Opinion
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
Satellites could be a gamechanger 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 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
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 -
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 -
Scott Olson via Getty Images
Ending the snipe hunt for buyer-side power in PJM and other capacity markets
Going forward, FERC should be judicious when applying mitigation measures to state policies and should consider tools beyond the MOPR, the authors write.
Burçin Ünel and Sarah Ladin • June 21, 2021 -
George Frey via Getty Images
The danger of walled gardens: What Apple can teach us about devices in the energy sector
To realize the true benefits of a green and resilient energy grid, we must first break down the energy industry’s walled gardens, the authors write.
Michael Lee and Michael Murray • June 17, 2021 -
Sean Gallup via Getty Images
As 9 Ex-FERC commissioners tout organized markets, we need facts, not propaganda on the benefits
25 years into this RTO experiment we still have no ability to say dispositively that it has either worked or failed with respect to costs. Someone – maybe a federal regulator – should do an independent study, the author writes.
Michael McKenna • June 16, 2021 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
FERC points PJM toward a 21st-century reliability approach
Reliability mechanisms that seemed appropriate two decades ago, including the original capacity market designs, no longer fit the bill, the authors write.
David Littell and Michael Hogan • June 15, 2021 -
Courtesy of Shell
Laying the regulatory groundwork for hydrogen in the United States
Hydrogen is a fundamentally different energy commodity that merits its own regulatory structure in the United States, the authors write.
Drake D. Hernandez and Emre Gençer • June 08, 2021 -
Kevork Djansezian via Getty Images
'An unlikely alliance': US investor-owned utilities and NGOs partner to advance new carbon-free tech
The Edison Electric Institute and the Clean Air Task Force announce an initiative to support a slate of emerging carbon-free technologies.
Ben Fowke and Armond Cohen • June 04, 2021 -
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
The Texas Big Freeze: Holistic policy design for a clean and resilient grid
Energy Innovation evaluates a set of lessons from Texas' February power outages that regulators and grid operators can apply around the country, while it cautions against inadequate responses to the crisis.
Dan Esposito and Eric Gimon • June 04, 2021 -
Ron Jenkins via Getty Images
The Texas Big Freeze: How much were markets to blame for widespread outages?
Rather than abandoning markets, regulators and lawmakers should correct them through smart policy that bolsters readiness for future climate-driven disasters while facilitating grid decarbonization, the authors write.
Dan Esposito and Eric Gimon • June 03, 2021 -
Ron Jenkins via Getty Images
The Texas Big Freeze: How a changing climate pushed the state's power grid to the brink
Energy Innovation explains what drove the extended Texas outages in February in a series on resiliency against extreme events.
Dan Esposito and Eric Gimon • June 02, 2021 -
David McNew via Getty Images
Local communities want to lead the fight for clean energy
Local governments want to step up and advance all-electric buildings because they know it's good for communities, public health, affordability, reliability and our planet, the author writes.
Alejandra Mejia Cunningham • June 01, 2021 -
Tim Boyle via Getty Images
The dangers of 'out of sight, out of mind' gas ban policies
Counter to electrification advocates' goals, natural gas bans would increase, rather than decrease, the share of the country's energy mix coming from gas in its least-efficient form — natural gas-fired power plants, the author writes.
Dave Schryver • June 01, 2021 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
Exposing the utility playbook: Ratepayers are stuck paying the bill for utility corruption
Legislators and regulators need to be insulated from undue influence from utilities by limiting political spending and instituting strict anti-revolving door policies, the authors write.
Landon Stevens and Mark Pischea • May 27, 2021 -
Spencer Platt via Getty Images
Averting economic devastation from New York's billion-dollar consumer energy debt
Federal funds will eliminate a lot of New Yorkers' energy and water utility debt, but utility shareholders must share the burden of what remains, the authors write.
Kevin Parker and Richard Berkley • May 26, 2021 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
Where should batteries be put to manage wind and solar power?
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab researchers found that batteries sited separately from renewables, in a nearby high-value location, added greater value to a project than tandem siting, particularly in constrained areas.
Will Gorman • May 19, 2021 -
Catherine Morehouse, Utility Dive
Generation and transformation: Bringing cooperative G&Ts into the clean energy future
Sierra Club proposes to ease the clean energy transition for cooperatives and coal communities by injecting $12.5 billion of federal money into rural economies, with another $2.5 billion for plant and coal mine communities.
Jeremy Fisher • May 13, 2021 -
A grand bargain for decarbonizing the US electricity sector
The fundamental political challenge for a zero carbon power sector likely boils down to the need for compromise between states that have long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions goals and those that do not.
Fredrich Kahrl and Jim Williams • May 04, 2021 -
Permission granted by Fermata Energy
As markets mature, will EV fleet managers drive competition between power providers?
Utilities cannot be complacent and just expect to be the preferred electricity provider for fleets based in their territory, the author writes.
Will Sierzchula • May 03, 2021 -
Danielle Ternes
Power markets are not ready to maximize infrastructure investments
The returns on capital generated from the investments made by the Biden administration's jobs plan will depend on how well they are leveraged within power markets, the author writes.
Ben Hertz-Shargel • April 30, 2021 -
FERC Chair Glick might be right on transmission incentives, but his timing is not
Glick may be correct that current transmission incentives are a product and a symptom of a broken process, but the timing of a new proposal is suboptimal for a number of reasons, the author writes.
Michael McKenna • April 28, 2021 -
Fotolia
4 common myths about performance-based regulation
Misconceptions about PBR abound, and may keep America's regulatory community from making sound decisions about its proper role, the author writes.
Mark Newton Lowry • April 27, 2021 -
Beyond solar and wind: 10 steps to meet President Biden's clean electricity target
As countries around the world commit to greater emissions reductions, it’s time for utilities and the electricity sector to buckle up for rapid decarbonization, says Grid Forward Executive Director Bryce Yonker.
Bryce Yonker • April 26, 2021 -
Fotolia
As climate concerns grow, how is it getting cheaper to finance gas in the US?
These transactions speak volumes about what financial institutions believe or don’t believe about the energy transition in the U.S. and its inherent risks, the author writes.
Justin Guay • April 20, 2021
