storage

Unconventional gas and LNG are changing the outlook for future gas prices.

Utilities are turning to natural gas as a bridge fuel, and to support non-dispatchable renewables.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) open a new intersection between wind power and transportation.

Cooling water shortages might force nuclear project developers to get creative.

‘Capture readiness’ hasn’t helped coal projects move forward, but a firm commitment might make the difference.

Utility CEOs debate the merits of a retail surcharge to fund clean-tech R&D.

I met Congressman Rick Boucher (D-Va.) in November. He was speaking to attendees at EEI’s Finance Conference in Phoenix, and after his speech many people remarked that they wished other members of Congress were even half as well versed about the utility industry’s issues as Boucher seems to be.

Of the many provisions in the bailout bill, few of them actually establish new federal policy. Instead, most just continue existing provisions that already were set to expire, and probably would have been enacted in some form—if not this session, then next session.

Sophocles once said, “Quick decisions are unsafe decisions.” Apparently Sophocles did not work in the utility industry. Utilities must make quick decisions every day to maintain a safe and reliable grid. As they have learned, the key to a quick and safe decision is making a well-informed decision. Yet utilities face challenges in providing enough information for their employees and automated systems to make these types of decisions.

Pumped-storage technology allows utilities to defer the time value of energy, but project developers have struggled to make their economics work. Increased demand for ancillary services and standby capacity might make pumped storage more viable.