03May

FERC Stares Down the Reliability Crisis

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) sits right at the crossroads of the nation’s collapsing grid reliability and the increasingly disorderly energy transition. While FERC commissioners will be the first to tell you they don’t have the tiller for the nation’s energy policy, they do have a keen sense of whether the nation’s electricity markets […]
26Apr

And the Winner is… 

If anyone’s taking nominations for misleading reports, we have a leading contender: a recent report that argues that rising electricity prices in West Virginia are the result of the state’s reliance on coal power, going as far to imply that coal is an economic burden on the state. The report is built on the fact […]
19Apr

EV Ambitions Built on Imploding Grid Reliability

The Biden administration seems perpetually optimistic, and rarely realistic. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rolled out new tailpipe emission standards that are going to force a lightning-quick pivot to electric vehicles (EVs). By 2032, EPA hopes that 67% of new car sales are zero-emission. Getting there is going to be colossally challenging. It’s […]
13Apr

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is having a hard time getting its story straight. A year ago, EPA administrator Michael Regan announced that he would be using the full suite of his authorities to give as clear a signal as possible to utilities to close coal plants. He said he’d be rolling out an […]
06Apr

Get used to paying more for natural gas and electricity

Via the Kokomo Tribune: U.S. consumers should be deeply concerned about where energy prices are heading. The worst of the global energy crisis — which drove up the cost of everything from oil and natural gas to electricity — may be over. But new storm clouds are on the horizon. What’s happening with natural gas […]
29Mar

Where’s the Transmission?

As the Biden administration charges ahead with its regulatory blitz to shutter the existing U.S. coal fleet, the infrastructure required for renewable energy to reliably support American households and businesses simply doesn’t exist.  Again and again, experts warn that transmission is the key to building a renewable-heavy future. Analyses from researchers at national labs, the […]
27Mar

America’s Avoidable Energy Crisis

Via RealClearEnergy: The United States is barreling toward an energy crisis that is mostly of our own making.  Coal-fired power plants are closing at a rapid rate.  While new generation is not replacing lost capacity at the same rate.  Federal and state regulations along with industry and corporate net-zero goals are responsible for this condition.     […]
22Mar

Handcuffed to Natural Gas Volatility

Can U.S. natural gas be two maddeningly contradictory things at the same time? The answer appears to be a resounding yes. The nation’s supply of natural gas has become both the crutch of the U.S. energy system and also an energy affordability and reliability landmine. Once persistent fears of natural gas shortages were turned on […]
17Mar

Kentuckians Are Paying a High Price for Closing Coal-Fired Power Plants

Via RealClearEnergy:Between 2011 and 2022, residential customers of Kentucky Power saw their electric bills increase by 78 percent – from 9 cents per kilowatt hour to 16 cents per kilowatt hour. This increase coincided with the shutdown of the company’s Big Sandy coal-fired power plant and its conversion to natural gas. Meanwhile, residential customers of […]
17Mar

Why coal is necessary

Via The Register-Herald: As the nation’s transition to renewable energy gains speed, with the rapid deployment of wind and solar power and grid-scale batteries, a misguided idea is taking hold. There’s no longer any need for coal generation and coal mining in the United States. There are major benefits from electricity produced at coal plants […]