Press Archive

Most Colorado Coal Power Plants Less Cost Effective Than Wind, Solar

EI analysis finds all but one of Colorado’s seven coal power plants are less cost effective than new local wind and solar power, meaning utility customers in Colorado are overpaying.

Plummeting Wind, Solar, And Battery Costs Now Enable An 80% Clean Electricity System By 2030

EI’s Dan Esposito and Mike O’Boyle explain why an 80 percent by 2030 clean electricity standard would stimulate $1.5 trillion in new investment broadly distributed across every region of the United States, while dramatically improving air quality and public health, and without raising electricity rates or compromising reliability.

Colorado Climate Compromise Passes In The Final Days Of The State Legislative Session

EI analysis with RMI using the Colorado Energy Policy Simulator shows estimated actual greenhouse gas reductions in Colorado will only total 3.4 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

Tackling The Electric Vehicle Buyer Gap

EI research finds applying incentives to used electric vehicles, as some of California’s programs do, can also allow families receiving the high end of the state’s incentives to save 30 to 40 percent on ownership costs compared to the purchase of a comparable used gas car for certain model years.

Arizona shows pitfalls of Biden’s 100% clean energy plan

EI’s Mike O’Boyle says the job of a utility regulator is to ensure that utilities do what they say and to hold them accountable to do things that you believe are in the public interest.

The Texas Big Freeze: How Much Were Markets To Blame For Widespread Outages?

In the second in a three-part series, EI’s Dan Esposito and Eric Gimon explain how ERCOT market design and operation failed to prepare for the Texas Big Freeze and exacerbated the crisis when it hit.

The Texas Big Freeze: How A Changing Climate Pushed The State’s Power Grid To The Brink

In the first in a three-part series, EI’s Dan Esposito and Eric Gimon explain why natural gas failures, poor planning, and lack of demand management were primary causes of the Texas Big Freeze and why durable solutions must look beyond fossil fuels.

Xcel’s Record-Low-Price Procurement Highlights Benefits Of All-Source Competitive Solicitations

EI consultant Ron Lehr says utilities may favor capital investments with guaranteed returns from assets they can own, but contracts for renewables without that financial incentive to the utility may be better for their customers.

Democrats’ Divisions Haunt Clean Electricity Standard

EI’s Robbie Orvis says keeping existing nuclear facilities online makes sense because it would make it easier and cheaper to decarbonize the economy by 2050.

Polis Promised Bold Climate Action. Now He’s Blocking It.

EI analysis with RMI shows that under current laws and regulations, Colorado’s overall emissions will fall only 3.4 percent by 2030 and just 18 percent by 2050.

Texas Legislature Close To Approving Billions To Pay For Winter Storm Financial Fallout

EI’s Eric Gimon says the damage to the Texas market was “self-inflicted” due to the state’s pricing model, which left regulators with the option to set prices at the extremely high cap for several days.

G-7 Environment Ministers Target Fossil Fuel Funding

EI’s Robbie Orvis says the IEA has suggested that there should be no new investment in gas supply because in a net-zero scenario we’ve peaked already, and the fact that is missing from the communique reflects that the international community has not internalized that yet.

Spotlight on North America Pt4: What are the technologies and policies that could underpin commerically-viable decarbonization?

EI’s Jeffrey Rissman talks with the host of Decarb Connect, Alex Cameron, about the cross-cutting technologies and industry-specific tools that could define industrial decarbonization, as well as the specific policy levers that are needed.

Colorado’s Untapped $7.5 Billion Economic Opportunity: Ambitious Climate Policy

EI modeling with RMI shows ambitious decarbonization of Colorado’s electricity, transportation, industry, building, and land-use sectors can help limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius while adding more than 20,000 new jobs and $3.5 billion in economic activity per year by 2030.

McCarthy: Nuclear energy isn’t going anywhere

EI’s Robbie Orvis says keeping existing nuclear makes a lot of sense because it’s lots of clean electricity that doesn’t have to be replaced, and it is a lot cheaper to get to 2050 with the existing fleet.

The Decarbonization Gap That’s Splitting Colorado Democrats

EI report adds to data indicating that Colorado’s existing climate policies aren’t likely to achieve the state’s goals, while making the case that stronger actions could yield significant economic benefits.

As Coal Retreats, Climate Finance Battle Targets Gas

EI’s Robbie Orvis says continuing to invest in new gas infrastructure in the U.S. and export gas overseas is not compatible with a 1.5°C future.

Polis Defiant As Models Show ‘Big Gap’ In Colo. Climate Push

EI’s Robbie Orvis says even with Colorado’s current climate policies, the modeling shows there’s still a long way to go to achieve the state’s climate goals.

WV’s Coal Economy Keeps Carbon Emissions Coming As Aging AEP Plants Near Compliance Crossroads

EI analysis estimates that replacing the Mitchell coal facility with new wind power would be 34 percent cheaper than the facility using its existing coal power.

Colorado Far From Meeting Emissions-Reduction Goals, Report Says

EI modeling with RMI finds Colorado will fall drastically short of its goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions without more ambitious targets and enforceable limits on pollution.