Articles

Today, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings are nearly as important for some businesses as their bottom line. With stakeholders, shareholders, and end-consumers favoring sustainable organizations, meeting ESG metrics can be critical for a company’s ongoing success. In addition to responsible social and corporate governance, businesses now have a significant amount of control over their energy decisions. This article outlines how to make educated energy decisions about methods and ...

President Biden proposes to spend more money on clean energy than any other administration in US history through his infrastructure plan. Should the plan win passage as it stands now, businesses and utilities will be able to better employ tax incentives for clean energy. It would also give rise to a more abundant supply of renewable energy with increased transmission to move electricity from large wind and solar farms to population centers. The goal of the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan aims t...

   Reliable electric service is growing in importance to our lives and to the economy, but threats to reliable electricity are also proliferating. The threats seem to be coming from an ever-growing list of sources: wildfires, extreme cold, record floods, hurricanes, extreme storms, and cyberattacks. Fortunately, innovation and technology are keeping pace with the threats. Increasingly, businesses, utilities, government agencies, hospitals, as well as universities and research organizat...

The public declaration of a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goal can be both exciting and daunting for a large company looking to reduce its environmental impact. Whether government-mandated, consumer-driven or brought forth by ethical social responsibility, ESG goals are often much easier to set than attain.  With climate milestones like 2030, 2050 and beyond approaching, many organizations must quickly adapt to meet local emissions standards and stay relevant in the business world. &nb...

Tapping into the power of the sun offers commercial and industrial facilities more control over their utility bills and the ability to operate in a more sustainable fashion. Plummeting prices and improved technology make a host of options available for companies that want to go solar. But they’re left with a lot of information to parse and deliberations to make. We have created this three-part commercial and industrial solar series to shed light on the types of solar installations possible today...

Tapping into the power of the sun offers commercial and industrial facilities more control over their utility bills and the ability to operate in a more sustainable fashion. Plummeting prices and improved technology make a host of options available for companies that want to go solar. But they’re left with a lot of information to parse and deliberations to make. We have created this three-part commercial and industrial solar series to shed light on the types of solar installations possible today...

Tapping into the power of the sun offers commercial and industrial facilities more control over their utility bills and the ability to operate in a more sustainable fashion.  Plummeting prices and improved technology make a host of options available for companies that want to go solar. But they’re left with a lot of information to parse and deliberations to make.  We have created this three-part commercial and industrial solar series to shed light on the types of solar installations po...

The North American electric grid is an immense feat of engineering and often referred to as the largest and most complex machine in the world. When we discuss ‘the grid’ we are typically referring to the entire system in the abstract, including all the power plants, wires, and related equipment that deliver electricity to our homes and businesses every day.  But electrical networks can come in all shapes and sizes to meet the particular needs of diverse customers and communities. And there ...

As temperatures continue to climb across the country this summer, the heat is certain to again wreak havoc on the electric grid. Every part of our aging infrastructure experiences immense strain when the mercury rises, and we all pay the price. Businesses use more power and that bumps up their summer bills. But the real cost of summer heatwaves stems from grid inefficiencies and operational challenges. Prolonged heat raises power prices, increases carbon-intensity, and ups the risk of brownouts ...

Shifting clouds cast shadows over your office, reducing solar exposure to your building’s roof. A summer breeze halts midday, letting hot stagnant air build up as the wind stops blowing. An unexpected storm settles into the region, delaying staff from reaching job sites. For renewable energy, these weather shifts and interruptions cause what is commonly referred to as intermittency, the sudden change in energy production. But intermittency isn’t only about fluctuations in solar and wind energy. ...

A recent report by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) indicates a wider cushion between supply and demand than previously expected for this summer because of the effects of the new coronavirus. Meanwhile, the grid operator also finds an ongoing shift underway in the state’s power mix towards intermittent wind and solar and the possibility of record setting peak demand. All of these elements could affect power prices this summer. Supply buffer up ERCOT forecasts its cushion between...

The Texas wind farm fleet is continuing to grow, but its effect on power prices depends on where the wind farms are located. Generally, Texas wind farms have dampened wholesale power prices, but they’ve also increased price volatility and can have an outsized impact on summer-time prices. Texas wind fleet grows, and keeps growing The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for most of the state, has about 23,865 MW of wind power, up from 100 MW two decades ago. The...

With solar prices falling and a key federal tax credit ramping down, commercial and industrial businesses are increasingly considering adding solar panels to their facilities. One of the top incentives for building solar facilities — the federal investment tax credit, or ITC — can make solar panels an appealing option, but it’s important to understand how the program works, especially its eligibility deadlines. Before getting into the details on the ITC, we should say the program could change so...

With summer on the horizon, it’s a good time to talk about scarcity pricing — a hot topic last year when real-time wholesale power prices in Texas hit a $9,000 per megawatt-hour (MWh) cap multiple times over a three-day stretch. Generally, wholesale power prices are driven by supply and demand. Prices go up when limited power supplies are used to meet growing demand. Picture a hot, humid day. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid and power markets in nearly a...

Before it adjourned last year, Congress declined to act on multiple pieces of energy storage legislation including the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 2019. But across the country, states are taking the lead in advancing this innovative technology –– opening new opportunities for commercial and industrial facilities seeking to incorporate storage into their energy mix. The state action makes sense, given the urgent need for resilient energy. Our aging grid infrastructure and t...

Ice on power lines, fierce winds, and severe cold are the ingredients for winter power outages. For businesses, loss of electricity is more than an annoyance — it damages the bottom line.  The cost? It’s not small. An Esource study found that on average, outages of four hours cost $10,000 to $20,000. Costs can be even steeper for industries that risk product spoilage and must shut down and clean up equipment even if the outage is brief. Unfortunately, power outages occur all too often. A 20...