23May

Could the EPA Break America’s Power Grid?

Via The Pottstown Mercury: As policymakers in Washington like to point out, America is undergoing an “energy transition.” But as Washington embarks on a major national shift toward renewable energy, there’s a serious question — can we manage this wide-scale transformation without losing the security and reliability of our existing power grid? The answer — […]
18May

A Plan to Break the Grid

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out its sweeping new climate rule last week. In the plan’s crosshairs is the generating capacity that meets 60% of the nation’s power. Should the EPA get its way, today’s coal and gas fleets will be largely disassembled nearly overnight, posing a remarkable threat to a grid already […]
10May

FERC Testifies to the Importance of the Coal Fleet

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charges ahead with its regulatory agenda aimed at driving the coal fleet off the grid, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was on Capitol Hill last week warning of dire grid reliability consequences from the accelerating loss of essential coal capacity From FERC to the North American Electric […]
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.     […]