Enabling New Pumped Storage Hydropower

Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) is the largest form of renewable energy storage, with nearly 200 GW installed capacity providing more than 90% of all long duration energy storage across the world with over 400 projects in operation.

This guidance note delivers recommendations to reduce risks and enhance certainty in project development and delivery. It also equips key decision-makers with the tools to guide the development of pumped storage hydropower projects and unlock crucial finance mechanisms. By utilizing the recommendations provided, a new market entrant will be better able to understand the risks and create a mitigation strategy to address them.…

Summary of Travel Trends

Both policymakers and transportation decision-makers rely on transportation statistics, including data on personal travel behavior, to formulate strategic transportation policies and improve the safety and efficiency of the U.S. transportation system. Policymakers, state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, industry professionals, and academic researchers use such data to gauge the extent and patterns of travel, plan new investments, and better understand the implications of travel trends on the Nation’s transportation infrastructure and overall quality of life through equitable access for all Americans.

To address these data needs, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) initiated an effort to collect detailed data …

Resilient Power Funding Programs: 2023 Annual Impact Report

Clean Energy Group’s Resilient Power Funding Programs had a record setting year in 2023, with resilient power technical assistance, capacity building support, and funding provided to more organizations than ever before.

CEG’s grant programs, consisting of the Technical Assistance Fund (TAF) and Resilient Power Leadership Initiative (RPLI), were founded to support resilient power development in communities that had the greatest need for renewable and resilient power infrastructure but were the least able to access it due to decades of disinvestment, environmental racism, and neglect by industry leaders.

This report measures and tracks the growth of their programs over the past …

Supply Chains Event Summary

Read this resource for a summary of the OurEnergyPolicy webinar on Critical Mineral Supply Chains, the second topic in the Terranaut “Minologues” series on Critical Minerals.…

Responsible Mining Event Summary

Read this resource for a summary of the OurEnergyPolicy webinar on Responsible Mining, the third topic in the Terranaut “Minologues” series on Critical Minerals.…

From Carbon Neutral to Carbon Negative: a Theoretical Bioenergy and CO2 Removal Retrofit at Ngāwhā Geothermal Power Station

For countries like New Zealand with high renewable electricity generation (≥80%) but large emissions per capita, traditional decarbonisation methods are limited or costly. However, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies can drive multiple sectors of the economy across the net-zero barrier through negative CO2 emissions. The authors argue that the key to scaling up CDR begins with the preponderance of New Zealand’s geothermal and biomass resources. New Zealand has a proud and innovative history with geothermal energy, currently producing ∼20% of the country’s electricity. Modern advances in geothermal energy have demonstrated that it is peerless amongst renewable energy-sources in the ability …

A Marketplace for Equitable Building Retrofits: How Lessons from Massachusetts Can Help Scale Decarbonization to Meet Climate Goals

Decarbonizing existing buildings is challenging but necessary to achieve climate goals. To accelerate progress, we need to make energy retrofits more accessible, affordable, and commonplace. A viable market for decarbonization and a streamlined retrofitting process can help make these efforts more equitable and cost-effective today.

In recent years, RMI has focused on accelerating deep energy retrofits for affordable housing across Massachusetts to catalyze the growth of a viable regional market for building decarbonization by facilitating key “lighthouse projects.” These projects serve as exemplary models for eliminating on-site fossil fuels, maximizing efficiencies, reducing emissions, and enhancing comfort and health for low- …

Halfway Up the Ladder: Developer Practices and Perspectives on Community Engagement for Utility-Scale Renewable Energy in the United States

Community engagement is a key pathway for incorporating social considerations into the development of utility-scale renewable energy facilities. Prior literature recommends meaningful, early community engagement to both improve siting outcomes and empower the public to participate in decision-making, but there is no recent nor comprehensive understanding of industry experiences with engagement. This study provides a critical contribution by revealing the practices and perspectives of project developers. They draw upon a survey of 123 professionals employed at 62 unique companies across the United States. They demonstrate that developers are highly concerned about the impact of community opposition on project deployment, and …

Cost Implications and Rate Impacts of Utility Decarbonization

In the U.S., over 3,000 utilities serve roughly 140 million customers in 50 states with different regulatory, political, and geographic landscapes. This U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Voices of Experience – Decarbonization Strategies and Grid Planning workshop was held on May 1, 2024, in San Diego, California. It allowed the 26 participants representing 12 electric utilities to discuss their insights and challenges as they grapple with balancing climate goals with affordability and the often changing state and local policies that shape their strategies.

One of the challenges utilities face in meeting their clean energy goals is balancing the large investments …

Geopolitics and Oil Markets in Uncertain Times: Roundtable Report

On June 18, 2024, the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University SIPA, hosted a private roundtable conducted on a not-for-attribution basis that focused on key geopolitical issues and oil markets in various hotspots, including the Middle East, Russia/Ukraine, China, and the Americas (both Latin America and the United States, where the electoral landscape has changed substantially since the event was held). Participants included senior corporate executives, civil society representatives, energy analysts, and experts from academia and think tanks. This roundtable report summarizes the discussion that took place across the range of topics covered.…