Commentary
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Commentary
End the War on Nuclear Power—Start with Radiation
Governments and non-governmental organizations worldwide are clamoring for reduction in human-generated CO 2 emissions. Yet, America’s largest carbon-free energy source is regulated and demonized to the
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Solar
New Technology Improves Rooftop Solar Designs
The solar power industry continues to see growth in distributed generation installations from residential to commercial projects, particularly as people take more control of powering their properties to increase their electricity reliability, and to control their energy costs. An important part of that process involves a rooftop solar installation’s onsite survey. There is currently a […]
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Markets
Competition, Not Outdated Monopoly Models, Key to Meeting Tomorrow’s Challenges
The past year and a half has been, to put it mildly, a weird time. Americans have grappled with the COVID-19 crisis, as well as with the associated economic fallout that revealed cracks in a number of our nation’s workforce and social systems. But recent years have also exposed the significant flaws in parts of […]
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Commentary
Modern Decarbonization Strategies Depend on Modern Carbon Impact Data
Purchasing renewable energy is a means to an end: decarbonization. Yet, renewable energy projects are not all equal when it comes to cutting carbon. At REsurety, we’re developing a new carbon impact measurement tool called Locational Marginal Emissions (LMEs) that measure carbon emission reductions at the granular level: the electrical node where the carbon-free energy […]
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Commentary
Energy-as-a-Service Model is Key to New Green Economy
In March, America’s energy infrastructure received a C- rating from the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card, showcasing the country’s desperate need for improvement, and more importantly, investment. And in April, President Biden committed to cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% by 2030, putting a heavy emphasis on the […]
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Commentary
America’s New Energy to Decarbonize Could Fuel Global Breakthroughs
The new U.S. administration’s policies could prove to be pivotal in the global fight to tackle climate breakdown. President Joe Biden signed a host of executive orders on “Climate Day” at the end of
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Commentary
Storm Readiness Saves Lives: Utilities and Testing Are the Real Digital Twins
Natural calamities challenge businesses and create problems with customer experience (CX). How can a utility demonstrate the desired experience attributes such as speed, quality, consistency, and so on at the same or even at a higher level after a catastrophe? Following a winter that saw record-breaking bomb cyclones in the northern Pacific. and the biggest […]
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Commentary
Bipartisan Action, Not Litigation, Is Key to Solving Climate Change
If we plan on making real progress on beating back climate change, we’re going to have to work together. That means working across not just international borders, but party lines, aggressively pursuing realistic solutions that will make a difference. Democrats like me have always worked hard to not only be leaders on responsible environmental stewardship, […]
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Gas
How Natural Gas Utilities Play a Role in the Future of Our Energy System
With a global pandemic and unprecedented extreme weather, we have seen how essential our energy delivery system is to our way of life. Through collaboration and innovation, we will make the system more resilient and fulfill our commitment to reducing emissions. American Gas Association members are already leading in these areas—providing customers with reliable and […]
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Commentary
How FERC Order 2222 Will Bring the Power of Choice to Consumers
On a recent visit to my local hardware store, I was struck by all the products on display to help manage my energy needs. The store had LED light bulbs, weather stripping, and fiberglass insulation to help
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Commentary
Our Iceberg Is Still Melting
In 2009, only three in 10 American adults said dealing with global climate change should be a top priority. Over the past 10 years, this number has more than doubled: Nearly seven in 10 American adults say the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of global climate change, with six in […]
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Commentary
All Fuels Are Important, but Thermal Power Generation Is Still Number 1
COMMENTARY Throughout my career—and also POWER magazine’s long history—thermal power generation has been the greatest source of dispatchable electricity generation. In my view, policymakers have run a very good and smooth evolution of power generation diversity off the rails. The Biden Administration and Democrat Congress policies constitute an anti-American war on carbon. These policies, if […]
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Connected Plant
How to Put the Power Grid to Work to Prevent Wildfires
While not a new occurrence, in recent years wildfires have wreaked havoc across the western U.S. We have also seen Mother Nature batter coastlines and landscapes around the globe, and the ever-mounting pace of
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Legal & Regulatory
Future of EPA’s Rule on State Water Quality Certification of Federal Permits
High on the list of Trump administration rules that will be reevaluated by the Biden administration is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 rule on state water
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Commentary
Great Winter Storm of 2021 Will Live in Grid History
