Publications| Thought Leadership |
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Thought leadership is vitally important to MJB. We publish and make available thoughtful commentaries and analyses on a broad range of issues that we believe are relevant to decision makers in the energy industry. INDUSTRY Public Utilities Fortnightly (June 2009): The electric utility business model is under
long-term pressure. The demonstrable need for massive investment in
electricity delivery infrastructure, along with the construction of new,
clean production technologies, presages enormous cost pressures on
ratepayers—and the utilities that serve them. Many knowledgeable
observers believe the industry is, and will continue to undergo, change on
an unprecedented scale. If so, why would the current utility model be
immune from such changes? Read "IOUs Under Pressure," published recently Public Utilities Fortnightly,
for an insightful look at the challenges and opportunities facing utilities. Public Utilities Fortnightly: "The
electric power industry is characterized by a number of factors that
tend to delimit the universe of entities that can be successful in the
market in the long term. Electricity production is cyclical, highly
capital intensive, commodity-based, and volatile. Cyclical,
capital-intensive industries are characterized by relatively low
long-term returns." Power Generations and Industry Cycles PA Viewpoint:"A well designed and executed strategic plan can free a company from the undesirable position of simply riding market fluctuations and getting caught in a distressingly common ‘buy high/sell low’ strategy. As witnessed in other commodity-based industries, such as aluminium, pulp & paper and basic chemicals, successful companies develop strategies based on a number of key concepts:" RENEWABLE POWER Paying For Renewable Energy, TLC at the Right Price DB Climate Change Advisors (December 2009). Released at Copenhagen during the Climate Summit, M.J. Beck Consulting provided information and analysis on the state of Renewable Portfolio Standards in the US and overseas. The paper suggests augmenting RPS programs and REC trading with feed-in-tariff type characteristics such as standard offer PPAs and minimum REC prices. Challenges of Playing Favorites: State & Federal RPS Programs MJ Beck (April 2009): Articles shows the diversity of routes taken by State Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Programs in promoting specific renewable energy technology types and the challenges that this poses for integration with a Federal standard. Twenty Seven (27) of the 35 state RPS programs have some form of technology favoritism. The Waxman-Markey federal proposal has none. As with all aspects of RPS, the devil is in the details. Renewable Portfolio Standards & REC Pricing Deutsche Bank (June 2009): Presentation at the Deutsche Bank Clean Alternate Energy Conference on the state of Renewable Portfolio Standards and challenges in REC pricing. Includes RPS overview, State and Federal Targets, market size and Investment Implications.
Washington Energy Policy Conference (April 2009): Presenation at Johns Hopkins University on policy challenges associated with Renewable Portfolio Standard Design and analysis.
Infrastructure Journal (June 2007): In 2007, the UK changed the nature of its support for renewable energy via the Renewable Obligation and ROC certificate mechanism from one that is technology neutral to one which provides differentiated support based on type of technology used. This article described those changes and commented on the policy decision.
INTERNATIONAL Energy Independence - Not Likely, Not NecessarySpark Spread (June 2009): The US goal of energy independence, typically defined as complete self‐sufficiency for indigenous energy requirements, is an ill‐conceived and unachievable objec?ve. This holds for the foreseeable future and most likely beyond. A more realistic, and achievable, goal is to reduce and diversify energy dependence on any one fuel, geography, or technology |