Author Archive: Larry Shapiro
Larry Shapiro is Associate Director for Program Development at the Rockefeller Family Fund (RFF). He is a founder of RFF’s Power Plant Finance Project, the predecessor organization to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
U.S. Puerto Ricans Have the Clout to Steer Puerto Rico Toward a Modern Energy Policy
Wall Street Sympathizers Would Lock a U.S. Commonwealth Into a Future of Fossil-Fuel Reliance
Puerto Ricans who live in the continental U.S. have tremendous, if often-unrealized, power. More than a million Puerto Ricans reside in Florida, for instance, which with Ohio is one of the two most important states in presidential politics. Moreover, even recent arrivals from Puerto Rico have a status that recent arrivals from elsewhere in Latin […]
Big Coal, Not So Big Anymore
The Challenge Now Is to Find Common Ground Culturally and Regionally
Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency released the final version of its rule to limit carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. It’s not a perfect rule, and there’s a long road ahead that is likely to include litigation and implementation challenges. But the rule, often referred to as the Clean Power Plan, is […]
The Whac-a-Mole Strategy Works (and Is Helping Shape the New Energy Economy)
Yogi Berra Was Right: You Can Observe a Lot Just by Watching
Whac-a-Mole is an arcade game in which a mole pops up from a hole and must be hit in the head with a mallet. This sends it back down its hole. As soon as one mole is whacked, another pops up from a different hole and must be similarly dispatched. The moles keep coming back […]
In Western New York, an Instructive Tale of Two Coal-Fired Plants
One Community Clings to the Past; the Other Explores How to Survive in a New-Energy Economy
Even when it’s clear that a coal-fired power plant can’t make money if subjected to the discipline of the marketplace—and even when the power produced by that plant isn’t necessary to keep the lights on—politics can keep that plant operating. That’s what’s happening in Dunkirk, N.Y., where Gov. Andrew Cuomo has committed to keeping an […]
The Lasting Impact of the Anti-Keystone Campaign
Today, Every Significant Fossil-Fuel Project in the U.S. Faces Substantial Opposition
We don’t know for sure yet whether President Obama will allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built. But we do know the public campaign against the project has been a resounding success in the way it has elevated public awareness of the risks tied to such development. Long ribbons of oil and gas pipeline […]
Electric Grid Managers: Quasi-Public Corporations Gone Wild (and in Secret)
A fact little known to most Americans is that the grid they rely on for electricity is controlled by quasi-public organizations whose lavishly paid executives and board members conduct business in deep secret. Independent system operators, or ISOs, work almost entirely behind closed doors, even though their every action affects public electricity customers of all […]
Expand Oil Drilling in California? Only If You Want Another ‘There Will Be Blood’
California, for good reason, is often thought of as the national leader on environmental and energy policy. The state has led the way in energy-efficiency electricity programs and the development of air-emission standards for automobiles. It’s also been in the vanguard of a wide range of other model initiatives that run the gamut from coastal […]
Atlantic Coast, Keystone XL, Dakota Access — for pipeline companies, winning ain’t what it used to be
Project cancellations highlight larger stressors in the oil and gas industry
If you are a pipeline developer, landmark court victories just aren’t what they used to be. Dominion Energy and Duke Energy announced on Sunday that they are canceling their proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline just 20 days after they won a 7-2 decision in the U.S. Supreme Court authorizing them to build the pipeline underneath the Appalachian Trail. […]