Pilot programs, utility procurement, and wholesale market rules have contributed to the growth of battery storage, but most of the facilities deployed to date are short-duration storage. Long-duration storage is receiving considerable attention due to its potential to provide resilience through natural disasters and increase the capacity of the grid to accommodate intermittent renewables.

Under changed leadership at FERC, the commission is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes—including changes affecting transmission planning, pipeline certification, and electric market design—aimed at facilitating transition to a lower carbon-emitting national energy resource portfolio.

After nearly a year and a half of managing through the challenges of COVID-19, the utility industry continues to navigate supply chain challenges, pandemic-related costs, and recovery of deferred balances, while maintaining grid and resource investment.

ESG has been evolving as a topic not only because it is becoming a key criterion for investors but also because of the need for electric and gas utilities to report on carbon emissions. There are many frameworks that are guiding ESG reporting today, but it isn’t always straightforward.

SMRs are essentially small nuclear plants that operate on nuclear fuel. Because of their smaller size and operational flexibility, they do not face the same issues that make large nuclear plants difficult to build and operate, and they have the potential to become an important source of non-carbon-emitting generation.

While 2020’s outbreak of the pandemic temporarily unsettled gas markets, gas demand has recovered. But recent price increases, relatively low gas storage volumes, the prospects of a cold winter, and the potential for fuel switching have many guessing how long elevated gas prices might last.

This is a graphical look at interesting facts and statistics in the energy industry.