Research Library

The Texas power grid is infamously disconnected from the rest of the U.S. Its status as an “energy island” can bring both advantages and disadvantages. Two years ago, Winter Storm Uri knocked out power across Texas for days and exposed major reliability concerns. Here, we discuss changes made in the two years since Winter Storm Uri. Is the Texas grid “fixed?”

It’s been two years since Winter Storm Uri swept across Texas, and the question of whether and how to end the isolation of the state’s grid remains. Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn offers a brief history of the standalone Texas grid to explore how the lessons of the past can inform the state’s electric power future.

As the energy transition continues, the viability of our power system is at stake. Nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn explains the need to prepare for next-generation grid technology if we are to maintain a stable, economical and secure power system.

In the transition to a renewable energy future, we must invest in a new transmission infrastructure – some crossing state borders – that connects intermittent power, traditional power and users, write Center for Energy Studies experts.

The Covid-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for resettled refugees in the U.S. and exposed underlying vulnerabilities that particularly impact refugee women and children, as well as the organizations that work to support them. The authors examine the difficulties facing refugees in the U.S. and offer policy recommendations that may help them.