commentary

We hear calls for the “elimination of fossil fuels” as the primary solution to climate change, those calls coming from investors, institutions, governments—and from many world leaders and others gathered at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. COMMENTARY As we begin to experience the outcome of recent energy policies that focus on the buildout of renewables capacity, […]

Increasing demands on the energy sector are driving a handful of serious workforce challenges. One of the most concerning is an aging workforce with high levels of retirement, colliding with a shortage of skilled workers to fill the gaps. Case in point—the average age of U.S. utility workers is more than 50 years old, several […]

Burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation is by far the largest contributor to greenhouse gases, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Renewable power generation is taking off, but more than 60% of North American energy generation is still carbon-based. The percentage is even higher in other parts of the world. Optimizing the […]

Cyberattacks on the U.S. energy system threaten our national security and way of life. While the sources of such risks may be debatable, the threats are real and the potential consequences are grave. Former

For a century our country has relied on fossil fuels to power our economy. But that is beginning to change with wind, solar, renewable fuels, hydrogen, advanced nuclear options, and more. The effort to decarbonize our economy and protect the planet from greenhouse gas emissions is now aggressively underway in the U.S. and other parts […]

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

The Texas power market made headlines in August 2019 when wholesale prices for electricity repeatedly spiked close to and even hit the $9,000-per-megawatt-hour (MWh) cap. This August, average hourly prices peaked at “just” $1,700 per MWh, the afternoon of Aug. 15. There were many reasons for the reduced price volatility in Texas this year. First, […]

Late last week, to manage a potential large-scale power outage driven by triple-digit temperatures, the California Independent Service Operator (CAISO) called on utilities to implement rolling outages across the California grid. The shutdown of three natural gas power plants and a significant decline in available wind power were cited as the primary reasons behind the […]

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% […]

Despite the U.S. and Europe shuttering coal-fired power plants, coal remains a major fuel in global energy systems. In 2018, global coal demand rebounded and grew by 1.4% due to increased consumption in Asia, where coal consumption increased by 2.5%. This increased consumption was mainly from power generation, which reached an all-time high, increasing 3% […]