Preliminary Report: The Climate and Energy Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

This report describes the national-scale energy system and greenhouse gas emissions impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as released by the Senate Democratic Leadership on July 27, 2022. The report also reflects prior REPEAT Project analysis of the impacts of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, H.R. 3684), which was signed into law in November 2021, and the Build Back Better Act (BBBA, H.R. 5376), which passed the House of Representatives on November 19, 2021. All results for IRA and BBBA include impacts from enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (IIJA).

The report also presents two ‘benchmark’ scenarios: …

Solar in the Southeast: Fifth Annual Report

“Solar in the Southeast” illuminates the critical role of utilities in the growing southeastern solar market. Southeastern states, particularly Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, grant monopoly utilities–rather than a competitive marketplace–the responsibility and control over power supplies. Consequently, the location of a home or business is the primary determinant not only of which utility will supply the electricity, but also the amount of solar within that portfolio.

The purpose of this report is to review emissions and generation trends of the electric power sector in the Southeast. The purpose of this report is to document …

Hydrogen Production from Carbon-Free Nuclear Energy

As governments and private sector leaders consider solutions to decarbonize the global energy matrix in order to address climate change, hydrogen has increasingly emerged as one promising pathway to net-zero emissions. The world’s most abundant element is an energy carrier that can be used not only to store energy, but also to decarbonize hard-to-abate energy sectors, such as transportation, power, industry, and buildings.

The unique characteristics of nuclear energy allow it to pair with low-cost, high efficiency hydrogen production processes which facilitates nuclear hydrogen production’s economic competitiveness. In this way, nuclear energy can be a catalyst for a clean hydrogen …

FERC Transmission: The Highest-Yield Reforms

FERC has proposed practical interconnection reforms based largely on models already in place and tested in certain regions. Updated interconnection standards are sorely needed to meet the needs and realize the capabilities of newer energy resources seeking to interconnect to the grid. FERC should move quickly to adopt these tested reforms, and it should put in place an oversight entity for interconnection and transmission planning.

FERC has proposed transmission planning reforms, which are well-conceived and should be adopted too. But the commission needs to ensure its reforms do actually “take.” The transmission planning, modeling, and scenarios guidelines need to be …

Securing the Energy Transition Against Cyber Threats

Today, a fleet of digital devices is necessary to balance the power grid and supply electric power to the nation. Energy production and distribution will only increase its reliance on these digital technologies as energy systems continue to shift toward low-emissions and high-efficiency technologies. To deliver reliable, abundant, low-cost, high-efficiency, low-emissions energy, the energy sector must be defended against disruption by cyber threats that range from criminal to geopolitical.

The recommendations offered by this Task Force would strengthen American cybersecurity readiness in the energy sector. Aligning federal agencies with the needed authorities for current and future energy markets, would close …

Electricity Market Report – July 2022

In the first half of 2022, many electricity markets continued to experience skyrocketing prices, particularly in Europe, reflecting deep uncertainties over both fossil fuel supplies and the economic outlook. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered any hope of energy prices declining in the near term following the strong increases seen in the second half of 2021. In Europe, the situation prompted heightened ambitions and strengthened policies to advance clean energy transitions and reduce dependency on fuel imports. But in the short term, it also resulted in a partial return to coal-fired electricity generation. Sluggish economic growth is expected to dampen global …

Benchmarking Methane and Other GHG Emissions Of Oil & Natural Gas Production in the United States

This second annual report analyzes the exploration and production emissions of the largest oil and gas producers in the United States. It establishes a clear, consistent record by which investors, operators, natural gas purchasers, policymakers and regulators can compare producers’ performance in an industry where historically, voluntarily reported emissions metrics have been inconsistent and non-comparable.

The findings of this report can help shareholders differentiate between potential investments, and can also inform regulators, lawmakers and company executives about the top causes of reported methane emissions, as well as which companies are disproportionately responsible for them. These findings may prove to be …

Natural Climate Solutions: Opportunities for Storing Additional Carbon in America’s Forests and Farms

Natural climate solutions—defined as agriculture and active land management practices that increase carbon storage and avoid greenhouse gas emissions—are a necessary part of the strategy needed to reduce global emissions. Many of these practices will also increase disaster resilience. In 2020, American forests and farms reduce, or offset, net total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 14 percent each year.

While implementing natural climate solutions is typically inexpensive, there can be costs associated with changing practices. Advancing natural climate solutions in the U.S. will require good stewardship, not just of the land, but of the financial investment made by taxpayers …

Pathways to Achieving a 2030 Coal Phase-Out in the United States

This policy brief from the Center for Global Sustainability offers pathways and policy strategies to phase out coal-fired electricity in the United States by 2030—putting the U.S. on a pathway toward achieving its NDC and 100% clean electricity by 2030. To accelerate the already present coal decline and achieve a complete phase-out by 2030, the analysis demonstrates a concrete and plant-by-plant retirement pathway that would enable the United States to retire roughly ⅔ of plants by 2025 while still maintaining grid stability and achieving other priorities. …

The Energy System Transformation Needed to Achieve the US Long-Term Strategy

After years of hiatus from international climate policy discussions, the US reclaimed its seat at the table with the announcement of a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target by 2050. A comprehensive strategy toward this ambitious goal was then released at COP26 in Glasgow. The US long-term strategy (LTS) details the decarbonization strategy with supporting analyses from integrated assessment modeling (IAM), individual sector modeling, and land modeling. These tools were previously used for quantitative research that supported the development of ambitious climate goals and now complete the circle by evaluating the policy they helped guide. In this commentary, we describe …