Competitive Electricity Markets Stimulate Innovation and “Energy Miracles” Everyday

In recent remarks, entrepreneur and philanthropist Bill Gates called for “energy miracles” to meet the threat of global climate change.  But we at COMPETE would submit that with or without divine intervention, organized competitive markets have become incubators of technological innovation and renewable energy that meet rising demand with efficient clean energy generation.

“COMPETE believes a market-based approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and producing clean electricity offers the most innovative and economically efficient means of addressing climate change,” said Federico Peña, COMPETE Coalition Co-Chair and former U.S. Secretary of Energy.

“Innovation is thriving in our nation’s organized competitive electric markets, especially when compared to areas of the country under monopoly markets systems,” said Peña, who signed an open letter responding to Bill Gates in which COMPETE  outlined how competition is helping meet 21^st century energy and environmental challenges.

Innovative energy products like flywheel energy storage technology, cutting-edge transmission network management systems, and vehicle-to-grid pilot programs are thriving in competitive markets and moving us from an era of energy conservation to true management of energy consumption. In addition, real-time dynamic pricing in competitive markets enables demand response programs and reduces the need for investment in new power plants.

Renewable energy, critical to a lower-emission future, also benefits from competition. The large geographic footprint of regional competitive markets helps accommodate the variable output of clean energy generation and provides incentives for investors to fund new generation projects.

We encourage all stakeholders in this great energy debate to learn more about the transformative power of competition in electricity markets and join COMPETE in advocating for a better energy and environment future.

Joel Malina | February 22, 2010