Blog

07Aug

When Down is Up

The reduction in the price of electricity from solar and wind power over the last decade has made for a fantastic story. But it’s hiding a more complex and troubling truth. While the price of generating power from renewables has fallen, the cost, or burden, of integrating these intermittent sources of power onto the grid […]
31Jul

Grappling with the Global Challenge

As the great climate debate continues to dominate the news – Green New Deal? Green Real Deal? The Green Dream? – more policymakers need to wake up to the reality that any effective emissions reduction strategy must be globally replicable. Policy, and most importantly technology, must be advanced that can effectively slash emissions in the […]
25Jul

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 […]
17Jul

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 […]
10Jul

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 […]
02Jul

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 […]
26Jun

When Markets Undermine Reliability

Air conditioners are running at full throttle as summer descends in all its sticky, suffocating glory. As those ACs kick on, electricity demand is creeping up, potentially hitting record levels in some states. In Texas, as temperatures climb towards triple digits, customers are wondering if the AC – and a reliable flow of power – […]
19Jun

A Legal Approach to Emissions Reduction, An Eye Towards a Global Challenge

The EPA rolled out the final version of its long-anticipated Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule this morning. The rule is the replacement for the so-called Clean Power Plan (CPP), which the previous administration claimed as its crowning environmental achievement. Quite an achievement it was. Along with never being implemented due to an unprecedented stay from […]
12Jun

A Roll of the Dice

Jerry Jones, the enigmatic, billionaire, oil-man owner of the Dallas Cowboys just made a big bet on the future of natural gas. His gamble is a timely reminder that low prices and cheap energy don’t tend to stay that way. Predicting just when natural gas prices rise is anyone’s guess, but Jerry is rolling the […]
05Jun

Driving Up the Cost of Power for Consumers

Making an apples to apples comparison of new weather-dependent renewables against existing coal or nuclear power plants cannot be done – at least not with our existing tools. Not only are you trying to compare one source of variable power to dispatchable, baseload generation that’s available 24-7, but you’re also attempting to compare a facility […]