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Europe’s Self-Made Energy Crisis

The European energy crisis is poised to go from very bad to unimaginably worse. While all eyes are on Ukraine and Russia, Europe’s energy woes are largely self-made, not due to outside forces. Europe has made its own bed, disassembling dispatchable fuel diversity by closing well-operating coal and nuclear power plants. In doing so it […]

Inflation, rising energy prices could squeeze US families

Via The Casper Star Tribune: Americans have their hands full right now. The COVID pandemic has made a major resurgence. And at the same time, inflation just hit 7% — the highest rate in 40 years. Some of the toughest increases are happening in energy costs. In December, gasoline prices were up roughly 50% from […]

Did We Learn Anything from Texas?

On December 30th, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a press release declaring that 322 power generating and transmission facilities had undergone stringent inspections indicating the Texas grid was ready for winter. Implied was that the grid disaster of the previous February, which left hundreds dead and millions without power or heat for […]

Guest column: Inflation, rising energy prices could squeeze U.S. families

Via The Pottstown Mercury: Americans have their hands full right now. The COVID pandemic has made a major resurgence. And at the same time, inflation just hit 7 percent — the highest rate in 40 years. Some of the toughest increases are happening in energy costs. In December, gasoline prices were up roughly 50 percent from a […]

The Loss of Dispatchable Fuel Diversity Reverberates in Europe

U.S. coal generation came roaring back last year, rebounding 17% from 2020 and grabbing market share from higher priced natural gas. The U.S. coal fleet is proving to be an invaluable price shock absorber amid energy-driven inflation here at home and coal is also an equally important missing price shock absorber in Europe. The U.S. […]

The Grid Crisis is Only Getting Worse

The New Year has arrived with bitter cold and winter storms that left almost 1 million households without power along the East Coast. The reliability of the nation’s energy systems is being tested once again and there is ever-growing concern they’re not up for the challenge. The North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) ended 2021 […]

Looking Back as We Begin to Look Forward

The year is coming to a close, but before we look forward to 2022, it’s worth looking back on 2021 and the moments and themes that have shaped how we think about coal and its future. Over the course of 2021, this blog has tried to offer insight and perspective on an energy conversation that […]

The Grid Crisis is International

The grid reliability warnings keep coming. Both here and in Europe, electricity grids – particularly those that have raced away from dispatchable fuel diversity and allowed their reserve margins to erode – are facing ever-mounting warnings that available capacity may not keep up with demand. In the U.K., the national grid operator issued its first […]

New Energy Taxes during an Energy Crisis?

As the global energy crisis marches on, Europe and the U.S. seem to be in a nightmarish game of one-upmanship over who can produce the most dire warnings over energy-induced inflation, energy insecurity and blackouts. The North American Energy Reliability Corporation is warning that much of the U.S. will face unprecedented reliability challenges this winter, […]