International Energy Agency (IEA)

23Apr

Yes, it is an Energy Supply Emergency

With so much understandable focus on meeting soaring new power demand from the AI revolution and hyperscale data centers, it’s easy to forget the nation entered this moment already facing a grid reliability crisis. The reshoring of industry, electrification and the rapid loss of dispatchable power were already enough to push grid operators to warn […]
30Dec

2024 in Review

Happy almost new year! Before we turn the page on 2024, it’s worth looking back on the stories and major developments that shaped – even reshaped – the energy landscape over the past 12 months. Years of warnings about rapidly eroding grid reliability collided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) regulatory agenda and the […]
16Oct

We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat

Every month, projections on just how much and how fast U.S. electricity demand is growing keep rising. As those projections soar, the arithmetic of the energy transition is being rewritten in real time. There’s the unforgettable line in Jaws, when the chief of police, Martin Brody, sees the shark for the first time. Stunned, he […]
31Jul

Pssst: Global Coal Use Hit Another Record in 2023

Where is the U.S. failing miserably in the climate fight? Look no further than the development and bungled deployment of advanced coal technology, namely carbon capture and storage (CCS). Why is coal technology so important? Simply, coal remains the world’s leading fuel for electricity generation and the world has never used more. Global coal use […]
27Mar

Where is the Power Going to Come From?

It is becoming inarguably clear the U.S. is in for a surge in electricity demand. The Biden EPA just finalized its tailpipe rule and by 2032, 70% of new cars will run primarily on electricity. New semiconductor and battery manufacturing plants are connecting to the grid with power demands that rival small cities. Add in […]
07Feb

Recognizing the Full Breadth of the Variability Challenge

As the world begins to use more and more variable renewable energy, we’re learning in real-time just how much more complex and challenging navigating the energy transition will be. A new paper from the International Energy Agency’s International Centre for Sustainable Carbon finds that a potential over-reliance on variable power in trying to maintain a […]
18Oct

More of Everything

Every few months we get an important course correction on energy math. That is, for all the talk of an energy transition, the data tell a far more nuanced story. Yes, renewables are an increasingly important part of our energy mix and electric vehicles sales are soaring, but where do these trends fit in the […]
24May

The Biden Administration’s Arithmetic Problem

The Biden administration is building its entire energy agenda on a foundation of speed. Or as some members of the Biden energy team like to say, “deploy, deploy, deploy.” Their mandate is to build wind turbines, solar arrays, site transmission lines and reshore supply chains overnight while the U.S. (EPA) Environmental Protection Agency simultaneously tears […]