Monthly Archives: December 2011

8 posts

MIT Study Demonstrates Demand Response’s Role in Balancing Renewables

by Shelley Welton, Deputy Director & Fellow MIT released an interdisciplinary study on December 5, 2011, that examines “The Future of the Electric Grid.” Among many interesting findings, it nicely details the challenges we will face in adapting the electric grid to accommodate all the anticipated renewable resources coming on-line […]

Study on the TVA Highlights the Importance of Including Energy Efficiency in Long-term Utility Planning

by Shelley Welton, Deputy Director In October, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an interesting though little-noted report on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) energy efficiency and capital expenditures planning.  The report does an excellent job of illustrating how even commendable efforts at energy efficiency can fall short if a […]

Analysis of Environmental Impact Statements Shows Widely Varying Treatment of Climate Change Risks

By Patrick Woolsey, CCCL Intern U.S. Government agencies have begun to incorporate consideration of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions into the environmental impact statements (EISs) which they are required to produce under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). However, federal agencies have developed widely varying procedures for addressing the […]

The Air Quality vs. Electricity Grid Reliability Debate

By Shelley Welton, Deputy Director An ongoing battle over the potential tensions between air quality regulations and electric grid reliability has picked up steam recently, as two EPA air pollution regulations near the implementation phase: the cross-state air-pollution rule and the mercury and air toxics standard. Congressional Republicans and many […]