Electricity
How COVID-19 Is Pushing Cities to Change Solar Permitting for the Better
In order to meet social distancing requirements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, cities across the United States are moving permitting services, including solar, online. The International Code Council (ICC) recently surveyed its members and found that 65 percent of local code permitting officials have moved to remote work…
Reimagining Grid Resilience in the Energy Transition
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced much of the world to first shelter in place and then continue to spend significant time at home as outbreaks re-emerge. Reliable delivery of electricity to homes and essential businesses in this time of upheaval has been critical in maintaining any semblance of normality. Yet…
Stimulus, Clean Energy, and Changing the Status Quo
The status quo no longer works—for health, for equity, or for climate. In just three months, we lost over 100,000 Americans to COVID-19. Over 40 million Americans have lost their jobs, putting the US unemployment rate at levels not seen since World War II. We must forge a positive direction…
Five Tips for Utility Regulators: Staying on Course through the COVID-19 Storm
Utility regulators are in uncharted waters. States have launched a raft of proceedings to mitigate climate change, reform utility business models, and address other long-term priorities, only to find them blown off course by the worst pandemic the world has seen in a century. How can regulators navigate the COVID-19…
Five Tips for Virtual Meetings
Today is my 50-something day cooped up in my Brooklyn apartment. The blur of days has been punctuated with the familiar sounds of: “sorry, you are on mute” and “you froze for a second, can you repeat what you were saying?” Like many, I have had to innovate new ways…