Category Energy Policy
The Polar Vortex of 2014 is Still Changing How We Use Energy
Charles Landau, MPA, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives In early 2014, a long, dry, cold spell, dubbed the polar vortex hit the Eastern United States. PJM, a regional power grid operator that primarily covers Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, experienced record-setting demand for power and adverse market conditions, which forced the company to take an unusually high […]
Getting Small with Microgrids: Standards for Cybersecurity and Efficiency
By Charles Landau, MPA & Kevin Sullivan, MPA Winter Blockbuster It’s an overused Hollywood trope: somewhere in a filthy bungalow, a punkish, brooding twentysomething math genius is typing inscrutable white lines of gobbledygook onto a black background. A questionable selection of metal or electronic dance music plays in the background while the young cyberwarrior aggressively sucks […]
Backpedaling Our Energy Policy
Charles Landau, MPA, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives The next administration has promised to reverse course on several centerpiece energy policies of recent years. Besides the politics behind doing so, let’s take a look at what the effects and consequences of backpedaling would be. The biggest changes will focus on two interconnected policy decisions, the Clean […]
A Bright Future for Solar Power in Florida
Jordan Pic, MPA, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives It seems natural that the “Sunshine State” should be known for harvesting one of the most popular forms of clean energy – solar power. However, things aren’t always so sunny. Florida ranks fourteenth in its installed capacity for producing solar energy, even though its potential to produce solar […]
Going the “Last Mile”: Refocusing on Rural Electrification
Charles Landau, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives You may not realize it, but one of the most important pieces of our energy infrastructure is right outside your home. In early 2015, the FCC issued highly publicized “Net Neutrality” rules governing internet access. One criticism of the policy is that it did not implement “last […]
Will Low Oil Prices Inhibit the Growth of Renewable Energy?
Ziyue Zhu, MPP Over the past year and a half, crude oil prices have dropped from more than $100 to less than $30 per barrel. The oil industry is now encountering one of the deepest downturns in its history, and the rate of demand is becoming slower. Meanwhile, global investment in renewable energy increased to […]
Opinion: Is India’s contingency on international climate finance reasonable?
Ziyue Zhu, MPP As one of the fast-growing and largest developing countries, India has a responsibility to tackle climate change. It is also one of the key players in the international commitment to confront climate change. Early this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored India’s commitment to scale up renewable energy development. Modi stressed the […]
