Blog

Introducing Ryan Lynch

Maritime executive and industrial-policy economist Ryan Lynch joins NCEA, bringing experience across shipping, shipbuilding and commodity trading.

The Consensus Trap: How Manufactured Agreement Corrupts Policy

We describe a pattern common to three of the most consequential public policy failures of the past two decades—the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic management, and the campaign for rapid decarbonization.

It's the Economy, Stupid — Again

"It's the economy, stupid." It’s election season and the ghosts of Clinton, Carville, Penn, and Schoen are back — or their playbook for electoral advantage, anyway.

Building the Next Generation of Energy Research

Why NCEA is building a custom AI agent and dynamic tools such as the Index of Leading Energy Indicators and NCEA-EMIT.

AI below the waterline

Undersea operations are vital to contemporary American strategies for power projection, sea control or denial, and for naval war against rivals.

Introducing Vijay Jayaraj

Energy and environment researcher Vijay Jayaraj joins NCEA, bringing work on climate science, energy development and the policies that connect them.

America’s Energy Dominance Has a Shipping Problem

America's Electric Grid: A Century-Old System Meets a 21st-Century Surge

NCEA's report by Jonathan Lesser and Patrick McCormick finds America's aging electric grid badly unprepared for a sudden surge in demand.

The Wind Energy Reality Check Nobody Wants to Have

Jonathan Lesser and Portia Roberts test whether decades of promises about cheaper, cleaner, more secure wind power have actually held up.

America's Nuclear Ambition Has a Workforce Problem

Bipartisan support and data center demand put nuclear back on the agenda. The workforce needed to quadruple U.S. capacity by 2050 does not exist.

Introducing Michelle Michot Foss

Energy economist Michelle Michot Foss, PhD joins NCEA as a Visiting Fellow, bringing 45 years of work on natural gas, LNG, minerals and energy markets.

The Data Center Blame Game: What's Actually Driving Your Electric Bill

Data centers are often blamed for rising electricity bills. But the evidence tells a more complicated, and more useful, story.

Coal Isn't Disappearing. Energy Policy Should Deal With That Reality.

For decades, Western policymakers have treated coal as a fuel on the way out. But global energy markets are telling a different story.

The $4 Trillion Problem With a Battery-Powered Grid

Batteries are often presented as the missing piece of a wind- and solar-powered electric grid.

When Energy Prices Spike, Resist the Crisis-Driven Fix

When oil and gas prices rise, consumers understandably look to government for relief. But history offers a warning

Two-Headed Dragon: How China Does Fossil Fuels and Renewables

China is often held up as proof that a major economy can rapidly ditch fossil fuels while leading the clean-energy revolution.

Direct Air Capture: A Lot of Energy for Very Little Climate Impact

Direct air capture is often presented as a technological safety net for climate policy

What the UAE's OPEC Exit Means for Oil Markets

The United Arab Emirates' decision to leave OPEC was a major blow to the organization; but its most important consequences may come later.

Solving the Nuclear Waste "Problem"

Public support for nuclear is near record highs, but unease about radioactive waste remains the objection that has stalled expansion for 50 years.

It's a Wonderful Fuel

George Green had reached the end of his rope. Humanity just didn't get that its large and growing appetite for energy was killing the planet.

Leading Energy Indicators: Introducing the U.S. Energy Security Index

Energy security rarely dominates the news - until something breaks. A supply disruption. A geopolitical conflict. A cyberattack. A price shock.

Energy Sanctions and American Power: How Long Can the Leverage Last?

Not long ago, the United States was an oil supplicant - managing OPEC relationships carefully and constrained by import dependence.

The World's Top Energy Forecaster Just Quietly Admitted It Got Oil Wrong

For years, the world's most-cited energy forecast told a clean story: oil demand was about to peak, and the transition was on track

The $7 Trillion Number That Doesn't Exist

The IMF's $7 trillion fossil fuel subsidy figure is cited worldwide. Most of that sum is not a subsidy in any meaningful sense.

The Grid Doesn't Charge Like a Phone

Picture a battery. A phone that runs out. A laptop that needs plugging in. The battery depletes, you refill it, life goes on.

Why Your Electric Bill Keeps Rising-And What the Usual Explanations Miss

For years, I've watched the debate over rising retail electric rates drift further from the underlying realities of how our power system works.

Taxpayers on the Hook? The Coming Renewable Decommissioning Debt

When an oil well runs dry, or a nuclear plant reaches the end of its life, or a coal mine closes, there are rules for what comes next.

What President Trump Needs to Say About Britain's Economy-Destroying Net Zero Climate Policies

This week, President Trump is making his second state visit to Britain, a country that is Ground Zero of Net Zero.

Energy Education: Reality Check, Part 2

In Part 1 of our Energy Education survey, we found that the nation's top 50 universities overwhelmingly frame energy courses through the lens of climate change.

Why We're Not Building Large Nuclear Reactors (and How to Start Again)

For the first time in a generation, the stars have aligned for a nuclear energy comeback. Public support is rising. Bipartisan enthusiasm is real.

Gigawatts Aren't All Created Equal: Why the EIA's Capacity Data Misleads Policymakers

Headlines credit wind and solar with 80% of new capacity, but EIA capacity data measures something different from electricity actually delivered.

Is Energy Education Grounded in Reality? New Research Suggests Otherwise

What students are taught matters. This is especially true for energy-an input fundamental to every activity, product, or service in society.

The Social Cost of Carbon: A High-Stakes, Flawed Metric

For over a decade, the so-called "social cost of carbon" (SCC) has become a central justification for wide-ranging U.S. climate and energy policies.

Is Global Shipping the Hidden Weak Link in the Energy Transition?

Maritime shipping moves 80% of world trade, including the minerals behind the energy transition, and may be the bottleneck nobody planned for.

Electrification Without Electricity-The Infrastructure Challenge

Demand for electricity is climbing fast as EVs and heat pumps spread, but the infrastructure needed to deliver that power is not keeping pace.

America's LNG Future

As our planet becomes more electrified and industrialized, demand for energy of all kinds increases. One fuel where America has an advantage is natural gas.

Introducing Julio M. Ottino

Northwestern University engineer and former dean Julio M. Ottino, PhD serves as an NCEA advisor.

SEC's Climate Disclosure Rules: A Threat to Economic Growth and Energy Security

In March 2024, the SEC adopted climate disclosure rules requiring U.S. corporations to report their carbon footprint and climate-related risks.

What would an all-EV future look like?

Eighteen states will require all new vehicles to be electric by 2035. NCEA counts the true cost, starting at $1,750 per home for charging alone.