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By AJ Goulding and with research support from Stella Jhang*
Faculty affiliate A.J. Goulding explores U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s September 29 order to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address threats to U.S. electrical grid resiliency. Goulding writes that the order, which instructs FERC to put in place cost-of-service mechanisms for power plants with 90 days of onsite storage, leaves FERC and Independent System Operators in a challenging position.
Goulding indicates the order appears intended to prevent market-driven retirements of coal and nuclear stations, which have been pressured by cheap natural gas and significant new renewables additions. He also notes that even if the order were to survive the inevitable litigation, the timeline for implementation is far too short.
The commentary argues the proposed solution to resiliency issues fails to take into account the physical realities of the U.S. power system and existing grid reliability requirements, as well as the distortions it would create by interfering with market forces. To reduce the order’s distortionary impact, Goulding offers five steps ISOs can take to move forward, and he concludes by outlining institutional challenges ISOs would face in implementation.
As the world races to transition to cleaner energy sources, there exists a substantial gap between the financing required for this transition and the actual investments being made.
Today, Qatar is among the world’s wealthiest countries. Its rich hydrocarbon resources have transformed this small Gulf state into an energy powerhouse, funded its outsized global ambitions, and allowed it to forge an identity separate from those of its large and powerful neighbors.
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Earlier this month, OPEC+ leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia announced further voluntary production and export cuts, with the former alone accounting for nearly half of the OPEC+ aggregate.
