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Energy Future in Ohio Corn Fields

Village of Minster, Ohio

The real significance and impact of the Minster project lies in the story behind it. It’s the town’s remarkable ability to complete a privately financed solar-plus-storage installation. The leaders have flown under the radar in a state known as one of the least friendly to renewable energy in the nation.
Byline: 

K Kaufmann

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Facilitating Innovation

Making Regulation a Better Surrogate for Competition

There are some ways, though perhaps modest, for regulators to move their utilities along and encourage appropriate risk taking.
Byline: 

Jeffrey Goltz

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AMI to IoT

Lesson in Change

In today’s Internet of Things, businesses face a strikingly similar picture to what utilities saw in the early days of the smart grid. Consider what those lessons have in store for us today.
Byline: 

Darren Highfill and Brad Bauch

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Energy People: Clint Vince

We talked with Clint Vince, chair of the Dentons LLP Energy sector

Clint Vince has directed the expansion of the U.S. energy team to more than 1,000 professionals in 58 countries. His experience involves major project development, legislative and regulatory advocacy, and litigation and appellate cases, including U.S. Supreme Court advocacy.
Byline: 

Clint Vince, with Pat McMurray

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Energy People: Chair Audrey Zibelman

We talked with Audrey Zibelman, Chair of the New York Public Service Commission

Chair Zibelman has been responsible for designing and leading the regulatory market changes of the electric industry under Gov. Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision, a comprehensive plan to modernize and transform New York’s electric industry. Previously she served as COO of PJM.
Byline: 

Chair Audrey Zibelman, with PUF’s Pat McMurray

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Hiding Electricity's Complexity

Should We Lift the Curtain?

Almost nobody realizes the most advanced technology helps us manage grids, operate plants, integrate renewables, route flows, limit peak demand, and restore service after storms. Should we lift the curtain covering the network’s complexity?
Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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A Tragedy, and New Coal Plants in China

In China, several tens of thousands of megawatts of new coal-fired capacity swamp trends in U.S.

Nov. 28, 2016: On Thanksgiving Day, the Wall Street Journal reported on the power plant construction accident in China that day. At least sixty-seven workers tragically died.

Per the WSJ article by Chun Han Wong, cooling tower scaffolding collapsed at the two-thousand megawatt expansion of the Ganneng Fengcheng coal power plant.

The article goes on to discuss, more generally, coal plant construction in China:

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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Feels Like Electric Service is Cheaper

Since 2014, or 2008, or 1984, or 1913, electricity prices have increased significantly less than the overall cost of living.

Nov. 22, 2016: It feels like electric utility service is less costly than it was. This feeling, a reality, is backed up by Consumer Price Index trends.

The Labor Department has been tracking the prices of the goods and services that consumers typically buy, including electric service, since 1913. It’s interesting, though not too relevant to today, that electric service costs 4.6 times what it did in 1913, while consumer goods and services overall cost 23.9 times what they did back then. Comparing 2015 to 1913 annualized. 

Electricity is far cheaper now. 

Byline: 

Steve Mitnick

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