Opinion

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  What's a reasonable investor to expect? MOPR instability and state policy certainty

  Regulatory certainty is a worthy goal. But, in a competitive market, generators aren't entitled to protection or guaranteed to recover their investment, the author writes.

  Sarah Ladin • Sept. 17, 2021

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  To build back better, make FERC boring again

  The more FERC presses against or exceeds the bounds of the statutes Congress has written, the more it will see its decisions litigated, costing time and money when we cannot afford to waste either, the author writes.

  Kevin Sunday • Sept. 15, 2021

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  A national clean electricity performance program needs to support clean-tech innovation

  A Clean Electricity Performance Program with a well-designed innovation multiplier could go a long way toward developing and deploying at scale the technology necessary to decarbonize the U.S. grid, the author writes.

  Stefan Koester • Sept. 15, 2021

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  FERC wants state help on transmission policy. It should also ask about wholesale market reforms.

  States will struggle to reach meaningful levels of decarbonization — let alone a net-zero outcome — without regional scale that really is only possible through the FERC wholesale markets, the author writes.

  David Boyd • Sept. 14, 2021

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  Our approach to expanding electricity infrastructure isn't working. It's time for a different conversation.

  We do not have the necessary mechanisms to identify, prioritize and build the network of interstate, high-capacity transmission lines needed in the next 30 years, the authors write.

  Armond Cohen and Liza Reed • Sept. 10, 2021

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  5 things I learned from exiting my G&T power provider, and the 300 things I've gained

  Kit Carson Electric Cooperative CEO Luis A. Reyes Jr. offers lessons and advice based on KCEC's G&T cooperative exit, one of the first in the country.

  Luis A. Reyes Jr. • Sept. 09, 2021

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  Energy equity: Reforming utilities' business plans by rebalancing ratepayers' financial risks

  Decentralized clean energy systems, with utility-scale renewables in support, offer lower costs, greater resiliency and more equitable risk sharing between utilities and ratepayers, the author writes. 

  Grant Smith • Sept. 07, 2021

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  Full and open transmission competition is key to boosting grid reliability and renewables in California

  We need to put all options on the table to keep the lights on for California while we break new ground in the energy transition, writes Stanford University's Michael Wara.

  Michael Wara • Sept. 03, 2021

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  When there's a will, there's a way: Building the foundation for municipal EV infrastructure

  Electric vehicles are no longer a novelty. Local leaders can begin to expand their EV infrastructure by first building the local will and political capital, while also investing in workforce development. 

  Celeste Frye • Sept. 01, 2021

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  Making FERC hot can keep the climate cool

  Although clean energy subsidies dominate headlines, policymakers are beginning to appreciate the foremost imperative in the clean energy transition: overhauling archaic regulation, the author writes.

  Devin Hartman • Aug. 24, 2021

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  The G&T cooperative business model is not broken, despite some vocal Tri-State opponents

  For those who assert that Tri-State — or more broadly, the G&T model — is broken and needs to be fixed, the head of Otero County Electric Cooperative asks, what's the problem that needs to be solved?

  Mario Romero • Aug. 23, 2021

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  The disintermediation red herring: How utilities can learn to embrace and profit from DER

  Utilities that understand what tools customers value and make it easier for customers to access them can turn disruption into advantage, the authors write.

  Samir Succar and Val Jensen • Aug. 19, 2021

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  Utility regulators need to be a lot more proactive on climate resilience. Here's how they can start.

  As the country grapples with accelerating consequences from extreme weather events, new regulatory frameworks are needed to guide utility investments for added resilience, the authors write.

  Maria Bocanegra and Mishal Thadani • Aug. 17, 2021

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  Is small customer demand response dead in Texas?

  Price-responsive demand benefits all customers, not just those that participate in these programs, by reducing wholesale market prices and the need for involuntary load curtailments, the author writes.

  Robert Borlick • Aug. 09, 2021

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  The offshore wind lease auction process needs a desperate fix

  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's process restricts open competition and increases costs regionally, the author maintains.

  Dean Koujak • Aug. 03, 2021

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  As climate risk disclosures loom, US utilities must not evade accountability

  U.S. utilities, through their trade groups, are pressing the SEC for weak climate disclosure policies that contradict advice from leading authorities, the authors write.

  Howard Crystal and Ilana Cohen • Aug. 02, 2021

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  Ensuring electricity reliability must be job number one for FERC

  With a rapidly changing climate and a nationwide move toward renewables, the message should be clear: now is the time to redouble the focus on grid reliability, a former U.S. congressman writes.

  Rick Boucher • July 29, 2021

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  A brighter day for distribution co-ops? FERC's Tri-State proceeding and reformation of the G&T model

  Stakeholders might not look to Tupac Shakur in the first instance when analyzing the troubles of the generation and transmission model. But recent developments at FERC suggest perhaps they should, the authors write.

  Ray Gifford and Matt Larson • July 27, 2021

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  The DER future is nearly here? Stuck in the weeds on Order No. 2222 implementation.

  The full scope of benefits distributed energy resources offer has remained tantalizingly out of reach without wide-scale participation of aggregators in the wholesale markets, the authors write.

  Hampden T. Macbeth and Jessica R. Bell • July 15, 2021

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  Fix Texas electricity — and hurry!

  A report from former Texas regulators and staff offers 20 recommendations following the February outages. Nearly all apply to cold weather outages as well as the grid operator's generation shortfall and demand surprises in June.

  Alison Silverstein • July 12, 2021

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  Building a US clean manufacturing strategy to counter China and tackle climate change

  The authors highlight four industries, including hydrogen production, that promise to become major export businesses as global markets for clean products grow.

  David Hart and Stefan Koester • June 29, 2021

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  Can West Coast states help achieve 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030?

  If the East Coast is sprinting a 100-meter dash to put steel in the water to meet the Biden administration's goal, the West Coast is running the 110-meter hurdles, the authors write.

  Chad Marriott and Cherise Gaffney • June 28, 2021

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  Satellites could be a game-changer for storm recovery — utilities should take a fresh look

  One of the more compelling utility use cases for satellite technology is supporting power outage restoration activities following a major hurricane, the author writes. 

  Jeff Lewis • June 24, 2021

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  The hydrogen molecule's 'moonshot' moment

  Hydrogen has the potential to help enable "our generation’s moonshot" — economy-wide decarbonization, the author writes.

  Neva Espinoza • June 23, 2021

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  Coal-fired carbon capture projects are a waste of tax dollars

  The proposed retrofit of a San Juan, N.M., coal-fired power plant is part of a push for potential 'carbon dioxide factories,' the authors write.

  Dennis Wamsted and David Schlissel • June 22, 2021

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