Release of Perry grid study pushed to July
The study, which will examine baseload power and energy subsidies, is being closely watched because of its broad scope. It originally was supposed to be released Monday.
The study is nearing completion and a draft will be submitted to Secretary Rick Perry in early July, DOE spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said.
“He will review its findings, ensure the questions he has posed have been answered and it will be publicly released shortly thereafter,” she said in an email.
Perry ordered the study in April to take a broad look at the electricity network. A leaked Perry memo at that time said “regulatory burdens” from previous administrations were designed to decrease coal-fired generation.
“Such policies have destroyed jobs and economic growth, and they threaten to undercut the performance well into the future,” Perry wrote.
Since then, environmentalists have warned that the study could undercut support for wind and other renewables. The study was originally led by Travis Fisher, who formerly worked with the Institute for Energy Research and has questioned the value of renewable energy mandates.
But a DOE official said last month that it isn’t “prejudging” anything (Greenwire, May 30).
This morning, former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz launched an energy nonprofit that will conduct its own grid study to be released in the fall (Greenwire, June 21).