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State Power Grids Feel the Strain of Summer Heat

Via The Tribune-Democrat: As the peak of summer arrives, Americans are turning up their air conditioners.  But this added demand for electricity can greatly tax power grids. And in some states, it could pose real problems.  As North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) CEO Jim Robb recently explained, backup power reserves in Texas are stretched […]

Montana’s Energy Future Must be Guided by Facts

Via The Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Montana must continue discussions about our energy future. We respect the views Mary Sedwick expressed in letters to the editor. We all need to work for cleaner energy. Here things that need to be included in a fact-based energy policy dialog. NorthWestern Energy’s Montana electric portfolio is approaching 70% carbon […]

What We Don’t Know Can Hurt Us

As Americans cranked up their air conditioners to gain relief from sweltering mid-July heat, the grid called for all-hands-on-deck to keep the power flowing. Soaring electricity demand was met by every power plant utilities and grid operators could throw at the challenge. Thankfully, for most Americans, the lights and the AC were there when they […]

Renewable Energy Can’t Keep Texans’ A/C humming [Opinion]

Via The Houston Chronicle: Houston has recorded a half-dozen 95 degree-plus days so far this summer, and we’re weeks away from August, the hottest month of the year. Last year, the second hottest on record in Texas, included a 10-day stretch of triple-digit temperatures. Which raises a question. Is the Texas power grid, managed by […]

EPA’s New ACE Rule: A Win for Common Sense

Via RealClear Energy: Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule to reduce carbon emissions from the nation’s fleet of coal-fired power plants.  The ACE rule is replacing the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. The new rule is legal and sensible, adjectives that do not describe the Clean Power Plan.  Many […]

Opinion: US Power Grid Strains as Summer Peaks

Via The Southern Illinoisan: Americans remain perennially confident in the nation’s power grid. No matter the weather, or the time of day, we flip a switch and expect the lights to go on. But something troubling is emerging in parts of the country — state power grids that could actually fail this summer, during periods […]

A Fuel Security Crisis

If you’re in the grid reliability business, the New England grid is a problem most don’t want to touch with a 10-foot pole. New England’s challenge is two-fold. First, the region has retired nearly all of its baseload coal capacity and much of its nuclear power capacity. New England has put all its eggs in […]

No Way in Hell

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) analyzes the reliability of our electricity supply. NERC’s reports and statements are consistently measured, typically packing all the flair and excitement of a buttoned-down white dress shirt. So, it’s with good reason that eyebrows were raised when NERC’s CEO, Jim Robb, recently told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission […]

Affordable Clean Energy Rule Good for Consumers, Environment

Via KnoxNews.com Can you imagine paying 27 percent more for electricity? That’s exactly what would have happened to wholesale electricity prices in Tennessee if the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan had been adopted. Thankfully, reason and the law prevailed and the EPA’s replacement rule – the Affordable Clean Energy rule – was issued June 19. […]

Trillions with a “T”

According to new analysis from Wood Mackenzie, transitioning to an all renewables grid in the U.S. by 2030 would cost roughly $4.5 trillion. Remarkably, that cost – estimated at about $35,000 per household – does not account for the costs of prematurely closing hundreds of existing power plants, the inevitable supply chain bottlenecks that would […]