Opinion: Page 2
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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Committing to climate: Transformation is underway in the US power sector
The electric power sector is taking climate action, and investors are taking notice. Here's how far it has come and where it needs to go next.
Dan Bakal • April 22, 2019 -
States' rights, states' wrongs: Where should we draw the line on intervention in power markets?
While states are facing pushback from market proponents and competitive market administrators, the Supreme Court recently denied petitions to review state policies targeted at forestalling closure of zero-emission nuclear plants.
Michael Hogan • April 18, 2019 -
A brighter future: Why energy storage belongs in the investment tax credit
A proposed bill to include energy storage in the federal investment tax credit is imperative to the future of U.S. clean energy, writes Kelly Speakes-Backman and Heather Reams.
Heather Reams and Kelly Speakes-Backman • April 16, 2019 -
Making cloud computing and other services pay for utilities and customers
Although the traditional regulatory paradigm discourages utilities from taking advantage of such services, financial accounting rules give regulators flexibility in how they allow utilities to capitalize costs as so-called regulatory assets.
Coley Girouard • April 11, 2019 -
100% clean electricity in Washington state: Achievable, affordable and reliable
The policy gained strong support in 2018, with strong stakeholder engagement setting up multiple checks and balances that will help decarbonize Washington’s electricity sector while maintaining low electricity prices.
Adam Maxwell • April 10, 2019 -
Grid modernization is the best new deal
A Grid Modernization Act could accomplish many of the Green New Deal's goals by improving public health, creating jobs, spurring innovation, strengthening national security and making our communities more resilient.
Hon. Dennis McGinn and Roger Sorkin • April 09, 2019 -
Will FERC trample state and local authorities in DER rulemaking?
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may soon upset a long-standing balance among local, state and federal decision-making as it considers aggregating distributed energy resources in a way that eliminates local jurisdiction.
Jim Matheson • April 05, 2019 -
Two are better than one: Bifacial PV modules will open new markets for utility-scale solar
While bifacial technology is still fairly nascent, the technology along with complementary optimizations in balance of systems development practices and power marketing is poised to once again reshape the solar industry.
Sheldon Kimber • April 04, 2019 -
Welcoming the next generation: Residential demand response 3.0
Utilities and third parties are beginning to explore how smarter home energy ecosystems can support grid reliability while earning extra income for residential consumers, according to Navigant Research.
Jessie Mehrhoff • April 03, 2019 -
Ex-Maryland Gov O'Malley: States must reassert authority on clean energy policy
In the absence of White House leadership on climate, it's up to governors and other state leaders to carry the fight for renewable energy and lower rates, Martin O'Malley writes.
Martin O’Malley • March 28, 2019 -
What can power companies learn from iTunes?
In a way, utilities are looking to emulate the iTunes business model, leveraging their customer base to become a trusted provider of third-party products and services, writes Rainer Sternfeld of Intertrust Corporation.
Rainer Sternfeld • March 22, 2019 -
Experiment without penalty: Can regulatory 'sandboxes' foster utility innovation?
The sandbox concept allows innovators to experiment without the usual regulatory impediments and long delays associated with traditional oversight, writes Illinois Commerce Commission Chair Brien Sheahan.
Brien J. Sheahan and Jimmie Zhang • March 21, 2019 -
What happened to agricultural demand response?
Agricultural loads, with their potential flexibility, can help improve grid stability and reduce costs for utilities and ratepayers as energy markets move into a future of increasingly distributed, 100% renewable energy generation.
Arian Aghajanzadeh • March 20, 2019 -
State of the states: 4 reasons that red plus blue makes green economics
While the Green New Deal proposal has sparked an important national conversation, the next wave of innovative energy legislation will likely come from red and blue state capitols.
Malcolm D. Woolf • March 19, 2019 -
Steel-for-fuel, data-for-fuel, and other good ideas for asset retirement
Balanced, collaborative and innovative stakeholder processes can help regulators align securitization of obsolete power plants with the public interest.
Carl Linvill and Megan O’Reilly • March 18, 2019 -
It's time to change our approach to grid security
Relying on physical defensive techniques — software patching, anti-malware tools, creating strong perimeters and air-gapped networks — will not be enough to ward off future cyberattacks.
Richard E. Harrison • March 15, 2019 -
The devil's in the details: Policy implications of 'clean' vs. 'renewable' energy
In the U.S., researchers who analyzed 40 different decarbonization pathways found that a system inclusive of clean energy will be much cheaper than a system based entirely on renewables.
Lee Beck and Jennifer T. Gordon • March 14, 2019 -
It's time to Spotify the grid with DSO functions
If you don't get working on implementing distribution system operator functions now, you probably won’t be ready for a DER-filled world where everything we knew about the energy market gets put on "shuffle."
Stuart McCafferty • March 13, 2019 -
Beyond transmission: How remote sensing speeds inspection and management of distribution networks
By more quickly identifying potential problems, utilities can address areas where safety concerns are most urgent, or infrastructure is at risk.
Eric Merten • March 12, 2019 -
BQDM program demonstrates benefits of non-traditional utility investments
Con Edison's Brooklyn Queens Demand Management project creates a win-win-win scenario for the utility, third-party companies and customers, highlighting advantages of non-traditional solutions.
Coley Girouard • March 11, 2019 -
Consumers shouldn't pay for bureaucratic thinking on electricity
Achieving grid reliability and resilience that meet customer needs will require a culture shift within regulatory agencies and grid operators away from reliability-at-all-costs and toward reliability-at-the-right-cost.
Devin Hartman and Caitlin Marquis • March 08, 2019 -
Deploying more renewables now through an energy storage-centric Clean Peak Standard
Policies that encourage energy storage to be paired with solar or wind power can have an outsized impact because these grid assets can together deliver firm capacity into peak periods when customer costs are the highest.
Ronald DiFelice • March 07, 2019 -
Extreme weather alert: How utilities are adapting to a changing climate
The costs of recent U.S. hurricanes and wildfires have been in the tens of billions of dollars. The pace, scale and scope of efforts need to increase dramatically to ensure safe and reliable energy delivery, Navigant says.
Frank Stern, Sarah Hendel-Blackford, Kaboo Leung, Ian Trim Rodrigo Leal and Danielle Vitoff • March 06, 2019 -
How renewable energy providers can prepare for PG&E's bankruptcy
Providers need to be prepared to renegotiate power purchase agreements at lower rates in the near term, and to try and leverage greater rate increases in the years ahead, writes CohnReznick Capital's Jeffrey Manning.
Jeffrey R. Manning • Feb. 15, 2019 -
Energy transition: Carbon capture is clean energy, too
Slow deployment of carbon capture and storage is not a technology problem, but the result of a lack of policy mechanisms to place a value on carbon, writes Global CCS Institute head Brad Page.
Brad Page • Feb. 14, 2019
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