Blog

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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
16Mar

COAL TO The Rescue in Europe

The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out an uncomfortable truth for the keep-it-in-the-ground crowd: Germany avoided energy shortfalls over the past year by turning to coal. In fact, for the second year running, coal use in Germany has grown. Coal now provides a full third of the nation’s power as use of natural gas has […]
08Mar

The Great Coal Disconnect

British consumers should be furious. Energy bills have all but wrecked the economy and delivered searing pain for households. Britain’s rush to slash its use of coal – that as of a decade ago met 40% of the nation’s power – left the nation extraordinarily exposed to the natural gas price spikes that came with […]
01Mar

PJM Sounds the Capacity Shortfall Alarm

The nation’s largest electricity market is warning that it will face a steep capacity shortfall by the close of the decade as forced power plant retirements far outpace planned additions. Policy-driven closures of primarily coal plants threaten to leave PJM Interconnection – which serves 65 million Americans in 13 states and the District of Columbia […]
23Feb

Mines for Manufacturing Tomorrow’s Steel

The pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the energy and supply chain crises that followed, have all upended trade flows and commodity markets, requiring a near moment-to-moment focus on near-term market conditions with supply shocks and inflationary pressure driving unprecedented policy responses. While the shocks still reverberate, there’s now room for a return to long-term […]
15Feb

Does the EPA Care at All About Grid Reliability?

In July of last year, 26 House Republicans sent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan a letter asking for details on the agency’s efforts to assess the potential grid reliability threats posed by EPA’s regulatory agenda. Among other detailed questions, the letter asked what work had been done to coordinate with the Federal […]
08Feb

The Country Needs Coal Too Mr. President

Call it an admission of pragmatism. While talking to the nation’s energy future last night during the State of the Union address, President Biden went off script and admitted that “we’re still going to need oil and gas for a while.” It was a statement of fact even if it made climate hawks grimace. What […]
01Feb

New Study Underscores Threat to the Nation’s Grid Reliability

The latest iteration of a headline-grabbing study, “The Coal Cost Crossover” – which claims the entirety of the existing coal fleet is less economic than new renewable projects – is exactly the type of academic clickbait driving the nation’s reckless approach to the energy transition. Like previous versions, this iteration of the report once again […]