Energy Transition

Balancing Innovation
The Light and Shadows of AI in Energy

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how the energy industry operates. AI promises to improve efficiency and optimization across power grids. However, there are valid concerns around bias, security, and ethics...

Water
The Overlooked Resource in Energy Production

Water is critical for energy production. Thermal power plants, hydraulic fracturing, and even renewable sources all require significant water inputs. As energy demands grow, but supplies face increasing constraints, water's...

The Pricing Pitfall
Aligning Time-of-Use Models with Renewables Targets

Electric utilities increasingly look to time-of-use (TOU) pricing as a way to flatten peak demand and better integrate renewables. But ill-designed TOU rates can perversely incentivize energy usage patterns at...

New Transmission Lines vs. Decentralization
The Future of Energy Infrastructure – Progress or Pipedream?

The energy market is changing rapidly. Two major trends - the growth of renewable energy and decentralization of power generation - are disrupting traditional utility business models. This poses an...

Non-Wires Alternatives (NWAs) in Modern Energy Systems

Non-Wires Alternatives (NWAs) are becoming increasingly important in the transformation of energy systems to meet the demands of a changing power grid infrastructure. Rather than relying solely on building new...

The Three Kings of Smart Energy
Smart Meters, AMI Solutions, and Energy Storage

The energy landscape is evolving fast. Utilities and energy providers face increasing pressure to modernize infrastructure, integrate renewable energy, and offer customers more control. This transformation is being driven by...

Fault Ride-Through
The Hidden Challenge of Renewable Energy Adoption

Renewable power sources like wind and solar are fast becoming the backbone of modern electricity grids. Their cleaner energy and lower emissions are music to the environment's ears. But plugging...

Carbon Capture or Carbon Cash? The Ethics of CO₂ Surcharges

As nations and industries strive to mitigate climate change, the implementation of carbon surcharges has emerged as a focal point of discussion. A carbon surcharge is essentially a fee imposed...

The Dilemma of Dynamic Electricity Pricing in Germany

Opinion Piece Germany has long stood as a beacon of ambition in the global energy transition, or "Energiewende," with its bold push towards a sustainable future. But as the nation...

The Impact of Renewable Energy on Utility Business Models

The energy sector is undergoing a transformation driven by renewable energy. For decades, utilities operated within a centralized framework, generating electricity at large plants and distributing it to consumers. The...

Power-to-X
A Hopeful Solution or a Costly Compromise?

The world is rapidly expanding renewable energy sources like solar and wind to slow down climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the fact that these resources are unpredictable...

Energy Pricing
Understanding Utility Rate Design in a Changing Energy Landscape

The way that consumers pay for electricity is changing. Historically, regulated electric utilities charged customers a flat volumetric rate per kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumed. However, with the growth of renewable energy,...