"Given the resilience of the conventional 'wisdom' regarding government regulation it may be utopian to think that it is realistic to develop a coordinated plan to provide the needs of a region comprising several states with different political leanings, especially if this impacts perceived potential profits for powerful private players."

The NE region has a pretty good record of coordination in terms of energy and emergency planning and my guess it will continue with more urgency into the future as the lessons of Hurricane Sandy sink in.  I know that the Boston and MA government planners are planning for eventualities at the end of the 21st century when what is now a 100 year storm event will be an annual event.  The NE region also has been operating their own carbon trading scheme, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or RGGI, for a number of years more or less successfully, with trading permits about to get rarer and more expensive as we ratchet our emissions down.

ISO-NE is the coordinating agency for electrical power throughout the region so coordination is their key job.  Again, they have a pretty good record though not perfect.

Having gone to a number of these Restructuring Roundtable meetings over the years, I am constantly impressed with the level of discussion and thought brought to bear.  There's a level of seriousness and professionalism that is admirable even when I don't entirely agree with with the conclusions reached.

This forum is NOT the place for climate change deniers by a long shot.

Solar IS Civil Defense