Opinion

If you are interested in having your voice heard on Utility Dive's Opinion page, please read our editorial guidelines and fill out the submission form here.

• 

  3 major policy trends to watch for in China's renewable energy market

  National policies have laid a foundation for an open and competitive power market in China, the authors write. 

  Cihang Yuan and Daniel Riley • July 10, 2020

• 

  States are falling short on building decarbonization — Here's what regulators need to do

  Programs and rules that are poorly suited for a transition from gas to electricity should be revisited, the authors write.

  Mike Henchen and Sherri Billimoria • July 09, 2020

• 

  How utilities can support diverse business entities impacted by the COVID-19 crisis

  Diverse business entities are facing financial uncertainty, reductions in allowable work and cash flow crises due to the pandemic, the authors write. 

  Ronnette Anderson and Laura Orfanedes • July 01, 2020

• 

  Federalizing net metering is unequivocally anti-conservative

  If the conservative movement is to achieve more victories at the energy regulatory margin, it needs to coalesce, move past generic posturing and start diving deep into institutional contexts, the author writes.

  Devin Hartman • June 30, 2020

• 

  A short-term vision for sustainable recovery

  A new report from the International Energy Agency envisions a green economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, but the plan lacks long-term vision, the author writes.

  Saara Kujala • June 29, 2020

• 

  Fortune telling, utility style: Asset performance management drives costs down, reliability up

  Having the right processes to infer insights from data is as important as the data itself, the author writes.

  Bryan Friehauf • June 26, 2020

• 

  California's storage limbo: Over $300M in projects are stuck on a CPUC waitlist, but there's an easy fix

  California has $600 million in idle funds that can be used to advance energy storage projects; reallocating them would be the shot in the arm the state needs now, the author writes.

  Ted Ko • June 25, 2020

• 

  Hard truths about net metering and the perils of regulatory nihilism

  Due to poor retail rate design, full retail net metering as calculated today is overwhelmingly regressive, former FERC Commissioner Tony Clark says.

  Tony Clark • June 24, 2020

• 

  Will regulators allow utilities to reap a windfall because of COVID-19?

  Customers almost everywhere will pay for utilities’ losses, while in Texas and Georgia competitive retailers own much of COVID-19’s economic impact, says Travis Kavulla, vice president of regulatory affairs at NRG Energy.

  Travis Kavulla • June 23, 2020

• 

  The truth about the future of gas: We don't need to build anymore

  "Let’s clear away the myths about gas, renewables and the grid," writes UC Berkeley professor David Wooley, co-author of a recent report that said a 90% clean electricity system is feasible in the U.S. by 2035. 

  David Wooley • June 22, 2020

• 

  This is not the way to move beyond net metering

  If NERA succeeds, it will hand control of DER compensation to federal regulators and thereby stymie ongoing state-level efforts to realize DERs' potential benefits, the authors write.

  Justin Gundlach and Burcin Unel • June 18, 2020

• 

  Toward a clean recovery: Rebooting the federal energy demonstration portfolio

  The federal government should help fund projects that will demonstrate the real-world viability of large-scale, capital-intensive, zero-emissions technologies, an endeavor that is typically too risky for private companies to take on alone.

  Robert Rozansky and David M. Hart • June 17, 2020

• 

  It's time for a green stimulus: Here's how a small Vermont utility can show the way

  Burlington Electric Department has a plan to help boost local economic activity, support its customers with energy-saving technologies, and make progress on the city's Net Zero Energy goal.

  Darren Springer • June 15, 2020

• 

  Stimulus spending on electricity decarbonization: The role of corporate renewable buyers

  Recent developments in corporate renewable procurement suggest one promising strategy for aligning the political odds in favor of stimulus spending that accelerates grid-greening and renewable transitions.

  Zdravka Tzankova • June 11, 2020

• 

  Massachusetts' Clean Peak Standard — A trailblazer in the nation's clean energy transition

  As the standard comes into effect, it could play a substantial role in bringing additional clean energy technologies to the state. And adoption elsewhere could improve prospects of meeting aggressive renewable goals.

  Roger Lin • June 09, 2020

• 

  Missouri cities shine on the national climate action stage

  While coastal cities typically drive climate action, Kansas City and St. Louis are demonstrating what Heartland cities are capable of in the fight against climate change.

  Ashok Gupta • June 09, 2020

• 

  Utility exec and consumer advocate: Arrearage management programs are a win for customers and utilities

  These programs can be particularly useful when current utility shut-off moratoriums expire — it is estimated the residential electric sector alone may see a total increase in past due bills of more than $15 billion by early summer.

  Penni Conner and Charlie Harak • June 08, 2020

• 

  Renewables' potential depends on transparent and fair policies, not special interest giveaways

  FirstEnergy spinoff Energy Harbor is receiving a $1 billion taxpayer bailout while also enriching its shareholders with an $800 million stock buyback. This is crony capitalism at its worst, the author writes.

  Michael K. Dorsey • June 05, 2020

• 

  New waste-to-hydrogen processes could contribute to a carbon negative future

  With the rise in production and sales of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and power generators, the technology is entering a new maturation point that could encompass both mobile and stationary storage options, the author writes.

  Jean-Louis Kindler • June 03, 2020

• 

  Outdated NEPA needs modernizing. Just ask Warren Buffett

  As the U.S. economy prepares to recover from the current crisis, important job and revenue-creating proposals like the 1,000 mile Gateway West transmission project don’t need to languish in a regulatory morass, the author writes.

  Paul Griffin • June 03, 2020

• 

  Is subnational carbon pricing the off-ramp for MOPR?

  FERC's April ruling refines the applicability of MOPR to green industrial policy and clarifies that it does not apply to voluntary private behavior and environmental policy, opening the door to emissions-based policies, the author writes.

  Devin Hartman • June 02, 2020

• 

  Decarbonization, not offsets — Private partnerships as the path to university carbon neutrality

  As the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign works to finalize its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, it should take a cue from fellow Big Ten school Ohio State and partner with the private sector, the authors write.

  Jigar Shah and Jonah Messinger • May 29, 2020

• 

  LCOE is not the metric you think it is

  The levelized cost of energy formulation overprices solar energy by 27%  and wind energy bu 18% as compared to natural gas-based power, the author says in calling for a new way to compare generation options. 

  James Loewen • May 28, 2020

• 

  The (energy) efficient road to small business recovery

  A Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant program, to supplement available utility incentives, represents the type of innovative but practical policy solutions that can get the U.S. economy going again, the authors write.

  Ralph Cavanagh and John Di Stasio • May 27, 2020

• 

  Pros and cons of FRRExit: Correcting the record in the wake of Monitoring Analytics' cost estimates

  As states weigh FERC’s Minimum Offer Price Rule order, it’s important to clarify the risks and benefits of an alternative to PJM’s centralized capacity procurement called the Fixed Resource Requirement, the authors write.

  Rob Gramlich and Miles Farmer • May 26, 2020

Next