If we’re going to allude to Shakespeare in the debate over a carbon tax, let’s bring out the iambic pentameter. Our July 18 op-ed on the carbon tax (“To tax or not to tax”) continues to draw reader response, including this treatment from Jeffrey Rissman, who notes that “Hamlet was the Prince of Denmark, and Denmark is known for wind turbines….”

Like any corporation, investor-owned electric utilities have a duty to maximize shareholder profits. There’s no problem with this in principle – as long as what maximizes profits also maximizes benefits in the public interest, given their regulatory monopoly status. But today, how utilities make money must change to adapt to new grid needs, customer demands and technological realities.

A major player in California’s electricity system has opened its arms to the concept of using batteries — whether mounted on a garage wall or inside an electric vehicle — and other small-scale technology to help the grid.

The experts the Chinese government relies upon to advise on energy planning say the world’s largest emitter is on track to stop growing its greenhouse gas output as much as a decade earlier than promised. Jiang Kejun, a lead researcher at the Beijing-based Energy Research Institute, said China would “for sure” outperform its Paris pledge to peak emissions by 2030.

Transportation systems represent a huge portion of public and private spending — to the tune of $1.2 to $1.4 trillion globally each year. And, in an era rocked by climate change and other disruptions, those systems must be able to weather all kinds of shocks — from fuel shortages to flooding. They must be, in a word, resilient. Here are eight ways China is taking the lead on resilient transportation

On July 7th, the Chinese government endorsed a set of policies aimed at peaking greenhouse gas emissions by 2029 — at no additional costs. Energy Innovation’s Energy Policy Simulator measured the combined effects of 35 climate, energy, and environmental policies across more than 10,000 scenarios.

China could speed up its climate plans to peak carbon dioxide emissions in six years, under proposals presented to policymakers this week. Two Beijing-based government advisory groups – the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation and the Energy Research Institute – drew up an “accelerated low carbon scenario” with American consultancy Energy Innovation.

China, a country known for its smoggy skies and hazardous environmental conditions has rapidly become the global leader in developing and implementing renewable energy technologies on a mass scale. The country’s central government understands that there is a problem that needs to be fixed as fast as possible

Instituting a carbon tax and improving building efficiency are two of the most effective tools to cut greenhouse gases, no matter if its in China or the West, according to a report out tonight from China’s National Center for Climate Strategy and the Energy Research Institute (both government agencies) and the U.S. non-profit Energy Innovation.

Utilities face a host of rapid changes in a what used to be a staid business: new business models, changing supply and demand forecasts, new distributed architectures, etc. Meanwhile, difficult questions remain about how we’re going to manage our power transition, who the winners and losers will be, and what role consumers and “prosumers” will play in the future. We tackle all of these issues in this wide-ranging conversation about the “blocks and squiggles” of the grid of the future.

Most people are at least vaguely aware at this point that power utilities are the Bad Guys in the story of renewable energy — fighting rooftop solar, clinging to old coal plants, and generally slow-walking the work of cleaning up the grid. But the role of utilities is often badly misconstrued, read as a tale of greed or animus. While there’s plenty of greed and animus to go around, the fact is, utilities are just doing what they’ve been designed to do. The design is the problem.

Elon Musk announced last week that he wants Tesla, his electric-car company, to acquire SolarCity, the rooftop-solar company he helped found and now serves as chairman. Even assuming the merged company could get past its short-term challenges, its long-term fate rests on policy and regulatory decisions it can’t predict or determine. It’s a merger based on hope.

New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative is transforming how utility stakeholders view the power sector’s future, but for the first time polling has revealed widespread support from consumers themselves. Evidence of strongly positive attitudes toward clean energy in general, and NY REV in particular has major implications for utilities and regulators.

Tesla currently offers electric vehicles and energy storage solutions for homes, businesses and utilities. But while Tesla already has a close relationship with SolarCity, Musk made the case that there are efficiencies to be gained by formally combining the two entities. Setting aside market concerns for a moment, what would Musk’s vision actually look like?

This paper examines three cases where cost-of-service regulation (COSR) clearly motivates utilities to pursue sub-optimal outcomes compared to an alternative regulatory strategy. We find COSR often creates utility incentives that misalign with societal value, and improvement to the existing regulatory model holds immense potential to create value for customers and society.

California’s cap-and-trade program should be viewed as part of the state’s comprehensive package of climate policies. Yes, greater legal certainty will help, but keep in mind high carbon prices aren’t a goal of California’s climate policy. The goals are emission reductions, efficiency, consumer protection, and growing businesses set to compete in the 21st century economy.

Texas’ decision for an energy-only market design with an operational reserve demand curve has likely saved Texas consumers billions, as well as improving reliability, providing evidence of an energy transition driven by load reductions, significant increases in renewable generation, and…

High carbon prices aren’t a goal of the system. The goals are emission reductions, efficiency, consumer protection and growing businesses set to compete in the 21st-century economy. California’s climate policy is succeeding, thanks in part to cap and trade.

The Paris Agreement on climate change set the world on track to avoid catastrophe. Or did it? More than 180 nations have committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but now we need to see whether these commitments are real. On June 1-2 in San Francisco, energy ministers from the world’s 24 largest-emitting nations will report on their progress and plans.

China is rethinking its urbanization. In February, national authorities adopted new urbanization guidelines that should, over time, lead to more compact cities with denser networks of narrow streets, more pedestrian and cycling lanes, better public transport, mixed-use zoning, and more green space. Many neighborhoods within China’s major cities provide home-grown examples of urbanization done right.