PPAs for DG
What every real property owner should know.
Financing has been scarce for distributed generation. But as opportunities expand, commercial frameworks are solidifying. Power purchase agreements are paving the way to a bright future for DG.
Retrofit
CEO Forum: Facing the Future
Three CEOs, three business models, one shared outlook.
Cheap gas, regulatory uncertainties, and a technology revolution are re-making the U.S. utility industry. Top executives at three very different companies—CMS, NRG, and the Midwest ISO—share their outlook on the industry’s transformative changes.
A Year of Fear
Resuming progress after 2011’s uncertainty.
From the Fukushima disaster and its repercussions, to the raging battle over new EPA regulations, 2011 was one of the most volatile years on record for the electric power business. Will 2012 be better or worse than 2011? Cost factors make this a great time to invest, but overhanging uncertainties might bring another year of fear.
Battle Lines:
2011 Groundbreaking Law & Lawyers Survey and Report
With a flurry of major new environmental regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is altering the power generation landscape. But will the new federal rules survive court challenges—to say nothing of next year’s national elections? Fortnightly's Michael T. Burr considers the controversy over new environmental standards. PLUS: Top Utility Lawyers of 2011.
The Capture-Committed Power Plant
Moving coal forward requires a clear path to CCS.
‘Capture readiness’ hasn’t helped coal projects move forward, but a firm commitment might make the difference.
EIA Examines Compliance With Clean Air Act
The U.S.
California DSM: A Pyrrhic Victory for Energy Efficiency?
California has led the nation in utility expenditures for ratepayer-subsidized energy conservation, also called
demand-side management (DSM).1
With broad-based support from utilities, consumer representatives, environmentalists, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and the California Energy Commission (CEC), some $1.8 billion has been spent since 1990 (and $
DSM and the Transition to a Competitive Industry
Over the last decade, the Total Resource Cost
(TRC) test has become the dominant method of comparing the costs and benefits of demand-side management (DSM) programs. Yet the TRC test fails to recognize the negative rate impacts from reduced kilowatt-hour consumption. DSM advocates argue that more extensive DSM programs will compensate for this flaw. If all customers have an opportunity to participate in a DSM program, they claim, customers' total bills will fall in spite of rising rates that pay for the DSM investments.