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  A new Colorado law makes it a top site for clean hydrogen developers, but it’s not a model for federal rules

  We do not advocate that the U.S. Treasury adopt Colorado’s approach. Rather, it should base its decision on careful economic analysis and phase in more rigorous GHG accounting over time.

  Will Toor • May 25, 2023

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  The generators who cry ‘wolf’: How competitive wholesale markets handle generator bankruptcy

  Generators with competitive operating costs that enter bankruptcy have every incentive to remain in business and to produce as much energy as they can whenever they can earn more than their variable costs.

  Mike Hogan • May 24, 2023

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  RTOs may be ‘sick’ but weren’t designed to manage a huge transition of US generation. Here’s how to help.

  RTOs provide great value in operating the electric system every day, but they struggle with their role in the massive undertaking and challenge of managing a wholesale overhaul of that system.

  Matt King and John Chiles • May 19, 2023

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  Georgia’s Plant Vogtle is a $35B boondoggle. We need new and better solutions for a carbon-free grid.

  Urgent utility business model reforms are needed to create a 21st-century, people-centered grid that delivers affordable fossil-free solutions.

  Patty Durand • May 18, 2023

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  Carolina market reforms would increase grid reliability and reduce customer costs

  Opening the energy market in the Carolinas to more competition translates to more options to meet customer preferences and, in turn, supports economic development prospects throughout both states.

  Reese Rogers • May 17, 2023

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  The TransWest Express transmission line is a win for rural communities. Why did approval take 15 years?

  The massive delay in approving the TransWest Express project was the result of an overly complex and too easily derailed federal permitting process for major infrastructure projects.

  Greg Brophy • May 16, 2023

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  How PJM, America’s biggest grid operator, got its reliability report wrong

  In reaching its most dire predictions, the report ignores how the Inflation Reduction Act that is expected to change the investment environment for wind, solar and energy storage would boost new capacity entry.  

  Casey Roberts • May 12, 2023

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  As Shell and other oil and gas majors adopt clean energy strategies, how should electric utilities respond?

  Oil and gas companies are experts in flexibly responding to market conditions and opportunities, and their entry into the generation market plays to these strengths.

  Alex Boyd • May 5, 2023

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  The IRS’s coming 45V tax credit rules can build a domestic clean hydrogen industry — but only if done right.

  A loose framework of rules could raise utility rates, make it tougher to meet clean energy targets, and threaten reliability while setting the clean hydrogen industry up for failure once 45V expires.

  Dan Esposito • May 4, 2023

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  Why EV operations minutiae, not big strategic announcements, will decide the success of the EV transition

  The “announce first, solve barriers later” mindset so predominant in the vehicle electrification industry today is a drag on progress.

  Matt Lichtash • May 2, 2023

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  Texas legislators should consider alternatives to strengthen grid reliability before gambling on PCM

  The proposed performance credit mechanism would not guarantee the development of any new generation capacity but would impose guaranteed new costs on Texas consumers.

  Zoe Parker • April 26, 2023

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  Efforts to accelerate permitting could learn a thing or two from nuclear energy

  In the past, the implicit assumption was that it was OK for it to take years or even decades to build energy projects because the status quo was acceptable. We know now that the status quo is not, in fact, acceptable.

  Jessica Lovering and Judi Greenwald • April 24, 2023

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  Covering infrastructure costs to support commercial EV charging is worth it for utilities and ratepayers

  If utilities pay up front for all of the customer- and utility-side make-ready investments needed to electrify fleets in their service territory, the resulting revenues will outweigh the investment cost at no additional cost to ratepayers.

  Pamela MacDougall • April 20, 2023

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  New York’s plan for transforming its electricity generation will reduce reliability at extreme cost

  Permitting and grid interconnection delays mean it's highly unlikely that enough new generation will be added to meet the state’s goal of having 100% zero-emission electricity production by 2040.

  Arnold Wallenstein • April 19, 2023

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  Chinese supply chains for critical infrastructure threaten the US power grid

  State and federal policymakers, utilities and other stakeholders must develop and implement effective strategies to secure supply chains while minimizing the financial impact on ratepayers.

  Brien J. Sheahan • April 14, 2023

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  Grid connections will remain a huge challenge for clean energy if FERC fails to meet this moment

  To promote competition, interconnection reforms need standard processes and rules that leave little room for interpretation or discretion.

  Sean Gallagher • April 13, 2023

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  DOE study highlights America’s transmission needs, but how do we accelerate buildout?

  By providing FERC the authority to allocate costs to states according to benefits, Congress can help transmission lines avoid one of the most significant sources of delay.

  Michelle Solomon • March 31, 2023

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  In the heated debate over clean hydrogen rules, additionality doesn’t add up

  A handful of observers are trying to undermine congressional intent by asking the administration to prohibit American manufacturers from having equal access to clean hydrogen production.

  Joe Dominguez • March 31, 2023

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  Avoiding a ‘clean power divide’  — creating national electrification co-ops for a just energy transition

  If all Americans can participate, we can achieve the speed and scale required to decarbonize electricity and transportation and save the planet.

  Audrey Zibelman and Victoria Harmon • March 28, 2023

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  Not ‘sick or dying or dead’: The great benefit of RTOs

  To argue that some regional transmission organizations have imperfections is somewhat akin to saying, “nobody is perfect.”

  Scott Miller • March 23, 2023

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  The EPA’s hydrogen push is a federal endorsement of greenwashing

  Burning hydrogen in power plants is no silver bullet for meeting decarbonization goals, in part because leaks could lead to higher levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

  Abbe Ramanan • March 22, 2023

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  NuScale Power, the canary in the small modular reactor market

  SMRs are being marketed as a solution to the climate crisis, but they're already far more expensive and take much longer to build than renewable and storage resources — technologies we already have.

  David Schlissel • March 21, 2023

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  Extreme weather events are expanding — the US power grid is not

  FERC, governors, state regulators and utilities should focus their efforts on interregional transmission development by encouraging investments that will yield significant long-term benefits.

  Barbara Tyran • March 16, 2023

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  Can utility regulators adopt Silicon Valley’s ‘fail fast’ approach? A new Connecticut program may tell

  While the pace of electric system transformation and technological innovation has increased rapidly over the last 15 years, regulatory structures have struggled to keep pace.

  Josh Ryor, Matt McDonnell, and Eli Asher • March 10, 2023

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  FERC must ensure that customer funds are only used to benefit customers and not political activities

  If FERC provides a level playing field, we have a chance to enact policies that are in our best interest, use science, follow the math, and implement non-emitting energy solutions.

  Priya Gandbhir • March 9, 2023

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