It will be some time before we know every detail that aligned to cause the tremendous number of sustained power outages in Texas, or the spiking power prices across all markets in the central states. Some things we do know. Some natural gas supply was frozen in. Some wind turbines froze up, and ice damaged some […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Montana District Court Vacates EPA’s ‘Secret Science’ Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) “Secret Science” rule establishing new standards for consideration of certain “pivotal” scientific studies, which was slated to go into effect on Jan. 6 of this year, has been vacated and remanded by the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. The decision reached Feb. 1 impacts the power generation […]
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Commentary
The Biden Administration Can Help Set American Energy on a Winning Course
The 46th president of the United States has officially been sworn in. During his inauguration address President Joe Biden spoke of unity, empathy, and the challenges Americans must face together. Challenges indeed abound for Biden’s incoming environmental and energy team, including New Mexico congresswoman Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as […]
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Commentary
FERC Signals Green Light on Carbon Pricing to Help Reduce Emissions
The body that regulates the interstate transmission of oil, electricity, and natural gas has signaled its willingness to approve regional grid operator plans that incorporate carbon pricing into their rate
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Commentary
How ESG Investing Is Impacting the Energy Industry
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is rapidly becoming one of the most visible and durable megatrends in the financial community. ESG, or sustainability, refers to corporate activities that
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Commentary
Biden Presidency Promises Change for Power Industry
As we get closer to the presidential inauguration, and with President-elect Biden’s announcement of his Cabinet picks for the Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of the Interior (Interior), we begin the inevitable hypothesizing about which “Day 1 actions” will be taken, which actions will be among the administration’s “100 […]
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Renewables
It’s Time to Embrace Brazil’s Green Economic Bounce
Latin America’s largest economy was already in a fragile state when the global pandemic added to its list of woes. However, despite being hit by a wave of corporate bankruptcies and soaring government debt, Brazil’s economy is predicted to shrink by only 5-6% in 2020, somewhat less of a contraction than many other economies expect. […]
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Commentary
Employment Issues Facing Energy Companies in 2021 and Beyond
Companies in the energy sector this past year faced unprecedented financial, economic and operational challenges, exacerbated by a once-in-a-century public health crisis. Falling energy prices, coupled with the economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, caused a significant labor contraction in the energy sector. The spread of COVID-19 required companies, including those involved in power […]
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O&M
Experience POWER: Event Expands and Evolves with New Name
When the World Health Organization published news on Jan. 5, 2020, about cases of “pneumonia of unknown etiology” detected in Wuhan City, China, few people began stocking up on toilet paper or canceled
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Commentary
FERC Order Opens Wholesale Power Markets to DERs
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in September issued Order 2222, a final rule to remove barriers for distributed energy resource (DER) aggregators to participate in the wholesale capacity
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Finance
Power Sector Faces Continued Financial Distress in 2021
The last few months have seen the power sector plagued with enduring lower power prices, exacerbating the continued negative impact on power generation companies and electric utilities. There are a number of
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Commentary
Global Rush Toward Renewables Faces Challenges
Harold E. “Ed” Patricoff and Ana Sarmento The global trend toward renewable energy is undeniable and commendable. In 2018, 10Power announced that it would work to create commercial-scale solar and energy
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Commentary
Breaking Barriers: Inspiring Women in Engineering Jobs
Engineering empowers society in so many unprecedented ways, and with innovation at its core, the profession recognizes reaching its full potential requires the inclusivity of all segments of society. Two years
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Commentary
Securitization a Useful Financing Tool for Transition From Coal
By Brad Handler and Morgan Bazilian Nearly 75% of electricity generated from coal in the U.S. could be produced more cheaply with renewables, strengthening the environmental arguments to accelerate the retirement of coal plants. Yet such transitions to renewable sources have to factor in the costs—incremental, stranded and most pressingly, societal—of shutting down existing plants, […]
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Commentary
Overcoming Challenges on Energy Flexibility
By Aurelien Guichard Manager, Arthur D. Little As we near the close of 2020, companies are under greater pressure to source more energy flexibility to ensure security of supply as renewables and other “green” alternatives shift the energy mix. From board rooms to investors to social media, the decisions companies are making and the approaches […]
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Commentary
FERC Opens Electricity Markets to Distributed Resource Aggregators
By Bud Earley and Mark Perlis, Covington & Burling LLP The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Sept. 17, 2020, approved a final rule that will enable distributed energy resource aggregators to compete in organized wholesale electricity markets. Distributed energy resources (DERs) are located on the electric distribution system or behind the customer meter and […]