23Feb

Texas Power Crisis Puts Spotlight on Reliable Electricity

Via Inside Sources: The nation is watching Texas with great concern. Some four million Texas households went without electricity in sub-zero temperatures on Tuesday. Ordinarily, such winter power outages come when snowstorms knock down trees and power lines. In this case, however, the problems actually stem from an overwhelmed electricity grid that hasn’t been able to keep up […]
22Feb

Blackouts Reveal Endemic Problems in the Texas Power Market

Via DallasNews.com: Now that the Texas deep freeze is receding and electric power is being restored, the blame game is heating up. Gov. Greg Abbott has called for an investigation and resignations at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, the state’s electric grid operator. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has asked two […]
18Feb

The Texas Electricity Crisis is No Anomaly

Via The Washington Times: Only in a crisis do most Americans pay attention to the reliability of the nation’s electricity grid. But as millions suffer through blackouts in frigid temperatures from Texas to the Dakotas, this reliability crisis has come at an incredibly consequential fork in the energy road. The electricity grid is in transition […]
17Feb

Closing Coal Plants Is Becoming Big Business and a Disaster for Consumers

Via Inside Sources: If you think the accelerating pivot to renewable energy is all about cleaning up, think again. An increasing number of utilities are under mounting pressure from Wall Street and their shareholders to spend and pass the costs of new wind turbines, solar farms, and transmission infrastructure off to their ratepayers. New projects […]
16Feb

Coal Rescues U.S. Power Grid During Polar Vortex

Via The Pottstown Mercury: Another winter, another cold snap. Right now, much of the United States is feeling the chill of a brutal “Polar Vortex.” And northern states like North Dakota and Minnesota are seeing night-time temperatures drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, Duluth is currently chasing a record for the coldest sustained weather, […]
15Feb

A Fuel Security Crisis in Texas

The Texas grid is hanging on by a thread. Historic, freezing temperatures are wreaking havoc across the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has initiated rolling outages to keep the grid from collapsing. Without a hint of hyperbole, this is a full-blown reliability crisis that appears to be a fuel security crisis. There’s […]
11Feb

It’s a Mistake to Retire Coal Plant

Via The Wisconsin State Journal: The future closing of one of Wisconsin’s largest coal-fired power plant is a huge mistake. The Columbia Energy Center near Portage produces 1,100 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power the needs of hundreds of thousands of homes. The loss of this plant will supposedly be replaced by clean […]
10Feb

Coal to the Rescue Again

The polar vortex is back in all of its frigid fury. On Tuesday, the majority of 10 states woke to temperatures below zero and the bitter cold is here to stay through at least the middle of the month. Surprise, surprise it’s not solar and wind power keeping the lights on and homes warm in […]
04Feb

Dr. Birol’s Most Vital, Most Critical Technology

For any “Groundhog Day” fans, watching Dr. Fatih Birol testify before Congress catches us all in a Bill Murray moment. For the last three years, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Executive Director, Dr. Fatih Birol, has testified in front of Congress on energy issues and the climate challenge. Each time he testifies he is as […]
27Jan

The Coal Fleet Remains Essential

A new report from the Sierra Club finds that dozens of the nation’s utilities plan on running their existing coal plants well beyond 2030. This is apparently devastating news for the Sierra Club’s “beyond coal” crowd, but for most Americans it should be a reminder of the incredibly important role coal continues to play in […]