Trending Topics – ERCOT’s Summer Peak Demand Forecast: New Investment, Generator Profits, No Blackouts

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EI’s Eric Gimon explores low planning reserve margins forecast for ERCOT’s summer peak demand, highlights how people should be interpreting them, what the PRM really means, how to tell if ERCOT is at an acceptable level of capacity risk, and why Texas regulators should stay the course.

Hal Harvey’s Insights And Updates: A Sober Challenge – And A Clear-Eyed Solution – On Climate Change Policy

Permalink to Hal Harvey’s Insights And Updates: A Sober Challenge – And A Clear-Eyed Solution – On Climate Change Policy

There is no way to seriously study climate change without having a very sobering moment: It is extremely difficult, but not impossible, to land this planet at a reasonable climate future – and solutions exist to meet the challenge.

Trending Topics – The Power Market Fix We’ve Been Waiting For

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APP contributor Mark Ahlstrom discusses how FERC’s recent Order 841 creates an opportunity for federal regulators to create a universal data model in power markets for all grid resources.

Trending Topics – How To Build A Foundation for New Utility Business Models

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EI’s Mike O’Boyle says regulatory reforms are becoming increasingly important to utility business models, but regulatory processes can constrain the ability of policymakers to design policies well.

Trending Topics – It’s Time To Refine How We Talk About Wholesale Markets

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EI’s Robbie Orvis and Mike O’Boyle outline how wholesale market design and underlying terminology favors conventional fuel-based generation—often at the expense of cheaper, cleaner technologies.

Renewable Electricity Levelized Cost Of Energy Already Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels, And Prices Keep Plunging

Permalink to Renewable Electricity Levelized Cost Of Energy Already Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels, And Prices Keep Plunging

Renewable electricity’s levelized cost of energy became the cheapest source of new U.S. power generation in 2017, and building new wind is often cheaper than running existing coal. As renewable energy costs continue their relentless decline, fossil fuels continue to fall further from profitability.

Trending Topics – A Year-End Update On Electricity Policy From The Field

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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.

Trending Topics – What “Resilience” Means In A Clean Energy Future

Permalink to Trending Topics – What “Resilience” Means In A Clean Energy Future

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.

Trending Topics – Flexibility, Not Resilience, Is Key to Wholesale Electricity Market Reform

Permalink to Trending Topics – Flexibility, Not Resilience, Is Key to Wholesale Electricity Market Reform

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