Opinion: Page 3

The latest opinion pieces by industry thought leaders


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  • Solar panels and wind turbines generating renewable energy for green and sustainable future.
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    pidjoe via Getty Images
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    The time is ripe for utilities to play a larger role in the energy transition

    Utilities should provide upfront support to low- to moderate-income customers for residential electrification and decarbonization measures to prevent them from being stuck on the existing fossil fuel systems.

    Dan Bakal • April 16, 2024
  • Electrical power grid and power line towers at sunset.
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    YinYang via Getty Images
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    Power grids are facing more demand than ever. Policy needs to catch up.

    There is a gap between operational realities and aspirational policies. That gap is growing, and not shrinking as it must.

    Todd Snitchler • April 15, 2024
  • Close-up of a tokamak fusion power reactor, generating fusion power
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    Aranga87 via Getty Images
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    The Future of AI will require an energy breakthrough. The answer is a fusion moonshot.

    Skeptics contend that fusion has long promised much but failed to deliver. Historically, that has been true. But there is reason to believe this moment is different.

    Ylli Bajraktari • April 12, 2024
  • An artistic rendering of a building which is transitioning from fossil fuel use to renewable sources like solar panels
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    Oliver de la Haye via Getty Images
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    Regulators: Don’t panic and rush to gas amid cries we’re out of power

    Proposing new gas plants to serve growing demand does not occur in isolation. It is a decision that implicitly rejects alternatives as either infeasible, expensive or unconsidered.

    Mike O’Boyle and Eric Gimon • April 11, 2024
  • The right rear corner of a white car is parked on a street plugged in to an electric vehicle charging post.
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    Permission granted by itselectric
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    How electric vehicles are lowering electricity bills for everyone

    Electric vehicle drivers are saving everyone billions of dollars on their monthly electricity bills, a recent study by Synapse Energy Economics found.

    Jordan Brinn • April 10, 2024
  • Electricity transmission towers with glowing wires.
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    jitendrajadhav via Getty Images
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    Can Retail Choice 2.0 succeed where Retail Choice 1.0 (maybe) failed?

    Retail Choice 2.0 is capable of unlocking more value than ever, through smart meters, telecommunications infrastructure, AI, electrified homes and even social media, enabling both real-time feedback and customer education.

    Allison Bates Wannop • April 9, 2024
  • A field of solar panels in the California desert.
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    schwartstock via Getty Images
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    Maximizing the value of IRA tax incentives while minimizing investment compliance risk

    The IRA is the single largest investment in clean energy in U.S. history, but industry will only benefit from the estimated $1.2 trillion in incentives if the tax credits can be successfully monetized.

    Charles Dauber • April 8, 2024
  • A rendering of electric power lines against the backdrop of a twilit sky
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    Imaginima via Getty Images
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    Grid reliability’s core challenge is governance, not a changing resource mix

    An outdated and parochial oversight system is the biggest threat to U.S. grid reliability.

    Alexandra Klass, Josh Macey, Shelley Welton and Hannah Wiseman • April 4, 2024
  • Green hydrogen renewable energy production facility.
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    audioundwerbung via Getty Images
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    Supporting strategic end uses is key to making hydrogen hubs the building blocks to scale

    We must deploy clean hydrogen strategically to decarbonize sectors of the economy that are hard to electrify and unlock its true potential to accelerate the phaseout of fossil fuels.

    Cihang Yuan and Daniel Riley • April 3, 2024
  • The manufacturing renaissance needs well-planned transmission solutions

    Increased demand with variable energy supply and volatile weather conditions require a coordinated, holistic and forward-looking approach.

    Karen Onaran • April 2, 2024
  • Green hydrogen renewable energy production facility.
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    audioundwerbung via Getty Images
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    Don’t give up on green hydrogen

    The reality is that we will never achieve a carbon-free economy without green hydrogen and green hydrogen carriers like ammonia, ethanol and formic acid.

    Clay Norris • March 29, 2024
  • A technician connects cable on a solar rooftop array.
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    Wichien Tep via Getty Images
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    Utilities must come clean about the full value of community solar

    Utilities often oppose customer-driven, third-party-owned energy projects like community solar because they threaten to supplant utility investments and utility shareholder profits.

    Jeff Cramer and John Farrell • March 28, 2024
  • A creative image depicting empty voting booths on election day.
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    adamkaz / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
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    Election year opportunities — and pitfalls — for emerging energy companies

    Whether you are a renewable energy firm, energy manufacturing group, private investor in the space or other stakeholder, there are many ways you can become politically active and effective.

