Net-Zero America: Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts

The new “Net-Zero America” research outlines five distinct technological pathways for the United States to decarbonize its entire economy. The research is the first study to quantify and map with this degree of specificity, the infrastructure that needs to be built and the investment required to run the country without emitting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than are removed from it each year. It’s also the first to pinpoint how jobs and health will be affected in each state at a highly granular level, sometimes down to the county.

The study’s five scenarios describe at a highly detailed, state-by-state …

Quality infrastructure for smart mini-grids

This report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) highlights the crucial role of smart renewable mini-grids infrastructure. Grid-connected mini-grids can increase power system resilience and reliability, while facilitating the integration of solar and wind power. Renewable mini-grids far off the main grid, meanwhile, can provide reliable electricity access for remote areas and islands.…

Utility Best Practices for EV Infrastructure Deployment

With electric vehicle (EV) charging projected to increase U.S. electricity consumption 11% by 2040, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, there is no ignoring the importance of EV infrastructure to electric utilities. As of April 2020, almost $3 billion in transportation electrification investments have been approved or are pending approval by state utility commissions nationally.

Having the right strategic plan, building a strong team, and providing a good customer experience, will lead to successful EV charging programs. Download this report for recommendations for developing a comprehensive utility EV infrastructure program. Whether EV novice or expert, the best practices are useful …

Transport Infrastructure for Carbon Capture and Storage

As seen in the maps included in this white paper, many of the industrial and power facilities in the United States are located in regions without significant deep saline or hydrocarbon geologic formations. Long distance transport infrastructure can unlock the economic potential for these facilities to sell captured CO2 and earn tax credits for storage under Section 45Q. CO2 transport infrastructure achieves beneficial economies of scale with higher volumes of CO2 delivered. Large trunk lines designed to carry CO2 from many facilities toward many storage sites can achieve a lower transport cost over long distances than lines with capacity designed …

Jumpstarting U.S. Clean Energy Manufacturing in Economic Stimulus and Infrastructure Legislation

In his 2016 campaign, candidate Donald Trump famously promised to revitalize American manufacturing and to pass major legislation to rebuild crumbling U.S. infrastructure. So far, in more than three years as President, he has done neither.

But in the face of the unprecedented COVID crisis, economic downturn and the worst unemployment since the Great Depression, many Democrats and some Republicans have begun to urge enactment of ambitious economic stimulus and recovery legislation, including a major infrastructure bill with a job-creating focus.

Properly structured stimulus and infrastructure legislation could help jumpstart U.S. manufacturing, which was already slumping badly under Trump throughout …

Federal Investment in EV Charging Infrastructure for Economic Recovery, Climate, and Public Health

The American auto sector has not been spared from the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Production has been suspended in domestic and most international markets, while Ford, GM, and Tesla have shifted factories to make medical ventilators. And although many companies have paid full wages during the production stoppage, tens of thousands of US auto workers are expected to be laid off in the coming weeks.

Prior to the outbreak, America was showing early signs of a longer-term shift from fossil-fueled to electric-powered vehicles. Though they account for less than 1% of the current US vehicle market, EVs have …

Reducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costs

RMI’s groundbreaking report Reducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costs finds that the electric vehicle (EV) charging industry needs to do what the solar industry did about a decade ago: streamline and de-bottleneck installation.

The report draws on numerous sources, including literature, publicly available information on utility procurements, and two dozen original interviews conducted under nondisclosure agreements with utilities, hardware providers, software providers, operators of charging networks, transit agencies, states, laboratories, contractors, and consultancies.

The authors find that while the cost of hardware components is already falling as manufacturers gradually find ways to squeeze costs out of their processes, there are significant …

Nature as Resilient Infrastructure: An Overview of Nature-Based Solutions

Our nation’s “gray,” or hard, manmade infrastructure is in need of repair and upgrading due to age, deferred maintenance, and the toll of more intense and frequent extreme weather events resulting from climate change. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)—which has graded the condition of the country’s public infrastructure as a D+ for nearly a decade—estimates direct, cumulative gray infrastructure repair needs at $4.6 trillion through 2025, with an estimated funding gap of $2.1 trillion. Infrastructure has long been an area of bipartisan agreement, and the 116th Congress and White House continue to allude to a possible infrastructure bill …

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Joint Action Plan

The SVCE EV Infrastructure Action Plan describes strategies to achieve transportation emission reductions based on today’s technologies and mobility patterns. Future updates to EV infrastructure programs will be made as SVCE’s decarbonization goals evolve, and as new mobility trends emerge. New trends include what are known as the “three revolutions” of electrification, autonomy and ride hailing/ride sharing, as well as micro-mobility technologies and changes in land use policy.…

Estimating Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Costs Across Major U.S. Metropolitan Areas

This paper analyzes the capital costs of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure needed for public, workplace, and home charging for the most populous 100 metropolitan areas in the United States from 2019 through 2025. The 100 metropolitan areas analyzed represent 88% of all new electric vehicles sold and 75% of the overall U.S. vehicle market.

The analysis revealed:

Substantial charging infrastructure investments are needed to fill the charging gap. Necessary investments in workplace, public Level 2, and DC fast charging infrastructure would increase from approximately $110 million in 2019 to $270 million in 2025, amounting to a total of about …