Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has gained support in Congress as an answer to reducing emissions in the power sector – but it’s the most expensive option available. Our analysis shows coal plants equipped with CCS are nearly three times more expensive than onshore wind power and more than twice as expensive as solar photovoltaics (PV).
Top California lawmakers moved yesterday to overhaul the state’s cap-and-trade system to send revenue back to residents as a “climate dividend.” State Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D) introduced the legislation, which would launch a new carbon-trading program in 2021.
A bill that would make it easier to decommission aging coal plants in the state, while also assisting rural communities hurt by any closures, won approval Monday in the Colorado House of Representatives. But support for the measure split along party lines, increasing the odds that House Bill 17-1339 will find itself stranded in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Anxiety is building over whether California will be able to extend its cap-and-trade scheme beyond 2020, with observers warning that failure could severely dent efforts across North America to use markets to fight climate change.
The old utility business model is cracking as competitive energy technologies displace increasing parts of the utility service, taking some of the revenues that go with it. In response, multiple states are investigating models for a “utility of the future” to establish a reliable, resilient, affordable and clean electric grid.
The Trump administration’s rollback of federal climate and clean energy policy has relegated renewable energy development to states (for at least the next four years). Northeast states are among the leaders but states across this region are also some of the most land-constrained in America. Will barriers to siting new wind generation and transmission in a land-constrained region stymie their efforts?
As the renewables transition continues apace, flexibility will become increasingly important. Policymakers and investors will need to watch carefully how flexibility is paid for.
As the need for flexible resources grows, there will be an increasing number of “bellwether events.” Resource developers are likely to respond by building new resources that can capture this value on the spot market and through bilateral contracts with utilities. However, not all markets are structured to reward flexibility in the same way as in energy-only markets.
Cheap natural gas and renewables are outcompeting coal-fired power plants on economics, pushing many of them into early retirement and leaving behind coal workers and communities. A newly proposed bill in Colorado aims to turn this economic challenge into an economic engine for utilities, electric consumers, and coal workers and communities.
The power industry has always had to visualize scenarios. Many have used simulation games as part of their training processes. But never before has gaming been positioned to have the kind of impact on the energy system as it does today.
