Energy Utilities

High voltage power line towers sillhouetted against colorful sunset sky.

Utilities Spending Less on Energy Efficiency Despite Higher Fuel Prices

A survey of major utilities reveals a link between states with strict efficiency standards and incentive programs and efforts to improve efficiency on the part of utilities.

September 20, 2023 - Governing

Renewable Energy

Bipartisan Compromise in Arizona Results in Carbon-Free Energy Plan

The state of Arizona has a plan to eliminate carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050.

November 27, 2020 - Inside Climate News

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New Jersey Has a Plan to Shift to Clean Energy, but Questions Remain

The state’s energy plan focuses on the move to renewable energy, but specifics about how that will happen and what the costs will be need to be pinned down.

January 16, 2020 - NJ Spotlight

Air Conditioner

The High Cost of Cool Air

Air conditioning has drastically changed modern life and the ways cities have developed. But, the environmental consequences are immense, and it’s time to cut back.

September 14, 2019 - The Guardian

Solar and Wind Energy

Mixed Results on Renewable Energy Initiatives

Two western states had very similar renewable energy initiatives on the ballot sponsored by NextGen America requiring utilities to get 50 percent of electricity by 2030. It passed in Nevada but was rejected in Arizona.

November 8, 2018 - The Arizona Republic

Rooftop Solar

Arizona and Nevada to Vote on Renewable Energy Initiatives

Voters in two Western states next month will determine whether to require energy utilities to increase their share of electricity from renewable sources to 50 percent by 2030. In Arizona, the campaign has become the costliest in state history.

October 19, 2018 - The Arizona Republic

Solar and Wind Energy

Utilities Still Catching Up to Public Opinion on Renewable Energy

Renewable energy enjoys broad public support—the utility industry is more skeptical.

September 15, 2018 - Vox

Coal Ash Waste

Making Older Coal Power Plants More Efficient Without Making Them Cleaner

At the center of the EPA's newly proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule is doing away with a permitting process known as New Source Review that requires coal power plants to add scrubbers and other expensive pollution control equipment when upgraded.

August 27, 2018 - The New York Times

Nuclear Power

South Carolinians Still on the Hook for Failed Nuclear Plants

“It has to be one of the greatest wastes of money in any state’s history,” Alan Greenblatt writes.

January 27, 2018 - Governing

Solar Power

Solar Power Beats DOE Cost Targets Three Years Early

With a set of 2020 affordability targets met three years early, the DOE can turn its attention to reliability, resilience, and storage.

September 18, 2017 - Quartz

Harbor Beach Power Plant

Large Michigan Utility to Go Coal-Free by 2050

Apparently Michigan's largest electricity supplier did not receive the Trump memo that the Clean Power Plan will be rolled back as they are proceeding on a plan that will achieve even higher carbon emission reductions.

May 19, 2017 - Detroit Free Press

Wind Turbine

Wyoming Law Would Penalize Utilities for Using Renewable Energy

Republican legislators in the state of Wyoming are choosing sides in the energy market—with dire consequences for consumers and the environment.

January 15, 2017 - Billings Gazette

Southern California Power Grid Will Soon Back Up on a Tesla Battery

Tesla just won a competitive bid to supply utility-scale power in Southern California—providing security in the event of a catastrophe like the Porter Ranch methane leak.

September 16, 2016 - Bloomberg

Wind Farm at Upolu

A New Era in the U.S.: More Carbon Emissions from Transportation Than Utilities

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the total carbon emissions of the transportation sector is now greater than the carbon emissions of energy utilities.

June 14, 2016 - Vox

Wind Turbines Likely Banned From Unincorporated Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors acted against the recommendations of county planners in moving toward banning utility-scale wind energy production from unincorporated parts of the county.

July 17, 2015 - Los Angeles Daily News

The Sunny Places that Prohibit Solar Power

An examination of the challenges facing the solar industry in Southeastern states, like Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, where utilities and governments have largely blocked residents and businesses from tapping their solar resources.

August 11, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

How Utilities Fail to Predict the Economic Effects of Environmental Regulation

A familiar refrain: the EPA proposes new regulation of energy production, and the utility industry responds that new requirements will increase costs. The Center for American Progress recently looked back at how clairvoyant those claims proved to be.

March 25, 2014 - Triple Pundit

Rooftop Solar Panels

Distributed Solar Sparks ‘War of Business Models’

Threatened by the increasingly diverse electricity generation market, more utilities are pushing back on incentives for rooftop solar, such as net-metering credits.

January 18, 2014 - Denver Post

Green Carrot Incentivizes More Efficient Buildings; Will Owners and Utilities Bite?

Felicity Barringer looks at an innovative program being tested in Seattle to incentivize commercial property owners to undertake major energy efficiency retrofits. A partnership between skeptical building owners, investors, and utilities is key.

June 20, 2013 - The New York Times

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