Opinion
The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders
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Federal policy rollbacks won’t stop electricity growth
Regardless of federal climate and energy policy rollbacks over the next four years, the U.S. electric sector will need to plan for load growth at levels not seen for 20 years.
Rawley Loken, Amber Mahone, Tory Clark • Jan. 22, 2025 -
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It’s time for the US to adopt comprehensive battery legislation similar to the EU
As the world’s largest economy, with a fast-growing EV market, the United States can — and must — be a global leader on creating a circular economy for batteries.
Blaine Miller-McFeeley and Julia Poliscanova • Jan. 17, 2025 -
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The 47th presidency offers hope for permitting reform
Republicans and President-elect Trump should take the win that a permitting reform compromise bill offers, and they should do this in the first 100 days of the new administration.
Jonathan Chanis • Jan. 16, 2025 -
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Load forecasts from data centers risk falling into irrational exuberance territory
There is a long history of overestimating load growth, which can drive overbuilding and the addition of resources that may exceed the increased demand.
Todd Snitchler • Jan. 15, 2025 -
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Will the success of Biden’s clean energy policies impede Trump’s agenda?
Because of the Inflation Reduction Act's success across the country, Trump may encounter obstacles in his attempt to undo it, including opposition from members of his own party.
Kenneth Irvin and Ogemdi Maduike • Jan. 13, 2025 -
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AI applications in the energy sector — are you missing out on sustainable impact?
Despite the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence across the power and utility sector, its potential remains underutilized in many areas.
Mike Duffy • Jan. 10, 2025 -
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How to keep electric vehicle investments on track in the new political climate
A clean fuel standard has worked in several states to fund EV infrastructure. It should be tried in more places.
Laura Sherman • Jan. 9, 2025 -
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Midwest to lead in ‘build, baby, build’
MISO has proven itself as a national leader in regional transmission planning — and other regions should take note.
Ted Thomas • Jan. 7, 2025 -
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Big tech must stop passing the cost of its spiking energy needs onto the public
We need new policies that ensure the cost of new data centers is carried by the tech companies that profit from them, not by regular energy consumers such as family households and small businesses.
Julianne Malveaux • Jan. 6, 2025 -
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From code to current: How to keep AI data centers in check for a sustainable grid
AI doesn't have to be a burden on the grid. With thoughtful strategies and a proactive approach, we can minimize the environmental and infrastructural costs of data centers.
Manav Mittal • Jan. 3, 2025 -
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Ensuring your EPC contracts incorporate the IRA’s prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements
The IRA has undeniably presented owners with new and significant opportunities connected to building new clean energy projects, but taking advantage of these opportunities has also presented considerable challenges.
Laura Fraher and Mikayla Sciscente • Dec. 20, 2024 -
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A path to equitable permitting reform: Fast-tracking clean energy while empowering communities
For a sustainable future, the U.S. must adopt a more just permitting reform model — one that accelerates clean energy projects while centering environmental justice, community engagement and resilience.
Shriya Pai • Dec. 19, 2024 -
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Saving the IRA won’t save residential electrification
The incumbent residential energy model — built on pushing a single product rather than building broad demand — is badly failing both investors and customers and is in structural decline.
Steve McBee • Dec. 17, 2024 -
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The key to successfully deploying heat pump water heaters? Funding innovation.
The impact of small grants on spurring testing of new technologies and approaches underscores exactly why programs like TECH Clean California are vital to scaling climate solutions.
Chris Badger • Dec. 16, 2024 -
Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
The EV transition is taking time. That’s expected.
If all new car sales right now were EVs — a target for more than a dozen states by 2035 — it would still take at least a decade, and likely far longer, to fully transition to electric vehicles.
Trey M. Gowdy • Dec. 13, 2024 -
Accelerating grid modernization with open technology and standards
As the power and utility industry digitizes, it can look to the tech industry for inspiration on how to innovate.
Alex Thornton • Dec. 12, 2024 -
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Can regulators protect small customers from rising transmission costs for big data centers?
Federal-state consensus is needed around whether to ring-fence non-data-center retail customers from the costs of expanding the transmission grid to meet data center load.
Abraham Silverman, Suzanne Glatz and Mahala Lahvis • Dec. 11, 2024 -
Gabriel Shakour via Getty Images
Stepping up to achieve local climate progress despite federal headwinds
State and local action will be one of the most effective means of continuing the momentum for clean energy deployment and cost reductions.
Darren Springer • Dec. 10, 2024 -
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Electrons vs. molecules: The critical role of hydrogen in hard-to-abate sectors
To meet the urgency of the climate crisis, we must embrace a dual approach: electrify where possible and deploy hydrogen where electricity falls short.
Rinaldo Brutoco • Dec. 9, 2024 -
Courtesy of Climeworks — The Mammoth plant
Regulatory red tape holds back the carbon capture opportunity in Texas
President-elect Trump’s nomination of Lee Zeldin to lead the U.S. EPA could restore sanity to an agency that is holding back billions of dollars in new investment — including in the fast-growing carbon capture industry.
Matt Welch • Dec. 6, 2024 -
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Clean firm generation is an important piece of the energy transition, but it’s no silver bullet
Due to the high cost of clean firm energy, it may be best considered as part of a broader generation portfolio that relies on much lower cost wind and solar most of the time.
Michelle Solomon • Dec. 5, 2024 -
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Mitigating price volatility: How flexible assets can strengthen renewable portfolios
Together, battery storage, gas generation and demand response provide a crucial buffer against the risks associated with renewable energy, making portfolios more adaptable and financially resilient.
Andrew Warrell, Spencer Holmes and Tyler Bowen, McKinsey • Dec. 4, 2024 -
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A costly lesson in supply and demand: How to address PJM’s capacity shortages
The first law of holes says that you should stop digging when you’re in one. It’s time to stop retiring dispatchable resources if we don’t want the hole we’re in to get any deeper.
Michelle Bloodworth • Dec. 3, 2024 -
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AI power demands are rising, and so are attacks on utilities. Here’s what they can do about it.
While the spike in electricity demand from artificial intelligence creates exciting new opportunities for utilities, it also makes them a prime target for both physical and cyberattacks.
Carmelo McCutcheon • Nov. 27, 2024 -
Courtesy of Port Arthur LNG
FERC’s rubber-stamp approach to LNG is bad news for our economy, consumers and environment
By prioritizing LNG exports, FERC is constraining domestic gas supply, risking deepening economic inequities, exacerbating price volatility, and straining a power sector already tasked with increasing demand and struggling to keep up.
Megan Gibson • Nov. 26, 2024
