A beautiful mid-summer day in Minnesota. But where is the wind? 3:00 p.m., 84 degrees, low humidity and no wind in my neck of the woods, so I thought it…
This week saw a heat wave strong enough that Mark Christie, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, warned that “Some of our systems really came close to the edge.”…
The Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO) is at risk of running low on electricity this summer, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) 2025 summer reliability assessment. This…
HF 9, which would repeal the state’s ban on new nuclear power plants, advanced this afternoon out of the House of Representatives’ energy committee. In addition to legalizing new nuclear…
Solar power in Minnesota hopes to transform the landscape, both figuratively and literally, over the next decade. The Minnesota Star Tribune ran a piece last week touting the growth of…
Coal and natural gas power are currently supplying more than 76 percent of the region’s electricity. Both fuels will be banned in Minnesota. Here was the fuel mix for the…
Many residents of the eastern United States received an unwelcome Christmas gift this year: rolling blackouts during cold weather. I received this email on Christmas Eve from Appalachian Power Company,…
Rolling blackouts were implemented in some areas of the Golden State last night, as California set a new record for electricity demand. The state’s power grid operator, the California ISO,…
Statistically, this is the hottest week of the year. The Fear Porn has been cranked up to match the heat. We’ve all seen the temperature gradient maps filled with blood:…
My colleague Bill Glahn has started a series of news articles on the state of the electric grid that serves Minnesota, the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator (MISO). Today, we’ll talk…
Currently, fossil fuel is supplying over 80 percent of our electricity supply, with nuclear another 10 percent. The plan is to reduce that to zero in a dozen years. Just…
We check back in on the grid this Monday afternoon and the wind ain’t blowing. Temperatures in Minneapolis are a comfortable 81 degrees, but the wind is blowing at a…
America’s utility regulators are expecting power blackouts, if not this summer than next, for much of the nation. Here in the Midwest, the entity tasked with keeping the lights on…