It is now cheaper to build new wind and solar than new coal or often natural gas. In growing swaths of the country, it’s often cheaper to build new wind (and sometimes solar) than continuing to run existing coal plants. The implications are profound.

DOE wants to shore up coal and nuclear power plants in the name of resilience. EI’s Mike O’Boyle discusses what resilience means for a clean energy future.

EI’s Eric Gimon argues grid flexibility technology, not resilience, is the key to resolving wholesale electricity market concerns in the U.S.

Many states are considering a utility regulatory structure to incent efficient fleet turnover, incorporate clean energy and cost-effective technologies, and stimulate smarter build-or-buy decisions. APP’s Sonia Aggarwal says the UK’s effort to combine utility operating and capital expenses into a capped revenue bucket shows promising early results.

An America’s Power Plan expert says vehicle electrification is a massive investment opportunity for utilities that could also benefit customers and the grid, if adequately planned for and compensated.

A guest contributor for America’s Power Plan says creating portfolios of energy efficiency projects to deliver demand reductions where and when utilities need them can help keep pace with grid demand.

Imagine that we have built enough wind and solar power plants to supply 100 percent of the electricity a region like California or Germany consumes in a year. Sure, the wind and sun aren’t always available, so this system would need flexible resources that can fill in the gaps. Filling this gap is one of the principal flexibility challenges of a low-carbon grid. But what will that flexibility cost?

In April, DOE Secretary Rick Perry issued a memorandum to his staff asking some pointed questions about the future of the electric grid as coal is retired off the system. By taking each premise in turn and providing evidence-based analysis, we can see that the projected demise of coal will result in a cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy system.

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.

States and utilities around the country are considering new utility investments in modernizing the grid. As utilities come to the table for grid modernization funds in many states, regulators and stakeholders should start planning now to get ahead of the process and generate the most benefits from those investments. APP experts Sonia Aggarwal and Mike O’Boyle have laid out five steps utility regulators can take to ensure customers reap the benefits promised by a modern grid.