electricity grid

13Dec

Investors First, Ratepayers Second

New natural gas power plants are being added to the electricity grid at a remarkable speed and scale. And while it’s been fashionable to believe the overwhelming impetus for this building spree has been cheap natural gas that could potentially save consumers money, while also reducing emissions, that line of thinking now has nearly as […]
13Nov

No Solution at All

Questions continue to arise about the cost and technical feasibility of moving to an emissions-free grid by 2050. Or, in the case of the Green New Dealers, making that jump even sooner. At a recent hearing on the subject, House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) said, “a solution that is unaffordable […]
06Nov

Fuel (In)Security

“A group of well-resourced hackers have been combing through the networks of the gas pipeline operator for almost a year, harvesting crucial information. Now the hackers know the network better than the pipeline company does: every piece of equipment, the company’s entire workforce, usernames and passwords. They have the privileges needed to access both the […]
28Aug

From Texas to Germany, Grid Reliability Concerns are Growing

Texas’ recent near-miss with blackouts has turned more than a few heads. The challenges posed to the Texas grid, and other regional grids, by growing reliance on intermittent sources of power and, in some cases, an overstretched natural gas transmission system, have caught the attention of regulators and policymakers. Last week, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer […]
14Aug

The Texas Reliability Two Step

The Texas grid has been pushed to its limits this week. Demand for power has exceeded supply, prices have soared and energy experts and consumers alike have waited with bated breath for rolling brownouts or blackouts.   On Monday, electricity demand hit a new record and electricity prices spiked to $6,500 per megawatt hour. On […]
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 […]
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 […]