Renewables 2019 Global Status Report

The Renewables 2019 Global Status Report (GSR 2019) marks 15 years since Bonn2004, the landmark international conference that gave rise to REN21. Then, a “coalition of the willing” came together with one objective in mind: to support and accelerate the development of renewable energy. From the outset, REN21’s mandate has been to collect, consolidate and synthesise a vast body of renewable energy data to provide clear and reliable information on what is happening in real time. This mandate still holds today.…

Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Carbon Capture Investment

Carbon dioxide is the fourth-most common chemical in the Earth’s atmosphere and is integral to life. However, if concentrations become too high, the climate can become overwarm and cause severe damage to ecosystems. For this reason, ways to capture carbon in order to prevent such negative environmental effects have increasingly become a topic of debate among those who wish to address the problem of global warming.…

Deloitte Resources 2019 Study Energy management: Balancing climate, cost, and choice

Most businesses and residential consumers surveyed realize the need to address climate change. But while businesses are upping the ante in managing resources, some residential consumers are still held back by cost and complexity.

Business and residential consumers of electricity generally agree on the need to address climate change and reduce their carbon footprints. And both segments are interested in new and evolving technologies and applications to help them manage resources and use cleaner energy sources. But beyond that, the two groups diverge. Residential consumers are circling in a holding pattern, sometimes stymied by costs (time- and budget-related) or by …

State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2019

This report provides an up-to-date overview of existing and emerging carbon pricing instruments around the world, including international, national and subnational initiatives. It also investigates trends surrounding the development and implementation of carbon pricing instruments and how they could accelerate the delivery of long-term mitigation goals. This edition also discusses the relation between policies that put an explicit price on carbon and policies that put an implicit price on carbon.…

The Levelized Cost of Electricity from Existing Generation Resources

In this report, the authors analyze publicly available data to estimate the average levelized cost of electricity from existing generation resources (LCOE-Existing), as compared to the levelized cost of electricity from new generation resources (LCOE-New) that might replace them. The additional information provided by LCOE-Existing presents a more complete picture of the generation choices available to the electric utility industry, policymakers, regulators and consumers.…

The Next Generation of Federal Clean Electricity Tax Credits

The federal tax incentive for wind energy expires at the end of 2019, and the incentive for solar energy will begin phasing out in 2020. Over multiple decades, these policies have succeeded in promoting the development and deployment of wind and solar technology, which today are rapidly gaining market share in the US electricity sector.

But it would be a mistake to declare “mission accomplished” and assume no successor policies are needed. After all, well over half of US electricity is still produced by fossil fuels that release climate-warming carbon dioxide and toxic local air pollutants into the atmosphere. It …

Advancing Nuclear Innovation: Responding to Climate Change and Strengthening Global Security

This report is a culmination of meetings and effort from Partnership for Global Security and the Nuclear Energy Institute under the Global Nexus Initiative. Advanced nuclear reactors, the smaller, flexible, and innovative nuclear technologies of the future, are rising in importance as the global community grapples with the vital challenges of cutting carbon emissions, supporting the global demand for electric power, and ensuring the continued peaceful use of nuclear energy in the 21st century.

The Global Nexus Initiative is a leader in analyzing the intersection of nuclear power, climate change, and global security. It determined that advanced reactors offer sufficient …

Proposed Transformation of Integrated Resource Planning by Electric Utilities for Arizona Corporation Commission

This white paper is published on the Arizona Corporation Commission energy modernization rules stakeholder workshops docket, and is engaged in discussions with the Arizona Corporation Commission (that regulates the state’s electric utilities).…

The Plug-In Electric Vehicle Tax Credit

Buyers of qualifying plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) may be able to claim a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. The tax credit phases out once a vehicle manufacturer has sold 200,000 qualifying vehicles. Tesla and GM have reached this threshold, and credits for Tesla and GM vehicles will begin phasing out in 2019.

In the 116th Congress, legislation has been introduced that would expand tax credits for EVs. Legislation has also been introduced to repeal the provision. This In Focus provides an overview of the plug-in EV tax credit and briefly discusses relevant economic policy considerations.…

Capturing Leadership: Policies for the US to Advance Direct Air Capture Technology

Growing evidence suggests that limiting global temperature increases to reasonably safe levels will require not only a rapid reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) around the world but large-scale removal of CO2 from the atmosphere as well. Every year that global emissions continue unabated, the required pace of future reductions accelerates, and the quantity of CO2 emissions that ultimately needs to be removed from the atmosphere grows. Fortunately, thanks to recent technological innovations, the options for CO2 removal are increasing in number and falling in cost. But significant policy action is required to ensure these …