Electricity
A Bull Is Loose in the Energy Shop, and Tariffs Are a Weak Lasso
Yesterday, the U.S. government presented a new challenge for the clean energy industry. The confused logic of the solar PV import tariff challenges all reason: intended to boost the domestic manufacturing of cells and modules—which currently employs less than 38,000 people—and add some jobs while reducing imports, the tariff also…
5 Reasons Why the Clean Energy Future Can’t Be Stopped
Energy used to be a boring industry—no pun intended. For over a century, the proven formula for success was to drill, mine, generate, and consume more energy than the year before. But in 1976, a young energy analyst named Amory Lovins decided to question that paradigm in an article titled…
Report Release: Reimagining the Utility to Bring “Utility of the Future” Debates Down to Earth
A lot of attention is given to the question: what is the right role and business model for electric utilities? This has become something like the energy industry’s version of what is the meaning of life, existential in nature and prone to as many answers as there are names on…
Community-Scale Solar Is on the Fast Track to Grid Parity
Will 2018 be the year when solar power reaches so-called grid parity, providing a cost of energy over its operating life that is equal to or less than the cost of energy from existing conventional energy sources? This levelized cost of energy (LCOE) comparison informs new grid investments and, as…
Beyond Bitcoin: As Blockchain Adoption Accelerates, a Need to Manage Energy and Climate Emerges
Digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin has experienced a dramatic rise in popularity and value in 2017, gaining an astounding 1,700% since the beginning of the year. Deployment of blockchain technology, which underpins Bitcoin and numerous other digital currencies, is poised for similar growth across multiple sectors. Recently, the environmental…
