Our Blog

Chester Energy and Policy started in 2017 as a blog before blossoming into a full consulting business. The goal of the blog originally was simple: answer interesting questions in the world of energy & sustainability that weren’t being answered elsewhere, tapping into energy data sets, expert interviews, and a unique lens.

Today, the blog section of Chester Energy and Policy seeks to continue that mission: answering interesting questions. If you have a question that you think is worth diving into for a blog post, reach out and let us know! .

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Read Most Recent Blog Posts

Matt Chester 6/3/26 Matt Chester 6/3/26

What 2050 Looks Like When It’s Your Child’s Future

As others in the energy space know, 2050 has long served as a ‘far-off’ yet crucial frontier. For decades, it has seemed like every goal was tied to mid-century: phasing out fossil fuels, solving climate change, and even building a lunar grid.

It’s the mythical future date that’s been circled on the calendar ever since I studied energy systems and entered the workforce in 2011. Back then, the big questions looked different: We were planning for (now commonplace) smart grid tech, while large-load discussions centered on EVs (rather than the data centers that dominate industry headlines today).

Matt Chester 3/19/26 Matt Chester 3/19/26

The Internet’s Favorite Argument Against Renewables… Tested With Data

Energy-related newswires have in recent years seen many announcements for record renewable energy installations.

These come from government reporting…

Matt Chester 10/17/23 Matt Chester 10/17/23

2024 Residential Solar Market Outlook: Growing consumer interest faces off against efficiency concerns and misinformation.

As many as 16.5 million American homeowners are open to installing solar panels in the next three years — but concerns around costs, maintenance, and reliability remain key barriers to adoption.

Matt Chester 5/11/22 Matt Chester 5/11/22

Energy and Carbon Impacts of Various Outdoor Events

As the summer approaches, people are once again anticipating the return of months full of outdoor events. And in a world that’s still emerging from the COVID fog, where events were cancelled and people were avoiding crowds even in outdoor venues, this upcoming season is set to see an exciting reemergence of these cherished events.

Matt Chester 11/24/21 Matt Chester 11/24/21

Thanksgiving and Energy: Breaking Down Turkey Day by the Numbers

Thanksgiving is a day known for food, travel, and family get togethers. At those family gatherings, so many of us are often looking for good topics to bring up to keep the conversation flowing. We want to avoid politics, maybe you don’t care about the football game on TV, and you may realize you actually have all that much in common with that distant cousin.

Matt Chester 8/19/21 Matt Chester 8/19/21

Looking Back on 2020: COVID-19’s Impact on Energy Consumption

The COVID-19 pandemic created a lot of devastation, uncertainty, and long-lingering impacts from which modern society, leaders, and markets will be looking back on for years to come. While these impacts will be the dominating memory, and rightfully so, the situation that required people to drastically adjust their ways of lives create countless ‘natural experiments’ of sorts, and the energy sector at large was a key area in which this occurred.