,”  Bryce identified groups that are funding anti-hydrocarbon, anti-natural gas campaigns. For example, he noted that Climate Imperative Foundation raised $221 million in its first year of operation, more than the Sierra Club. Bryce claims that Climate Imperative Foundation is part of the “electrify everything” push, including promoting “renewable energy, stop[ing] the production of hydrocarbons, halt[ing] construction of new hydrocarbon infrastructure, prohibit[ing] prohibit the use of natural gas, [and opposing] nuclear energy.” ¹⁵

Controversy

In 2011, a government and industry watchdog group called the Checks and Balances Project submitted a petition—signed by more than 50 journalists and educators — calling on the New York Times to “set the nation’s standard by disclosing financial conflicts of interest that their op-ed contributors may have at the time their piece is published,” specifically identifying Bryce, who had written a June 2011 opinion article headlined “The Gas Is Greener,” which identified hidden costs of wind and solar power. The petition stated that the Times should have identified that the Manhattan Institute, where Bryce was employed, received financial support from the energy industry. Times editors responded that the Manhattan Institute had only received 2.5 percent of its budget from energy interests over the preceding 10 years. ¹⁶

1. Robert Bryce. “Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future.” Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Power-Hungry-Myths-Energy-Future/dp/1586489534/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_w=cEjSs&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=GWGT4904EPRNCVXD94DZ&pd_rd_wg=5skd5&pd_rd_r=b4b3ce49-a741-499a-b98a-b77da97819a2&pd_rd_i=1586489534&psc=1
2. “About Bryce.” Robert Bryce. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://robertbryce.com/about/.
3. “About Bryce.” Robert Bryce. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://robertbryce.com/about/.
4.  Robert Bryce. “Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future.” Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Power-Hungry-Myths-Energy-Future/dp/1586489534/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_w=cEjSs&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=GWGT4904EPRNCVXD94DZ&pd_rd_wg=5skd5&pd_rd_r=b4b3ce49-a741-499a-b98a-b77da97819a2&pd_rd_i=1586489534&psc=1
5. “About Bryce.” Robert Bryce. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://robertbryce.com/about/.
6. Robert Bryce. “Cronies.” Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Cronies-Bushes-Texas-Americas-Superstate/dp/1586481886?ref_=ast_author_dp
7.  ^[1] Robert Bryce. “Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of ““Energy Independence.” Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Gusher-Lies-Dangerous-Delusions-Independence-ebook/dp/B004TM1QN0?ref_=ast_author_dp.
8. Robert Bryce. “Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future.” Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Power-Hungry-Myths-Energy-Future/dp/1586489534/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_w=cEjSs&content-id=amzn1.sym.116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_p=116f529c-aa4d-4763-b2b6-4d614ec7dc00&pf_rd_r=GWGT4904EPRNCVXD94DZ&pd_rd_wg=5skd5&pd_rd_r=b4b3ce49-a741-499a-b98a-b77da97819a2&pd_rd_i=1586489534&psc=1
9. Robert Bryce. “Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong.” Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Smaller-Faster-Lighter-Denser-Cheaper-ebook/dp/B00IHGVRZG?ref_=ast_author_dp
10. Davidson, John Daniel. “The Neo-Malthusians.” National Review. National Review, May 14, 2014. Accessed November 23, 2022. https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2014/06/02/neo-malthusians/.
11. Robert Bryce. “A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations.” Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Question-Power-Electricity-Wealth-Nations/dp/1610397495/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_1/133-8400478-0882923?pd_rd_w=I8aHD&content-id=amzn1.sym.6953b182-f957-43e6-9fe3-866e180e1e05&pf_rd_p=6953b182-f957-43e6-9fe3-866e180e1e05&pf_rd_r=ESDCS3EBPGR91BMDWNQZ&pd_rd_wg=BJzOZ&pd_rd_r=825fdb91-9a0a-4de6-842d-28beefdb55f6&pd_rd_i=1610397495&psc=1
12. “About Bryce.” Robert Bryce. Accessed March 15, 2023. https://robertbryce.com/about/.
13. Robert Bryce. “The Anti-Industry Industry.” Substack. February 18, 2023. Accessed March 19, 2023. https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/the-anti-industry-industry.
14. Robert Bryce. “The Anti-Industry Industry.” Substack. February 18, 2023. Accessed March 19, 2023. https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/the-anti-industry-industry.
15.  Robert Bryce. “The Billionaires Behind The Gas Bans.” Substack. January 26, 2023. Accessed March 19, 2023. https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/the-billionaires-behind-the-gas-bans.
16. Arthur S. Brisbane. “The Times Gives Them Space, but Who Pays Them?” New York Times. Oct. 29, 2011. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinion/sunday/the-times-gives-them-space-but-who-pays-them.html