    Steve Roberts and Nicole Kelly • March 27, 2024
  • The SEC makes the call: Climate risk equals financial risk

    When the SEC’s climate disclosure rule is paired with other climate reporting directives, the shift within the financial landscape will be monumental.

    Bob Hinkle • March 26, 2024
  • Electrical power grid and power line towers at sunset.
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    YinYang via Getty Images
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    Grid technology could save billions but for a policy vacuum

    Separate studies by Quanta Technologies and the Brattle Group found that using grid-enhancing technologies in generator interconnection could reduce wholesale energy costs nationwide by over $5 billion per year.

    Neil Chatterjee • March 25, 2024
  • Concrete cooling tower at a nuclear power plant.
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    steverts via Getty Images
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    Nuclear boosterism has gotten reckless

    Today's misguided focus on nuclear power is diverting us from renewables, storage and efficiency, hobbling us in our race against climate chaos.

    Kevin Kamps • March 22, 2024
  • Hydrogen energy storage gas tank for clean electricity solar and wind turbine facility.
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    Vanit Janthra via Getty Images
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    Unlocking the power of green hydrogen requires a workable tax credit

    The Treasury Department’s draft rules for the 45V clean hydrogen tax credit will slow things to a crawl, doing the opposite of what the Inflation Reduction Act intended, which was to encourage domestic hydrogen production.

    Andy Vesey • March 21, 2024
  • FERC headquarters
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    Permission granted by Esme Howland
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    FERC needs a quorum to function. Tomorrow’s Senate hearing puts that work on the line.

    If FERC loses its quorum, vital natural gas projects may be delayed, stalling economic growth and hindering U.S. producers’ ability to meet energy demands.

    Amy Andryszak • March 20, 2024
  • Solar panels and wind turbines generating renewable energy for green and sustainable future.
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    pidjoe via Getty Images
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    Companies are missing opportunities with the IRA’s clean energy tax credit incentives

    Washington is offering a gift that could be worth billions to corporate America.

    Akshat Kasliwal, Jesse Gilbert and Vy Manthripragada • March 19, 2024
  • Oil Or Gas Transportation With Blue Gas Or Pipe Line Valves On Soil And Sunrise Background
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    onurdongel via Getty Images
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    How targeted electrification can support a managed transition for the gas system

    Regulatory and policy changes will be necessary for targeted electrification and gas decommissioning to achieve a scale that would support meaningful cost savings for gas ratepayers.

    Ari Gold-Parker, Dan Aas, Arne Olson and Amber Mahone • March 15, 2024
  • Transmission towers in fog at dawn.
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    Andrei Ksenzhuk via Getty Images
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    Permitting reform budget request should push Congress to negotiate a bipartisan deal

    Our domestic energy supply cannot be secured until the United States’ burdensome approval process is overhauled so that we can begin to get major energy infrastructure projects underway.  

    Liam deClive-Lowe and Paolo Mastrangelo • March 14, 2024
  • A photo of two XCharge EV chargers at a Citgo in Battle Creek, Michigan.
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    Permission granted by XCharge North America
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    Republicans say Biden’s EV charging program goes too far. It really doesn’t go far enough.

    We need a federal program that incentivizes the buildout of EV charging infrastructure in cities by covering both a part of the capital cost and the operating cost.

    Jake Potent • March 13, 2024
  • Nuclear power plant after sunset. Dusk landscape with big chimneys.
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    vlastas via Getty Images
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    Nuclear energy finance bans prevent the world from buying American

    Securing financing for commercially-oriented nuclear energy projects is critical for American suppliers to compete against adversarial state-owned entities.

    Kenneth Petersen • March 12, 2024
  • Electric transmission lines against a blue and yellow sky.
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    Fleem via Getty Images
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    Setting the record straight on Western market options: It’s not just about footprint

    Instead of coercing the entire West into a single market, we should turn our attention to facilitating trade among multiple markets as a better use of our time and energy.

    Libby Calnon, Clay Fitchis, Mark Hayden, Bear Prairie, Chris Robinson and Jim Webb • March 11, 2024
  • A hydrogen pipeline.
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    Petmal via Getty Images
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    The fate of the hydrogen tax credit is now in Treasury’s hands

    Where the final rules land regarding how producers qualify for the credit will dictate whether it serves as a catalyst to jump-start a nascent clean energy industry, or if it falls short of the promise of the Inflation Reduction Act.

    Zane McDonald • March 8, 2024