As South American countries recover from a massive blackout, the US isn’t immune: The Northeast Blackout of 2003 cut power to 50 million people, and many threats to the electricity grid remain.
While the hurricanes last year dealt devastating blows to Puerto Rico, its challenges predate the storms and continue on today. They also offer new opportunities.
A recent study suggests that smart meters can help households reduce their electricity use by as much as 5%. Are France’s anti-Linky households listening?
Joachim Seel, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Andrew Mills, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory et Ryan Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Large-scale solar and wind tend to push energy prices down, which sounds great as a consumer. But that makes keeping the grid in constant balance harder.
Scott Morrison’s budget speech held no surprises on energy, after months of debate over the National Energy Guarantee. The real news comes in July with the release of a crucial ACCC report on power prices.
A recent survey of electric utility leaders finds that Trump administration efforts to promote coal energy and roll back air pollution regulations have had little impact on their long-range plans.
As fusion becomes more technically viable, it’s time to assess whether it’s worth the money because breakthroughs in the lab don’t guarantee success in the marketplace.
Paul Burke, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Indonesia will freeze electricity prices until the end of 2019, a presidential election year. Research shows that earlier cuts to electricity subsidies led to improved efficiency in electricity use.
Innovation in small-scale solar systems and mobile money systems is giving people in sub-Saharan Africa access to electricity at a lower cost than diesel or kerosene.