Environmental

Complying with 111(d)

Exploring the cap-and-invest option.

EPA is expected to provide states with latitude in meeting Clean Air Act GHG standards. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) demonstrates an effective and economical approach: “cap and invest.”
Byline: 

David Farnsworth

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Putting a Price on Carbon

How EPA can establish a U.S. GHG Program for the Electricity Sector.

With the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards expected in June 2014, many states are considering their own approaches to provide flexibility in meeting compliance requirements. Experience in North America to date provides policy guidance.
Byline: 

David P. Littell

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Catching Fire

Climate policy heats up after the Great Recession.

GHG rules are coming soon. What happens next will depend on how states react.
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr, Editor-in-Chief

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A Trip to RIIO in Your Future?

Great Britain’s latest innovation in grid regulation.

Great Britain’s electric regulator takes performance-based regulation to a new, more complex level, weighing policy choices against attendant costs.
Byline: 

Peter Fox-Penner, Dan Harris, and Serena Hesmondhalgh 

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Modeling Storm Outages

New tools for enhancing utility preparedness and response.

Sandy and other major storms have raised the bar for outage management. New modeling systems help utilities predict effects and plan their response.
Byline: 

Michael Beck, Seth Guikema, Ken Buckstaff, and Steven Quiring

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Energiewende

Nuclear fear and Germany’s headlong plunge into renewable energy.

On a recent trip to Germany to study the country’s energy policy, the phrase “energy transition,” or “energiewende” as the Germans say, was on everyone’s mind.
Byline: 

Tim Echols

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Energy Disconnect

Misguided policies threaten resource adequacy.

Resource planning is grinding to a halt. From EPA regulations to irrational markets, today’s policy missteps threaten tomorrow’s reliability.

Byline: 

Stephen L. Teichler and Dennis Hough

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The Growing Footprint of Climate Change

Can systems built today cope with tomorrow’s weather extremes?

Climate change – heat waves, water shortages, and reduced flexibility – poses huge risks for electric utility infrastructure.
Byline: 

Michael Kintner-Meyer and Ian Kraucunas

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How Do You Get To Green?

And what’s the goal: a share of load or a cut in carbon?

It’s time to rethink RPS laws. Instead of production quotas for renewable energy, why not reward reductions in carbon emissions and fossil-fuel use?

Byline: 

Michael R. Strong

 

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Energy Efficiency's False Hope

Only behavioral change will reduce energy consumption.

Standards and technology don't reduce energy consumption, despite the claims of efficiency zealots. Real energy savings only come through behavioral change.

Byline: 

Andrew Rudin

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