You are here: Home » Archives for Karl Cates
Author Archive:
Karl Cates
Former IEEFA Transition Policy Analyst Karl Cates has been an editor for Bloomberg LP, an editor for the New York Times, and a consultant to the Treasury Department-sanctioned community development financial institution (CDFI) industry.
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC), one of the newest in U.S., risks closure due to market forces
December 16, 2020 (IEEFA)—Retiring the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) will bring unnecessarily abrupt economic hardship to Wise County if state and local officials do not begin to plan now for a transition, concludes a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis. The 8-year-old coal-fired power plant, owned by […]
Tri-State currently plans using coal through 2050 and expanding into gas; projected rate increases of 55% by 2050
Nov. 17, 2020 (IEEFA) — One of the biggest power suppliers to rural electric co-ops in the U.S. is putting its business model at risk as members clamor for better access to renewable energy, more affordable rates, and more say in how they buy or produce power, concludes a report released today by the Institute […]
Long-simmering initiative to send Utah product to Asia is dead
A long-shot proposal to send coal 700 miles overland from Utah to Oakland for transoceanic shipment to Asian markets is dead. A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Kentucky last week approved a plan by the proposed project’s major creditor, Autumn Wind Lending LLC, to take over a sublease at the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT) […]
A guide to best practices in a sector where standards are lacking
Oct. 28, 2020 (IEEFA) — An advisory published today by the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) warns that too few standards exist for renewable energy tax abatement deals, even as utility-scale solar and wind power continue to quickly gain market share across the electricity generation sector. The advisory, Negotiating Responsible Tax Breaks […]
Avangrid acquisition of PNM signals regional market shift to renewables; coal company in maneuver to stay in business, puts more Navajo Nation finances at risk
In announcing its merger yesterday with renewable energy giant Avangrid, PNM Resources reaffirmed its commitment to end its use of coal, stating that it would continue with the abandonment of the San Juan Generating Station in 2022, and that it was actively working to sell its 13% stake in the Four Corners Power Plant. The […]
Four projects totaling 950 megawatts will replace San Juan Generating Station; likelihood of coal plant carbon-capture retrofit further diminished
October 12, 2020 (IEEFA) — An aggressive expansion into utility-scale solar by Public Service Company of New Mexico will replace all of the power PNM will lose when the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) closes in June 2022, concludes a research brief published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. PNM’s […]
Barriers include recent failure of similar experimental project, oppositional market forces, no known investors, no customer base, nowhere to sequester emissions
Sept. 16, 2020 (IEEFA) — The proposed retrofit with carbon capture technology of a coal-fired power plant in San Juan County, N.M., shows dwindling chances of success, according to a briefing note released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The analysis concludes that the plan is most likely a lost […]
Outdated policies ignore the transition underway across the electricity generation industry
The Bureau of Land Management, the single biggest steward of real estate in the U.S., often finds itself in the crossfire of heated arguments over how best to use and/or protect the more than 250 million acres it is responsible for across the American West. To put these vast holdings in context, BLM lands account […]
Markets, distance, and community opposition pose obstacles - proposal lacks private sector backers
August 19, 2020 (IEEFA) —A proposed $20 million state investment in a bankrupt California coal-export project would most likely result in a loss to the state, concludes a research brief published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The brief—Utah Bailout of Bankrupt California Coal-Export Project Would Likely Fail—describes how weak export […]
Government-funded innovation drove competition between technologies that accelerated a boom in renewable energy
In the rush among rival pharmaceutical companies to create an antidote to the COVID-19 virus, one, or some, will probably succeed. Many won’t. That’s how competition works—why there’s Netflix now and not Blockbuster, the iPhone and not the Blackberry, Amazon and not Sears. It happens in any industry—renewable energy included—innovation leading to more innovation, one […]
IEEFA U.S.: Virginia coal plant’s future isn’t bright: preparation for transition should commence now
Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC), one of the newest in U.S., risks closure due to market forces
December 16, 2020 (IEEFA)—Retiring the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) will bring unnecessarily abrupt economic hardship to Wise County if state and local officials do not begin to plan now for a transition, concludes a report published today by the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis. The 8-year-old coal-fired power plant, owned by […]