RPS

How the Environmental Movement Changed its Mind on Nuclear Power

The anti-growth, anti-people extremists who started the anti-nuclear movement were wrong.

If nuclear were subsidized at the same levels as solar and wind, or allowed to contribute to state RPS, nuclear would continue to be highly economical.

Byline:

Michael Shellenberger

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Bidding to Win: The Economics of Renewable RFPs

How project developers form their bidding strategies – and what it means for prices and the industry.

Want to find out what utilities seek when collecting bids for wind and solar projects? Read on.

Byline:

Greer Mackebee, Justin Bowersock, and James Stack

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Rhode Island: The Challenge of an Aging Infrastructure

2015 Regulators Forum

Clearly, one of the most significant issues we face today is aging infrastructure. It’s akin to a marathon – a race we absolutely have to finish. Since 1990 we’ve replaced more than 65,000 miles of cast iron and bare steel pipe, but we still have a long way to go.

Byline:

Paul J. Roberti, Rhode Island PUC

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Georgia: On Becoming a Social Media Junkie

2015 Regulators Forum

Being in the “energy” business as a commissioner, staff, lobbyist or industry leader is hard enough without social media, right? When you add Twitter and Facebook to the mix, it is enough to drive one crazy. Who needs it? Well, we all do, really.

Byline:

Tim Echols, Georgia PSC

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South Dakota: A Unique Fuel Mix

Chris Nelson, vice-chairman, South Dakota Pub. Utils. Comm’n

Seventy-three percent of our generation is carbon-free, yet the EPA’s 111(d) rules require a 48 percent reduction in our CO2 emission rate. That steep reduction will be very difficult to achieve and will be costly for our electric customers. The commission’s chief concern is keeping a lid on consumer prices, especially given the pressure exerted by EPA.

Byline:

2015 Regulators Forum

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Oregon: Situated Quite Well

2015 Regulators Forum

States that have coal-dependent economies will likely have more difficulty complying with the Clean Power Plan than states like Oregon. There will be rate impacts to be sure. The trick will be compliance at the most reasonable cost that that can be assured.

Byline:

Susan Ackerman, chair, Oregon PUC

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2015 Regulators Forum

State Utility Commissioners in Their Own Words

Susan Ackerman, chair, Oregon PUC; Chris Nelson, vice-chairman, South Dakota PUC; Tim G. Echols, Georgia PSC; Paul J. Roberti, Rhode Island PUC

Byline:

Susan Ackerman, Chris Nelson, Tim G. Echols, and Paul J. Roberti

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Commenting on Carbon

State PUCs take on EPA and its Clean Power Plan.

Everything about the Clean Power Plan seems surreal. States complain of unfair treatment. Regulators read the proposed rule and sound warnings of a coming apocalypse.

Byline:

Bruce W. Radford

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In New York's Distributed Energy Future, Will Co-Generation Still Reign?

Distributed energy has a long history in the state – with co-generation, or combined heat and power, playing the dominant role. How is that portfolio changing today?

Combined heat and power still leads the Empire State in market penetration by distributed resources, but costs are not falling as fast as for storage or solar PV.

Byline:

Hugo van Nispen

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Wind Power Subsidies

Today, tomorrow, forever?

NREL contradicts AWEA, finds wind power not competitive, and favors extending the production tax credit (PTC), but that won’t aid economic growth.

Byline:

Jonathan A. Lesser

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