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The electric power system has historically been designed to provide reliable energy to loads by using a relatively small number of well-understood generators. The distinction between load, generation, and transmission resources has been quite clear. Most of the responsibility for planning and operating a system—building a highly reliable network from less reliable parts—has been with the system manager, whether that be a utility, a regional market operator, or some similar entity. Given this historical context, many experts were initially perplexed by the rapidly growing popularity of hybrid resources, which combine multiple technologies into a single entity. Rather than depending on a system operator to provide instructions to individual technologies, hybrid resources intentionally take on more operational responsibility by optimizing and scheduling their combined functions. Interconnection queues in many regions reveal a large and growing interest in hybrids, suggesting that project developers and investors see them as providing advantages.

This article analyzes the level of greenhouse gas emissions attributable to electricity from natural-gas-fired power plants and coal-fired power plants, then compares the two. An analytical framework is employed that considers the key greenhouse gases released during the production and combustion of coal and natural gas: carbon dioxide and methane.

The ‘Staircase Capabilities Market’ is a novel mechanism for building markets to support sustained investment in solutions that address long-term issues identified in current grid planning processes. A Staircase Capabilities Market is an iterated sequence of long-term, small-volume requests for proposals for new capabilities to match anticipated system needs.