Putting the news in context sometimes requires a beat and a pinpoint. In this column, CEFF's editor focuses on how local officials responding to local pressures govern how far and how fast renewable projects can deploy in any economic context.
(Photo by Don and Suzan Weller, via Flickr Creative Commons.) As the sun sets over Waterford, CT, an expert proposes a price floor in wholesale electricity markets.
As New England states progress towards decarbonization goals, the electricity spot market will see offers from solar and wind generators that incur no marginal cost. That can harm reliability and put some operators hastily out of business. To retain existing resources and the stability they bring, we need to set...
On January 25, the New York Times dug into plans by General Motors, Toyota and Ford to build and operate factories for electric vehicles and their batteries in the United States' manufacturing corridor.
(Photo by Patrick Kovarik for Getty Images in Fashionista, September 25, 2020.) Chanel once staged a fashion show with wind turbines. The author argues that assertive tax policy can make renewable wardrobes a fashion-forward investment.
The US, as the largest consumer and highest emitter of carbon per capita, bears a critical share of the responsibility to facilitate a transition to sustainable practices. This article lays out the rationale and a pathway for the US to incentivize the apparel industry’s decarbonization. I propose a preferential tariff...
Workers, investors and policymakers peer into the Gulf Coast's future. (Courtesy the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.)
Some have tried and none have managed to sync America’s clean energy ambitions with its fossil-based heritage through federal policy. The current administration is trying in many industries, including offshore wind manufacturing. That warrants a look at the Gulf Coast. Known as a longtime oil and gas cluster, the Gulf...
Installations from the Connecticut Green Bank's Posigen program in Bridgeport, CT / Courtesy of Connecticut Green Bank
In an interview with CEFF, the Connecticut
unveiled its plans to bring to market approximately $15 to 20 million of new $1,000 face value “Green Liberty Bonds” around April 22, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. In a twist, the new bonds will be available...
A growing list of Connecticut towns want to play a bigger role in procuring clean energy, but first they need state lawmakers to give them the authority. Known as community choice aggregation, the model gives local governments the right to buy power on behalf of their residents, enabling them to focus on buying more renewable energy or lowering costs, or both.
Utilities like Duke Energy and Xcel Energy have issued billions in green bonds to fund renewables development. Green banks in New York, Connecticut and other states are backing investments in distributed resources and energy efficiency. It appears much more institutional money wants in on the green opportunity.
Rival developer teams filed formal proposals with Connecticut regulators to build massive new wind farms off New England’s southern coast, with the state having mandated that 40% of its electricity be generated from renewable sources within a decade’s time.
