Many of us have a hard time keeping track of where our federal government stands on environmental issues, especially when viewed through a political lens or from the perspective of the popular press. For example, in 2016 we signed on to the Paris Climate Accord. We withdrew in 2020, then rejoined in 2021. The Obama…
Over the past 15 years, a group of power sector professionals have followed — and fostered — developments in an era of enormous change for the sector. In December, the group met in Washington DC for the 54th and final meeting of this group, the Mid-Atlantic Distributed Resources Initiative (MADRI). So MADRI’s final convening was…
The United States is the second-highest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet — but we are also a leader in technological and economic strength. We have the capability to lead the world in finding solutions to the urgent challenge of climate change — while rapidly and thoroughly decarbonizing ourselves. To move our energy use…
In television’s longest running game show, contestants are challenged to guess the prices of a wide variety of consumer goods. The contestant who comes closest to the actual price, without going over, is the winner. I found myself thinking about The Price Is Right at a recent workshop in Denver, hosted by the Community Solar…
Resilience is a character trait that is universally admired and respected in people. In recent years, it has also gained attention as a new imperative for infrastructure planning and development. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy and other recent natural disasters, there is heightened awareness that one of the essential components of resilience is the…
With so many attention-grabbing headlines coming from sunny places like Nevada, Arizona, California, and Hawaii, one could easily be led to think that’s where all of the solar power action is in the United States. Not true! In fact, solar power is steadily gaining ground in all corners of the country. Consider, for example, the…
My colleague David Littell recently wrote about the inexorable shift of the US power sector toward cleaner sources of electric energy, noting that the cost of renewables has been dropping, energy efficiency continues to grow, and storage technologies have been improving, among other things. Shortly after we published his article, the US Energy Information Administration…
Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky once said, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Strangely enough, when I think about what lies ahead for electric utilities and state regulators, I think about Gretzky’s greatness. And then I think about the amusement…
EPA is expected to finalize its Clean Power Plan (also known as its “111(d) rule”) today. Once published in the Federal Register, states may have only one year (or in some cases, two years) to develop initial compliance plans, so the pressure to move quickly will be extraordinary. A game plan will help officials responsible…