Debates about the future of America’s electricity system have long centered on a binary choice between lowering costs or decreasing pollution. But that has changed. In many parts of the country, new […]
SunShot $1 per Watt Solar Cost Goal: Mission Accomplished, Years Ahead of Schedule
With the advent of $1.00-per-watt (DC) pricing for utility fixed-tilt PV systems, the solar industry has crushed the SunShot Program’s $1.00-per-watt goal for 2020 three years early.In early 2011, Steven Chu, Secretary […]
Permian To Be Only Shale Play That Sees Output Increase This Year
The Permian shale formation has been drawing a lot of attention recently, and it’s more likely than not to continue drawing even more in the immediate future, now that it has essentially […]
Will Rooftop Solar Really Add to Utility Costs?
Regulations in most states obligate utilities to derive some of their electricity generating capacity from renewable sources. Unsurprisingly, the most widely available options—wind and solar—dominate. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates […]
Trump’s Reported FERC Chair Pick Could Signal a More Utility-Friendly Stance
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) isn’t a big target of the Trump administration, in terms of major budget cuts or wholesale policy shifts away from climate change and clean energy. But […]
New President, New Electric Grid?
A new set of leaders today enter the White House. As they consider measures to enhance roads and bridges, they also should focus on America’s electricity infrastructure. By focusing on investment, efficiency, […]
Turning Point: Solar Cheaper Than Wind
Photo: Gerry Machen It was bound to happen, and apparently it has: utility-scale solar-generated power, certainly in sunny parts of the world, appears to be cheaper than wind and both are cheaper […]
Separating Fact From Fiction in the Newest U.S. Federal Ethanol Study
Debates about the merits of biofuels have been going on for at least a generation. My favorite clip from the early, oil-crisis era ethanol push was Nicholas Wade’s article, “Oil pinch stirs […]
Can Emissions Trading Produce Adequate Carbon Prices?
Prices under emissions trading schemes have been low to date. Sometimes this may be because systems are new, but the EUETS is long established and needs to demonstrate that it can now […]
Will Trump Negotiate a Better Coal Deal for Taxpayers?
Trump Digs Coal: Source It’s here. The first week of the Trump administration. And it promises to be a busy one. On the energy front, Trump has an ambitious agenda for […]
Prometheus Institute 