“If you want to get a cheap electron and you don't care when that electron is generated, solar and wind are the way to do it. But if you want an electron at night, now all of a sudden, different technologies might have the advantage for that electron.”
Climate One · Climate & Energy · October 2026
Context
Asked how clean energy can be both the cheapest source of electricity and a cause of higher bills, the economist answers that cost and value differ: cheap power is worth less if it arrives when the grid doesn't need it.
Transcript
Yeah, that's right. And the thing that you're building is not necessarily generating the electricity when the market needs it, right? So, that's where really how we should compare technologies: the value and not necessarily the cost.
Interesting.
If you want to get a cheap electron and you don't care when that electron is generated, solar and wind are the way to do it. But if you want an electron at night, now all of a sudden, different technologies might have the advantage for that electron.
I want to talk about your working paper that kind of hits at a lot of this complicated dance between where energy comes from and how affordable actually it is, especially for retail. So, let me just set it up so that you don't have to as much. But energy prices have been rising for a while, they've…
Yeah, so because electricity prices have been going up so rapidly recently, we chose to dive into that. That topic area as to kind of who is to blame or what is the blame.
Yeah.
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