Demand for California pollution permits rebounded in the first quarterly auction since an appeals court upheld the program. The California Air Resources Board reported that it sold out of permits to release greenhouse gases during 2017 or later. The demand exceeded the total supply for the first time since 2015, pushing prices above the minimum.

California’s carbon market should receive a boost when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) releases its latest quarterly auction results on Wednesday, May 24th. Despite these headwinds, we expect 50-65 million allowances (or between 67- 80%) of the 75 million current vintage offered will have sold at auction.

Reactions at FERC’s technical conference in early May show electricity generators are concerned about falling revenues making their power plants uneconomic and are looking for market modifications to remedy this situation. In the first part of a three-part guest post series Robbie Orvis explores why generator revenues are shrinking and how the decline isn’t a problem for reliability.

In April, Department Of Energy Secretary Rick Perry issued a memorandum to his staff asking pointed questions about the future of the electric grid as coal is retired off the system. DOE’s publication of this memorandum presents an opportunity to uncover many outdated assumptions about grid reliability and understand what’s driving the unstoppable transition from coal to other technologies.

Utilities across the United States continue to announce coal plant closures and reaffirm previous plans to remove coal from their generation fleets. What’s behind this trend? And how can U.S. utilities profitably transition themselves and affected coal communities to a 21st century generation mix?

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is going to China early next month to drum up support for climate and clean energy policies as well as general trade cooperation. “We should expect to see more action this year,” said Chris Busch, research director with advisory firm Energy Innovation, who was in Beijing in March with Stanford University economist Larry Goulder. “[China’s] looking at this as an opportunity for international leadership…”

California governor Jerry Brown (D) says there is a “very good chance” state lawmakers will pass legislation next month to extend the state’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program. Now is the right time for Brown to make a strong push, according to Chris Busch, research director at the clean energy advisory firm Energy Innovation.

The Trump Administration is attempting to alter America’s energy landscape. Energy Innovation used the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) to forecast wind and solar capacity additions to 2050 under three scenarios: a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, a low natural gas price scenario, and a solar import tariff scenario.

The carbon offset industry is reeling from a new proposal by California lawmakers that would shut them out of the state’s carbon market after 2020. “SB 775 has a more direct form of cost containment, a true price ceiling… I would argue it is a bigger matter of concern for international or out-of-state-offset developers.” Chris Busch, research director with advisory firm Energy Innovation, said in an email.

In his first 100 days, allies and adversaries saved Trump and the country from some of his most extreme, ill-considered campaign promises. As for the next 100 days, who will protect us? On the issues I care about most, I’m actually counting on California.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has gained support in Congress as an answer to reducing emissions in the power sector – but it’s the most expensive option available. Our analysis shows coal plants equipped with CCS are nearly three times more expensive than onshore wind power and more than twice as expensive as solar photovoltaics (PV).

Top California lawmakers moved yesterday to overhaul the state’s cap-and-trade system to send revenue back to residents as a “climate dividend.” State Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D) introduced the legislation, which would launch a new carbon-trading program in 2021.

A bill that would make it easier to decommission aging coal plants in the state, while also assisting rural communities hurt by any closures, won approval Monday in the Colorado House of Representatives. But support for the measure split along party lines, increasing the odds that House Bill 17-1339 will find itself stranded in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The old utility business model is cracking as competitive energy technologies displace increasing parts of the utility service, taking some of the revenues that go with it. In response, multiple states are investigating models for a “utility of the future” to establish a reliable, resilient, affordable and clean electric grid.

Anxiety is building over whether California will be able to extend its cap-and-trade scheme beyond 2020, with observers warning that failure could severely dent efforts across North America to use markets to fight climate change.

The Trump administration’s rollback of federal climate and clean energy policy has relegated renewable energy development to states (for at least the next four years). Northeast states are among the leaders but states across this region are also some of the most land-constrained in America. Will barriers to siting new wind generation and transmission in a land-constrained region stymie their efforts?

As the renewables transition continues apace, flexibility will become increasingly important. Policymakers and investors will need to watch carefully how flexibility is paid for.

Cheap natural gas and renewables are outcompeting coal-fired power plants on economics, pushing many of them into early retirement and leaving behind coal workers and communities. A newly proposed bill in Colorado aims to turn this economic challenge into an economic engine for utilities, electric consumers, and coal workers and communities.

The Trump Administration’s pro-fossil, anti-climate agenda means states must lead renewable energy development in the near term, but will siting barriers in land-constrained regions impede growth? Siting projects for large-scale renewables is tricky even in leader states. New research seeks to solve the challenge of siting renewable energy and connecting it to the grid.

Eleanor Stein, former Administrative Law Judge for the NY PSC and project manager of New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision, recently authored research to help overcome siting challenges for renewables in the Northeast U.S. She spoke with Energy Innovation’s Mike O’Boyle about how to get steel in the ground and meet America’s ambitious renewable goals.