How Utilities Blew $40 Billion on Failed Power Plants

Good journalism is more important than ever. In our last episode of the year, we're choosing our favorite energy reporting of 2017. We'll start off with a conversation about a damning investigative piece on how U.S. utilities put ratepayers on the hook for $40 billion in failed coal and nuke projects. Tony Bartelme, a special projects reporter at the Post and Courier, joins us to talk about his bombshell story, "Power Failure: How Utilities Across the U.S. Changed the Rules to Make Big Bets With Your Money." He and his team talked with 50 sources in industry and government. They uncovered a systematic effort to obfuscate problems with risky coal and nuke projects -- and pay executives handsomely while doing so. In the second half of the show, we'll discuss some of our other favorite stories about microgrids, coal country, electric cars, fuel cells, politics, and the global energy transition. This podcast is sponsored by Mission Solar Energy, a solar module manufacturer based in San Antonio, Texas. You can find out more about Mission’s American-made, high-power modules at missionsolar.com. Here's a list of our favorite stories that we discussed on the show:Vox: Meet the Microgrid, the Technology Poised to Transform ElectricityNY Times: Where Wind Farms Meet Coal Country, There's Enduring Faith in TrumpMedium: The Last Auto MechanicQuartz: Amazon’s Hydrogen-Powered Forklifts Are Its Latest Attempt to Beat WalmartGTM: Global Oil Majors Are Poised for a Resurgence in Solar and WindGTM: In Storage vs. Peaker Study, CAISO’s Outdated Cost Estimates Produce Higher Price Tag for StorageGTM: The Rising Tide of Evidence Against Blaming Wind and Solar for Grid InstabilityGTM: First Solar Proves That PV Plants Can Rival Frequency Response Services From Natural Gas PeakersGTM: What Superstorm Sandy Taught Consolidated Edison, 5 Years OnTwitter: Suggestions from the energy community on the top stories Subscribe to The Energy Gang podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher or wherever you find your audio content.