Opinion
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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MISO can improve reliability before building transmission
Well before MISO builds out its recently approved $10 billion transmission portfolio, it can avoid blackouts by boosting its operating reserves rather than keeping a singular focus on planning reserves, the authors write.
Rao Konidena and Allison Bates Wannop • Aug. 15, 2022 -
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Coordination between utilities and crypto miners — when does it make sense?
Some, but not too much, demand response can be a win-win for utilities and crypto miners, the authors contend.
Steve Wright and Hassan Shaban • Aug. 11, 2022 -
Permission granted by First Solar
Diving into the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits and the ambitious plan to reshape the US energy sector
Tax incentives in the plan would stabilize federal energy policy, incentivize domestic manufacturing, and benefit communities impacted most by the changing energy landscape, the author writes.
Mona Dajani • Aug. 9, 2022 -
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Why electricity is more expensive and less reliable
After a quarter century, the evidence is accumulating that our experiment with electricity restructuring is failing, former chairman and CEO of the Illinois Commerce Commission Brien Sheahan writes.
Brien J. Sheahan • Aug. 3, 2022 -
Lack of policy to broaden regional transmission investment opportunity is holding development back
The industry needs policies in place to incentivize those who host regional transmission facilities by providing them with an opportunity to invest in this infrastructure – and earn a profit, the author writes.
Matt Lacey • July 25, 2022 -
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Unleashing the economic power and reliability potential of West Coast offshore wind
Offshore wind can have significant reliability, economic and climate benefits, but policy action is needed now, the authors write.
Mike O’Boyle and Michelle Solomon • July 19, 2022 -
Courtesy of Entergy
Lack of investment and innovation adds to worries of grid failure and outages
If we want to get off this endless loop of seasonal failure warnings, outages, and crises, a major effort needs to be made to invest in this grid of the future, the author writes.
Landon Stevens • July 18, 2022 -
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Bay staters are choosing clean energy. Why are lawmakers favoring utility monopolies?
Now is the time to expand choice, not to shut down a market that is saving ratepayers money while enabling a transition to a clean energy future, the author writes.
Christopher Ercoli • July 14, 2022 -
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The end is near for monopolies: We must liberate the US power consumer
We must give Americans a choice when it comes to how and where they source their energy and at what price, the author writes.
William J. (John) Berger • July 8, 2022 -
Puerto Ricans have built the largest renewable peaker plant in the world. Let's use it.
It’s not too late for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to see the obvious economic and societal value of virtual power plants to mitigate blackouts, the author says.
Javier Rúa-Jovet • June 28, 2022 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
How utilities can harness green hydrogen production's flexibility in balancing a high-renewables grid
As green hydrogen gains momentum, understanding its role as a demand-side resource will help achieve reliability in a high-renewables grid, writes Energy Innovation’s Eric Gimon.
Eric Gimon • June 27, 2022 -
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Why President Biden's order to increase production of energy-saving technologies isn't enough
Our existing energy systems, gas or electric, are collective solutions to our community’s needs. Our transition to cleaner buildings must be collective as well, the author writes.
John Farrell • June 23, 2022 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
'All hands on deck' for the energy storage industry
A greater sense of urgency is needed to support markets for energy storage, a proven technology that provides the transformational pathway to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, the author writes.
Kelly Sarber • June 21, 2022 -
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President Biden's commitment to energy security needs certainty on natural gas
The Biden administration can keep its pledge to fund renewable energy development while also addressing the need for more natural gas today, the author writes.
Richard D. Kauzlarich • June 16, 2022 -
One cooperative should not be allowed to derail our collective clean energy efforts
If that is allowed to happen, the clean energy transition will be much like it is today — primarily enjoyed by customers of large investor-owned and municipal utilities that serve urban areas, the CEOs of three Colorado co-ops write.
Jessica Matlock, Jeff Wadsworth, and Brad Zaporski • June 8, 2022 -
Lott, Keith. (2011). "Timber Road II Wind Farm" [photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
FERC's acceptance of 2 capacity accreditation methods will complicate renewables development
The stakes are high: As more intermittent resources enter markets, the quantity procured and capacity payments will depend on each market’s specific capacity accreditation rules, the authors write.
Joseph Cavicchi and Charles Wu • June 6, 2022 -
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As contentious net metering debates persist across the US, Connecticut and Hawaii show a way forward
Hawaii and Connecticut are exploring technical and economic solutions, which California, Florida and others can learn from and improve upon, the author writes.
Patrick Murphy • June 3, 2022 -
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Collaborating on zero energy homes could help meet utility climate goals and grow affordable housing
Zero energy homes exceed building codes, feature a high-performance building envelope and cold climate heat pumps, and could help utilities meet their goals.
Rebecca Foster • May 25, 2022 -
adobe.com/dell
Snoop Dogg and resource adequacy reality meet head on as summer approaches
We find ourselves today without appropriate evaluation structures for resource adequacy because everyone is looking to somebody else, the authors write. It's something the "D-O-double-G" told us about long ago.
Ray Gifford and Matt Larson • May 23, 2022 -
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Calls for increased natural gas production ignore US infrastructure needs
While the President has recently shifted his narrative to support American natural gas, his administration continues to introduce and implement policies that impact our industry through added delays and costs, the author writes.
Amy Andryszak • May 16, 2022 -
Permission granted by WiTricity
Closing the gap on rural EV 'charging deserts'
Targeted federal funding and strategic regulation will be crucial to ensure that the charging network to power the electrical transformation is accessible and affordable for all, the author writes.
William Policastro • May 13, 2022 -
Even studying public power makes little sense
Switching to public power, or even studying it, would miserably fail a cost-benefit test and would be the wrong solution to whatever problem advocates of public power claim to solve, the author writes.
Kenneth W. Costello • May 12, 2022 -
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The public power option should be a community decision
Whether municipalization efforts are driven by a desire for lower rates, better reliability, or environmental goals, this option should be explored as deeply as the community wants to go, the author writes.
Joy Ditto • May 12, 2022 -
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'Made in America' – An analog policy that needs to go digital
To get smart grid projects off the drawing board, we need to include software as part of domestic content calculations — especially firmware for high-priority, planet-friendly projects like advanced metering infrastructure, the author writes.
Tom Deitrich • May 11, 2022 -
Alex McGuffie via Getty Images
Reliably hitting 85% clean electricity has huge implications for California — and the rest of the country
If the country's largest economy can hit its clean energy goals and retire more natural gas generation despite challenges like extreme weather and deployment bottlenecks, so can any other state, the author writes.
Daniel Esposito • May 10, 2022
