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It’s an article of faith in large parts of the U.S.—at least among power industry people—that organized and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)–regulated “merchant” interstate power markets are the best way to ensure a sufficient supply of electricity, as well as to ensure fair and equitable prices for ratepayers. On that basis, large areas of […]

California is widely regarded for environmental leadership, especially around clean energy policy. The state has set an ambitious goal of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045. Decarbonizing its electric power sector requires new approaches and ways of thinking to meet carbon reduction goals, all while minimizing land use, emissions, and cost. One promising approach is […]

Authored by Bryan Sillaman and James Alford of Hughes Hubbard In the midst of the global COVID-19 crisis, another unprecedented event took place that was largely overshadowed by more urgent, and life-threatening, circumstances. On April 20, 2020, the price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped below zero dollars per barrel (bbl), plunging past […]

In 2012, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were drafted at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which was held in Brazil. The goals were adopted by all the United Nations member countries in 2015. They replaced the Millennium Development Goals, which started in 2000 to tackle the challenge of extreme poverty across the world. […]

Hybrid power plants, also known as solar plus storage or wind plus storage projects, have gained significant traction in recent years. These projects combine solar energy or wind energy with battery energy storage. The result is a somewhat dispatchable renewable energy power plant, which can provide smoother (less-volatile) energy, and can shift time of delivery […]

Dear utility managers and workers, We’ve met some of you over the years, and as our employees have been sheltering in place with lights, internet, televisions, and many other modern comforts, we wanted to say thank you. Too often, energy providers only receive attention when something goes wrong. Because utilities in the U.S. are 99% […]

After Superstorm Sandy pummeled the great State of New Jersey in 2012, more than two million households were without power, many for close to two weeks. A silver lining is that this disaster occurred in the fall, after the heat of summer and before the onset of freezing conditions. With Sandy, New Jersey and the […]

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is not the type of thing enterprise technologists could see in our magic crystal ball. Before the onset of the virus and its effects, I set out three predictions for the energy, utilities, and resources sector for the coming year—but of course, a global shutdown of business, transport, and […]

South Africa has the largest carbon footprint in Africa and contributes 40% of the total CO2 emissions in the continent. As the world evolves in response to climate change concerns, the way business is done in South Africa will need to change. In addition to the critical need for every business to contribute to broadly […]

Traditional plants are turning to automatic self-cleaning strainers to provide more reliable cooling, reduce required maintenance, and improve uptime. With greater intrusion into the market from renewables, traditional power generation plants are under pressure to produce more efficiently and cost-effectively. Consequently, more than ever, there is no room for any unscheduled downtime. While not the […]