Opinion
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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Burlington, Vermont's net zero energy roadmap showcases how utilities can lead on climate
The city's goal of eliminating fossil fuel use across the electric, thermal and ground transportation sectors, may be one of the most ambitious local climate goals in the nation, writes Burlington Electric's Darren Springer.
Darren Springer • Sept. 18, 2019 -
MOPR Madness: 2 wrongs don't make a right
Regardless of the exact cost of PJM's plan to address state subsidy impacts on its capacity market, the amount is large and unnecessary, Electricity Consumers Resource Council's Devin Hartman writes.
Devin Hartman • Sept. 13, 2019 -
Redefining utility affordability: CPUC pursues broad approach to guide decisions
"Although the CPUC currently considers bill impacts in our individual decisions — such as General Rate Cases — we do not assess the cumulative effects on consumers' ability to pay," writes Commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen.
Clifford Rechtschaffen • Sept. 12, 2019 -
PJM policy to add $5.7B cost to capacity market? We don't think so
The consulting firm Grid Strategies recently found significant cost impacts from PJM's proposed minimum offer price rule. The heads of PJM Power Providers Group and the Electric Power Supply Association dispute that.
Glen Thomas and Todd A. Snitchler • Sept. 09, 2019 -
Electricity markets don't need an overhaul
With moderate tinkering, existing independent system operator-run markets can support very low emission electricity systems that rely primarily on solar and wind energy, writes Fritz Kahrl, a director at consulting firm E3.
Fritz Kahrl • Sept. 04, 2019 -
Nuclear technology innovation and regulatory transformation are essential to meeting climate goals
A key challenge for nuclear regulators is to adapt oversight practices to technologies that didn't exist when today's regulatory framework was developed, write three former heads of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy.
Warren F. Miller, Peter B. Lyons and John F. Kotek • Sept. 03, 2019 -
Renewable natural gas: The climate change solution with limited awareness of its potential
RNG's immediate benefits include new revenue streams for cities, farmers and others. Long term benefits include enhanced energy security through a diversified resource supply and climate change mitigation, writes Michael Bakas.
Michael Bakas • Aug. 28, 2019 -
Let's reduce wholesale market costs by tapping the full potential of DERs
"FERC should continue to enable more opportunities for DERs to contribute to the future of the grid ... we must unlock the potential of this fleet to create a more efficient grid for all," writes Sunrun's Chris Rauscher.
Chris Rauscher • Aug. 27, 2019 -
Achieving 100% renewables by 2050 cannot be summarily ruled out
A Utility Dive opinion piece recently said 100% renewable energy is not possible in the next 30 years. Senior policy advisor Robert Borlick goes point by point to provide a different take.
Robert Borlick • Aug. 23, 2019 -
An uncertain path to a cleaner future: Zero carbon electricity legislation in New York and California
How should California, New York and other states plan to meet their new 100% zero carbon electricity market goals with minimal impacts on reliability and affordability?
Thomas R. Brill and Steven C. Russo • Aug. 23, 2019 -
An unexpected twist to the cannabis revolution
Agriculture production is being shifted to greenhouses and larger production factories and contributing to new demands on the power delivery system.
Francisco Neto and Doug Houseman • Aug. 22, 2019 -
LCUS: A New Way to Accurately Measure Energy Storage Costs
The Levelized Cost of Using Storage method combines data into a single meaningful metric to compare different energy storage technologies.
C. Michael Hoff and Roger Lin • Aug. 20, 2019 -
Xcel needs a push to improve its grid transparency tools
Further improvements to Xcel's hosting capacity analysis and map are necessary to help Minnesota realize the full potential of DERs, including renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy storage, writes Yochi Zakai, an attorney for IREC.
Yochi Zakai • Aug. 20, 2019 -
X's and O's: How utilities can leverage data channels to improve employees and drive new business
One way to stay a step ahead of the disruptive forces that are shaping the energy business is to become a disruptor yourself, writes SAP's James Eardley.
James Eardley • Aug. 19, 2019 -
Why 100% renewables isn't feasible by 2050
The trillion dollar question is, what's the tipping point that reflects efficient utilization of renewables and fossil-based power in the U.S., while keeping the costs and pollution low and ensuring reliable power, says Harshit Chatur.
Harshit Chatur • Aug. 15, 2019 -
Digital engagement: Cutting costs, increasing customer satisfaction, improving return on equity
Utility companies have lagged behind most other service industries in making digital engagement a priority, which has contributed materially to underperformance in customer satisfaction levels compared to other industries.
Andrew Heath • Aug. 12, 2019 -
Leading by example: Lawmakers should step up performance contracts on federal buildings
Bills introduced by four members of Congress could send a powerful pro-energy efficiency message across the country.
Charles Hernick • Aug. 08, 2019 -
Are codes and standards the missing pieces to drive DR market transformation?
Codifying demand response-ready technologies will help increase their market penetration, reduce implementation costs for DR programs, and provide vendors with clear and standardized technology requirements.
Lucas Schroyer • Aug. 07, 2019 -
Monetizing microgrids: Utilities are missing a unique opportunity
Utilities are uniquely positioned to operationalize and monetize the value of microgrids to all ratepayers instead of a select few, creating a distributed energy grid to many instead of a set of early adopters.
Megan Kerins and Ana Sophia Mifsud • Aug. 06, 2019 -
Ohio nuclear and coal bailout is a loss for nuclear power and the climate
HB6, which links nuclear power to coal and not renewables, risks undermining the burgeoning bipartisan consensus that nuclear power will play a crucial role in tackling climate change, while attracting to nuclear the ire usually reserved for coal.
Randolph Bell • Aug. 05, 2019 -
Think closing power plants is less risky than opening them? That's a mistake
As the energy sector transitions to cleaner sources of electricity, hundreds of existing U.S. power plants and well over 100 gigawatts of capacity are facing decommissioning and dismantling, posing a variety of challenges.
William Riggins • Aug. 02, 2019 -
Utilities' embrace of DER technologies previews the coming decade of DSM
The utility of the future must actively engage customers through demand side management initiatives, according to Navigant, which identified eight key drivers for evolving energy efficiency and demand response programs.
Jessie Mehrhoff • July 31, 2019 -
Wholesale electricity market design for rapid decarbonization: Adding new long-term markets to today's spot markets
Part two of this opinion series proposes a hybrid solution to support clean energy investment and reliably decarbonize the power system at least cost.
Steve Corneli, Eric Gimon, Brendan Pierpont • July 30, 2019 -
Wholesale electricity market design for rapid decarbonization: A decentralized markets approach
What wholesale market design would provide the best framework for integrating reliably and at least cost the new, clean resources that will be needed to de-carbonize the power system?
Rob Gramlich and Michael Hogan • July 29, 2019 -
Is SCADA your enterprise data speed bump?
The steep growth of distributed energy resources has sparked a correspondingly large growth of connected grid systems, devices, assets and Operational Technology data.
Brad Harkavy • July 26, 2019
