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Surging Capacity Prices in PJM Set off New Alarms

For months now, PJM’s leadership has warned of rapidly approaching power shortages. If there was any suspicion of exaggeration, PJM’s most recent capacity auction has put those rumblings to bed. Capacity payments to generators in PJM, a sort of insurance premium to assure plants are available when needed, just jumped a remarkable 800% as rising […]

Soaring Costs with Little to Show

With all the noise surrounding the energy transition, sometimes it’s hard to grasp what’s truly happening, or not happening at all. Is the shift to renewable power and the infrastructure to support it moving smoothly? Or is it proving far more challenging and costly than advocates want to admit? What’s happening in California, New York […]

Pssst: Global Coal Use Hit Another Record in 2023

Where is the U.S. failing miserably in the climate fight? Look no further than the development and bungled deployment of advanced coal technology, namely carbon capture and storage (CCS). Why is coal technology so important? Simply, coal remains the world’s leading fuel for electricity generation and the world has never used more. Global coal use […]

A Desperately Needed Step Forward for Grid Reliability

A new, bipartisan energy and mine permitting bill from Senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso is a critical step forward to addressing a host of delays and obstacles derailing urgently needed projects. It’s also a very important step forward in bringing much-needed daylight to a singularly alarming threat to the nation’s grid reliability: the U.S. […]

Are Candidates Ready to Address Energy Shortages?

The campaign trail is about to be filled with contrasting visions of the nation’s energy future. While oil production and the ongoing debate about energy independence are sure to draw focus, the remarkably perilous state of the nation’s power grid and our supply of electricity have become kitchen-table issues. Americans are rightfully frustrated with eroding […]

MISO Warns it’s Going to be Woefully Short of Power

Across the country, one grid operator after another is sounding the alarm over soaring power demand, an inability to meet it and the threat posed by early retirements of essential coal capacity. PJM Interconnection, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and now the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) have all […]

A Victory for Grid Reliability

In a significant victory for the reliability of the nation’s electricity grid, the U.S. Supreme Court granted state and industry requests to stay enforcement of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Ozone Transport rule. This is the first major court ruling on EPA’s suite of rules designed to prematurely retire coal plants. While pursuing the case […]

A Scorching Reminder of the Coal Fleet’s Importance

Searing summer heat has blanketed much of the country and once again coal power is playing an essential role in meeting soaring demand. But this coal capacity – the very power plants working overtime to keep the lights on and air conditioners running – comes from the same plants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) […]

The Biden Administration’s Alternate Reality

This week the Biden administration reiterated through a top energy official at the State Department that it is firmly committed to keeping its blinders on when it comes to the world’s energy realities. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt told reporters on Tuesday that “a top priority” is targeting and ending the […]

It’s the Entire Suite of Rules

Lawsuits are piling up in opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) so-called Clean Power Plan 2.0. Senator Capito of West Viriginia and Congressman Balderson of Ohio have led the charge in pursuing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval of the rule. This mobilization of opposition is deeply important to confronting […]