Articles by Sean Casten

A brief primer on variable vs. fixed costs

For those of us in the power industry, media discussions of the economics of power generation reveal an almost complete misunderstanding of how power is priced. Depending on our vested interests, we may find this either frustrating or beneficial -- but in all cases, it's false.

Herewith I attempt to explain from whence the confusion arises -- and why it is so critical for the clean energy community to understand this math and its consequences ... and to more accurately articulate the economics of those options we prefer.

Using doubt to compete with a scientific body of fact

This will come as no surprise to Grist readers, but it's nice to see it in mainstream print. The Chicago Tribune had a nice piece in the Sunday paper articulating how those on the wrong side of science have consistently used doubt as a strategy to maintain a scientifically-uninformed policy.

In particular, note that:

Alaska state legislature proposes fund to support alternative energy including coal

Alaska has proposed a $21 billion fund (Greenwire, $ub. req'd), which uses oil surpluses to support alternative energy projects, including:

wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal, biomass and a plant that "produces ultraclean fuels from coal."

State Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage) responds:

Coal is not renewable energy and by any fair definition it's not really alternative energy

Sounds controversial!

Smart ideas for post Lieberman-Warner climate policy

Lieberman-Warner had many, many, many, many, many problems. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) has just done a bit of musing ($ub. req'd) on what the next effort ought to look like; he has done a rather eloquent job outlining the problems with Lieberman-Warner and suggesting what lessons we ought to take from its failure as we advance to a better model.

From Restructuring Today: