Texas

05May

An EV Future Means Electricity Demand is Expected to Double by 2050. Will the Grid Be Ready?

Not so long ago the electric vehicle (EV) revolution seemed far more hype than substance. But global EV sales were up 40% in 2020, the world’s major automakers are falling over one another to announce all-electric futures and the Biden administration appears to be all in, announcing that the federal vehicle fleet will go all […]
15Apr

Reliability Crisis Déjà vu

Texas, again. Just weeks after the February power disaster that left more than 130 dead, thousands homeless and put 70% of the state in the dark, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) came stunningly close to declaring another grid emergency on Tuesday. On a relatively mild day – no deep freeze nor roasting summer […]
24Mar

When Dispatchable Fuel Diversity Goes, Affordability Does Too

Coal power proved invaluable across the Midwest this February in keeping the lights on and homes warm during the deep freeze. But coal is not just a reliability backstop. As we’re now seeing, it’s also a critical piece of a balanced generation portfolio that holds down wholesale electricity prices. On the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) […]
17Mar

The Existing Coal Fleet Is the Bridge We Need

With the energy transition underway, learning from the Texas grid crisis and building a path towards increased reliability is more urgent than ever. Additional variable power will be coming to grids across the country. At what pace and scale remains to be seen but ensuring reliability in the years ahead is shaping up to be […]
03Mar

Dispatchable Fuel Diversity is Invaluable 

Does fuel diversity matter? Or, to put a finer point on it, does dispatchable fuel diversity matter? If February taught us anything, the answer is a resounding yes. Along with the Texas grid disaster, there were two neighboring grids pushed to the brink by the same unrelenting cold but both fared much better. The Southwest […]
24Feb

The Texas Grid Crisis is a National Crisis

Think the Texas electricity crisis can’t happen where you live? Think again. Up and down the country, electricity markets – with very different designs – have fielded warnings that the right storm, with the right conditions could cause the same chaos or worse. Much of the blame in Texas has fallen on the Electric Reliability […]
15Feb

A Fuel Security Crisis in Texas

The Texas grid is hanging on by a thread. Historic, freezing temperatures are wreaking havoc across the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has initiated rolling outages to keep the grid from collapsing. Without a hint of hyperbole, this is a full-blown reliability crisis that appears to be a fuel security crisis. There’s […]
13Jan

The Grids Are Not OK

Despite ongoing insistence that the fuel security, balance and reliability offered by coal can be easily replaced, mounting evidence points to just the opposite. In states and grids across the U.S., blackouts, near-misses and troubling warnings have become all too common. California suffered rolling blackouts this summer, Texas has stumbled from one near-miss and capacity […]
10Nov

Stumbling Over Transmission

The cost of wind and solar power may be falling but building the transmission infrastructure to send power across the country – perhaps the key piece of the renewable puzzle – has only gotten more difficult and more expensive. A reality now playing out in both the U.S. and Europe. Germany’s attempt to pivot to […]
01Jul

Grappling with the “Dark Doldrums”

A fascinating thing is happening. While renewable energy and climate policy ambitions are growing more aggressive, the few nations trying to rapidly pivot away from coal, natural gas and nuclear power are struggling. There seems to be a growing disconnect between data and experience, and the energy vision touted by climate hawks.  Germany – with […]