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 …

GeoVision: Harnessing the Heat Beneath Our Feet

The report summarizes the analyses and discusses the many opportunities that geothermal energy offers in both electric and non-electric uses.…

2019 Utility Solar Market Snapshot

What’s in the Report:

– US solar rankings and deployment data by utility type and market segment
– Net metering updates and PURPA developments
– Trends in customer choice and utility programs including community solar, green tariffs, and solar incentive programs
– Analysis of flexible solar through a discussion of solar paired with other technologies…

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 …

A Comprehensive Guide to Electric Vehicle Managed Charging

What’s in the Report:

– Glossary of terms, including active vs. managed charging and vehicle-grid integration
– The value of managed charging and opportunities to scale the technology
– Benefits and opportunities for managed charging
– A proposed Vehicle-Grid Integration Valuation Framework
– Market opportunity for managed charging
– Three utility-run managed charging case studies
– Complete list of managed charging messaging protocols and standards to enable vehicle-grid integration
– Alternatives to managing vehicle load control
– Managed charging technology and vendors, including network service providers, EV charging equipment manufacturers, and automotive original equipment manufacturers…

Comparing the Benefits and Costs of Notable Climate Policies

Advocates of dramatic climate policy often presume that the urgency and scope of the problem by default means that no policy proposal is too costly or too radical.

An “at any cost” approach to policy can lead to outcomes that have higher costs than benefits, inflicting more harm than help, and this is true even for exigent collective action problems.

Analyzing the costs and benefits of electricity and transportation policies in the Green New Deal using the Social Cost of Carbon shows the costs are several times larger than the capturable benefits—but policies not in the Green New Deal, like …

PRINCIPLED GOVERNANCE OF SHALE RESOURCES

Across the US there are a wide variety of opportunities to produce oil and natural gas. These opportunities have been greatly enhanced in recent years with the advent of directional drilling technology combined with hydraulic fracturing completion techniques, which have expanded the economically recoverable oil and natural gas reserves from shale resources. At the same time, the development and production of shale resources have posed real challenges and potential risks to public health and the environment. Considering both the benefits and the potential risks, every state must decide whether new oil and natural gas production should occur.

Principled Governance of …