The wildfires in California ignited by poorly maintained transmission lines have themselves ignited a debate about whether the guilty - and now bankrupt - energy utility PG&E (the largest in the state) should now become publicly owned. That in turn has led Severin Borenstein at the Energy Institute at Haas to consider the pros and cons of public v private in this vital activity. The first thing to note is that electricity transmission and … [Read more...]
Fieldfisher Interconnectors Forum – Brussels, 21 March 2019
The Fieldfisher Interconnector Forum will take a highly topical look at Interconnectors across Europe and the UK. This free half day event will cover significant legal developments and hot topics, including: The Outlook for Interconnectors - Future Opportunities Brexit and Future Energy Trading Scenarios Energy Market and Regulation Updates Environmental and Planning Perspectives Attendees will hear from Will Bridges, … [Read more...]
U.S. innovative financing makes buildings energy efficiency affordable even to poor communities
Buildings energy efficiency is not moving fast enough to meet the Paris Agreement goals. Retrofitting old buildings is extremely costly and needs much more investment, as our previous articles have detailed. Innovative models of financing are urgently needed. In an article for Ensia, Nate Berg explains how by rolling upgrade costs into monthly bills for poorer communities, U.S. utilities are helping customers save energy and money at the same … [Read more...]
Utilities are starting to invest in big batteries instead of building new power plants
There has been a dramatic drop in battery costs in recent years. Jeremiah Johnson and Joseph F. DeCarolis, of North Carolina State University, say if this continues grid-scale batteries could supplant the usual solutions to peak electricity demand: gas power plants and transmission lines. Inevitably, this will depend on the future price of gas, and the changing policy environment. But one thing is for sure: utilities don’t want to invest in peak … [Read more...]
Does the U.S. really need new gas infrastructure?
Gas prices within the U.S. vary considerably, largely due to poor local gas infrastructure: Boston’s gas prices can be triple New York’s, and Los Angeles’ over 50% higher than San Francisco’s. Should the U.S. spend billions upgrading that infrastructure? Not if money spent on assets that may one day be stranded is money wasted. Andrew Campbell, Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Haas at the University of California, says the best … [Read more...]
EU energy sector set for crucial state aid decisions in 2019
2018 was a watershed year for state aid regulations in the EU energy sector. A number of landmark rulings by the European Commission towards different member states have challenged the legality of various state aid measures and prompted governments to reconsider mechanisms for supporting domestic energy sectors. In particular, early-stage capacity mechanism procedures for many member states have been scrutinised, albeit favourably, and … [Read more...]
A record year for big corporates buying renewable energy to run their operations
In the U.S. 2018 set a new record for total capacity of announced corporate renewable energy (RE) purchases. Facebook, AT&T, Walmart, ExxonMobil and Microsoft top the list. This unprecedented demand has been met with robust supply from renewable energy project developers as well as from utilities, which have demonstrated their willingness to work with these buyers in finding new solutions in the market. The Rocky Mountain Institute’s Lily … [Read more...]
Broken public utilities: how to fix them
The recent newspaper reports of financial and operating problems at the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and South Africa’s ESKOM show that these state-owned systems suffer from similar governance and regulatory deficiencies, writes Branko Terzic, Managing Director of Berkeley Research Group and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. According to Terzic, a former Commissioner on the U.S. FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory … [Read more...]
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