Parting the Red (Tape) Sea: Delivering Infrastructure Projects on Time and on Budget is Key to Hitting Climate Goals

Getting to zero carbon in the United States will require a major, national investment in new energy, transportation, and building infrastructure, as well as in rebuilding our existing, decaying infrastructure. The U.S. used to do this very well – delivering ambitious public works projects on time and on budget. Those days, however, are currently far in the rearview mirror. To reach our climate goals, we’re going to need to get back to building big things at their original price tag and getting them done on schedule. To accomplish this, Third Way identified seven roadblocks plaguing U.S. infrastructure projects with overruns …

Pipeline Bubble: North America Is Betting Over $1 Trillion on a Risky Fossil Infrastructure Boom

From 2011 to 2016, following a period of heady optimism and over-expansion based on expectations of surging Asian demand, coal mining company values plummeted and bankruptcies decimated the sector (see Sidebar: “The Coal Mining Equities Crash”). Today, investors in the booming expansion of oil and gas infrastructure appear headed for a similar shock, as boom-fueled optimism runs into climate realities and fiscal limits.…

North American Crude Oil Supply, Demand and Impacts on Crude Oil Export Infrastructure

Strong U.S. crude oil production and global demand implies a 3 mmbpd export infrastructure deficit by 2023. Infrastructure investments must keep pace to avoid market disruptions.

By 2023, we project that combined Permian and Eagle Ford production will rise 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) to 8.5 mmpbd by 2023, but domestic refining capacity is expected to grow by just 453 barrels per calendar day (bcd). As a result, U.S. crude exports would need to rise to 6.5 mmpbd in 2023. This growth is essential to help meet our expectation for global demand rising to 108.5 mmbpd by 2023. Infrastructure …

Current fossil fuel infrastructure does not yet commit us to 1.5 °C warming

Committed warming describes how much future warming can be expected from historical emissions due to inertia in the climate system. It is usually defined in terms of the level of warming above the present for an abrupt halt of emissions. Owing to socioeconomic constraints, this situation is unlikely, so we focus on the committed warming from present-day fossil fuel assets. Here we show that if carbon-intensive infrastructure is phased out at the end of its design lifetime from the end of 2018, there is a 64% chance that peak global mean temperature rise remains below 1.5 °C. Delaying mitigation until …

INFRASTRUCTURE LOST Why America Cannot Afford To ‘Keep It In the Ground’

In recent years, anti-energy groups have rallied around a singular theme: “Keep it in the Ground.” Environmental
activists argue that many of our most reliable energy sources – coal, natural gas, and oil – should not be accessed at all, and instead be left deep underground. In support of this agenda, they are actively fighting against as many energy infrastructure and development projects as they can – pipelines and transportation networks, power plants and transmission lines, export facilities, and much more.

This campaign has significant costs: Power plants that are cancelled mean fewer job opportunities for blue collar
workers and …

California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projections: 2017-2025

This report analyzes plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) infrastructure needs in California from 2017 to 2025 in a scenario where the state’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) deployment goals are achieved by light-duty vehicles, primarily in residential use. The statewide infrastructure needs are evaluated by using the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Projection tool, which incorporates representative statewide travel data from the 2010-2012 California Household Travel Survey.

The infrastructure solution presented in this assessment addresses two primary objectives: (1) enabling travel for battery-electric vehicles and (2) maximizing the electric vehicle-miles traveled for plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles. The analysis is performed at the county level for each …

National Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Analysis

This presentation describes a study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory quantifying the charging station infrastructure required to serve the growing U.S. fleet of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). PEV sales, which include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs), have surged recently. Most PEV charging occurs at home, but widespread PEV adoption will require the development of a national network of non-residential charging stations. Installation of these stations strategically would maximize the economic viability of early stations while enabling efficient network growth as the PEV market matures. This document describes what effective co-evolution of the PEV …

Policy Options for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure

A new federal infrastructure package presents a critical opportunity to strengthen America’s infrastructure against the growing risks posed by extreme weather and other impacts of climate change. Enhancing the climate resilience of the nation’s infrastructure can substantially reduce future losses, benefiting public health, safety, quality of life, and prosperity. This policy brief outlines the benefits of climate-resilient infrastructure and criteria that should inform infrastructure planning and investment to enhance climate resilience. It identifies the types of infrastructure projects that can promote resilience while simultaneously achieving other climate and energy goals and recommends changes to existing federal policies and programs to …

From Gas to Grid: Building Charging Infrastructure to Power Electric Vehicle Demand

The world doesn’t need any more cost-benefit analyses; they’ve already been done, and they show that vehicle electrification is overwhelmingly beneficial for society as a whole—even for non-drivers. Nor should we doubt that people will buy electric vehicles (EVs). Sales are accelerating so rapidly that Bloomberg New Energy Finance warns the U.S. will hit an “infrastructure cap” in the mid-2030s due to a lack of charging stations. The questions we should be grappling with now is where to build EV chargers, who should own them, and how to make fast charging a sustainable business.…

Boosting global PV markets: The role of quality infrastructure

As solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems become increasingly competitive, continued market growth depends on assurances of performance and durability. Quality assurance protects and accelerates future PV investments, lowers capital costs, improves performance, extends module lifespans and lowers the resulting electricity costs.

From less than 10 gigawatts (GW) worldwide in 2006, installed solar PV capacity reached nearly 300 GW in 2016. More than 71 GW was added in 2016, with over USD 113 billion invested in solar energy technologies.

However, comprehensive quality assurance requires physical and institutional infrastructure. This so-called, Quality Infrastructure (QI), comprises the total institutional network and legal framework …