There’s no transition without transmission. How can we make it easier to build?

Regulators are trying to clear the path to the grid that clean energy needs.

To go from an electricity system based on coal and gas to one based on solar and wind, the US needs a very different power grid. On some estimates, annual installations of new transmission capacity need to double. To help build the grid that a new clean electricity system will need, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been working on regulatory reforms, intended to smooth the path for new investments in transmission lines. 

Ed Crooks is joined by Amy Myers-Jaffe of New York University and Shanu Mathew of Lazard Asset Management, to unpack the latest orders from FERC. What are the regulators trying to do, and why do some people object to their plans? And what will the proposed reforms mean for the energy transition in the electricity sector in the US? 

It has been a busy few weeks for big announcements in energy. A new round of tariffs on clean energy products from China was announced this month by President Biden, with rates of 100% on electric vehicles, 50% on solar modules, and 25% on lithium-ion batteries. The goal is to revive clean energy manufacturing in the US, but critics say the tariffs could be counter-productive, because they will drive up the cost of low-carbon technologies for American businesses and consumers.

One important gauge of the state of the energy transition is the health of investment in low-carbon stocks. The news on that over the past couple of years has not been great. So what are the markets telling us about the future of clean energy? Shanu gives us his analysis, and joins Amy and Ed to debate investor sentiment and what it means. 

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