Opinion
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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Solving PJM’s data center problem
The grid operator must stop buying capacity for new data centers. Instead, it can provide them with only interruptible service until they bring their own capacity., write Tom Rutigliano and Claire Lang-Ree of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Tom Rutigliano and Claire Lang-Ree • Dec. 2, 2025 -
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Beyond new wires: The untapped path to grid resilience
The fastest, most affordable path to resilience lies in maximizing distributed energy resources already in homes and businesses, and incentivizing more installations, Uplight’s Hannah Bascom writes.
Hannah Bascom • Dec. 1, 2025 -
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Data centers are breaking the old grid. Let AI build the new one.
Utilities that embrace artificial intelligence will set reliability and affordability standards for decades to come, writes Hari Vasudevan, founder and CEO of KYRO AI.
Hari Vasudevan • Nov. 26, 2025 -
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States must advance technology-neutral permitting to support clean energy
A competitive environment is necessary for rapid innovation and cost reduction as federal support evaporates, say Leila Banijamali and Zachary Millimet of Symbium.
Leila Banijamali and Zachary Millimet • Nov. 25, 2025 -
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Utility operating systems at the grid edge pose an overlooked risk
While utilities focus on network security and access control, underlying operating systems remain a vulnerable foundation, writes Andrew Rynhard, chief technology officer for Sidero Labs.
Andrew Rynhard • Nov. 21, 2025 -
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Texas is winning the energy war by ignoring the politics
The Lone Star State is demonstrating an affordable and reliable path to achieving American energy resilience that prioritizes practicality over ideology, writes Amperon CEO Sean Kelly.
Sean Kelly • Nov. 20, 2025 -
Mario Tama via Getty Images
How renewable energy producers can navigate FERC’s new interconnection rules
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reforms aim to accelerate interconnection, but regional differences can affect project timelines, write energy attorneys at Balch & Bingham.
Kevin McNamee, Abby Fox and Ricky Cox • Nov. 19, 2025 -
Permission granted by Consumers Energy
Meeting America’s generation challenge: Why smarter permitting matters
Efficiency, predictability, transparency and meaningful stakeholder input should be the principles guiding energy permitting reform, writes American Public Power Association CEO Scott Corwin.
Scott Corwin • Nov. 18, 2025 -
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America’s EVs are a $30B grid asset. Let’s not lock it away.
We have the potential for a 7 million-vehicle-strong virtual power plant at our disposal in the U.S. today, with 78.5 million on the way by 2035, writes ev.energy CEO Nick Woolley.
Nick Woolley • Nov. 17, 2025 -
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Data center volatility, batteries and the electric grid’s new reality
Every data center is about to play a role in grid stability whether it wants to or not, writes TerraFlow Energy’s Amanda Simonian.
Amanda Simonian • Nov. 14, 2025 -
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Reshoring, technology diversification are reshaping the future of energy storage
Diversifying battery technologies offers a sustainable path to resilience and supply chain strength, writes Jeremy Furr, senior vice president of strategic sourcing at Stryten Energy.
Jeremy Furr • Nov. 13, 2025 -
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Data centers can stack sustainability, energy innovations
Data center developers should seize opportunities to benefit communities and the environment, write a former Ohio member of Congress and a sixth-generation farmer.
Tim Ryan and Shawn Cutter • Nov. 12, 2025 -
Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
How we talk about next-gen electric vehicles matters for key regulations
To reduce the administrative burden on all parties, regulators and utilities must explicitly distinguish between an EV that is merely “capable” of bi-directional charging and one that is actively enabled, writes Bill Crider of Ford Motor Co.
Bill Crider • Nov. 10, 2025 -
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Our laws must catch up to data centers’ rising power
Data center power demand could bring about a transformation in the U.S. energy system, or it could spike prices as polluting emissions rise, write energy scholars Alexandra Klass and Dave Owen.
Alexandra Klass and Dave Owen • Nov. 7, 2025 -
Diana DiGangi/Utility Dive
Making flexibility work: A concrete framework for the DOE large load proposal
The proposal for interconnecting data centers to the grid calls for load flexibility but gives few details. Former FERC Commissioner Allison Clements and Miles Farmer and Sam Walsh of Roselle LLP fill in the blanks.
Allison Clements, Miles Farmer and Sam Walsh • Nov. 6, 2025 -
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Why this little-known metric will decide the value of future energy resources
The declining effective load carrying capability of short-duration batteries creates a planning dilemma for utilities, writes Fourth Power CEO Arvin Ganesan.
Arvin Ganesan • Nov. 5, 2025 -
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Why yesterday’s power grid security won’t work tomorrow
The modern power grid connects everything — and that means every sensor is now a potential entry point, writes Black & Veatch’s Keon McEwen.
Keon McEwen • Nov. 4, 2025 -
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The era of ‘free’ excess renewable energy is over
With rising energy demand, wasting power will soon be an unaffordable luxury. High-efficiency long-duration energy storage is key to achieving both our climate goals and economic viability.
Thomas Sisto • Nov. 3, 2025 -
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Data centers as engines of economic growth
Regulators should create pathways for utilities to test, scale and recover costs for forward-looking solutions that meet new economic demands, writes Jeff Jakubiak, a partner at Vinson & Elkins.
Jeff Jakubiak • Oct. 31, 2025 -
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A hydrogen ‘do-over’ for California
Getting hydrogen to work as an energy resource will require broadening the type of hydrogen we can live with, writes Melanie Davidson, former head of clean fuels strategy at San Diego Gas & Electric.
Melanie Davidson • Oct. 30, 2025 -
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Mainstreaming AI data center flexibility
Software solutions can protect AI workload service-level agreements and still allow data centers to respond to grid needs, writes Arushi Sharma Frank, adviser to Emerald AI.
Arushi Sharma Frank • Oct. 29, 2025 -
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Maryland should resist rewriting utility monopoly laws
The state should embrace competition, innovation and accountability from power distributors, generators and utility regulators, writes Adam Dubitsky, state director for the Land & Liberty Coalition of Maryland.
Adam Dubitsky • Oct. 28, 2025 -
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What utilities need to get right to scale generative AI
To use artificial intelligence safely and at scale, utilities need to start with the right architecture, define a data strategy and build the right compliance foundations, write Vijay Narayan and Syama Sundar Peesapati of Cognizant.
Vijay Narayan and Syama Sundar Peesapati • Oct. 27, 2025 -
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Renewing the case for energy efficiency: a grid resource, customer trust tool and economic engine
Efficiency and broader demand-side management strategies are powerful tools for grid planning that offer flexibility, speed and cost control, writes ICF’s Justin Mackovyak.
Justin Mackovyak • Oct. 24, 2025 -
Courtesy of Entergy
Gas reliance will worsen the energy affordability crisis
Utilities and regulators should consider other options before investing in gas plants and making customers pay the inflated price, writes Cassady Craighill, technical education director at GridLab.
Cassady Craighill • Oct. 23, 2025
