Community Outreach and Solar Equity: A Guide for States on Collaborating with Community-Based Organizations

This guide is aimed at state energy agencies that are looking to strengthen their relationships with local under-resourced communities or are beginning to engage in energy justice work. The guide is a collection of best practices, ideas, and principles that provide states a foundation for building equitable relationships with community-based organizations (CBOs) and for working with them on solar development.

Partnerships between state energy agencies and CBOs are a key component of advancing energy justice. Solar development in under-resourced communities will be most effective and equitable when trusted community organizations are involved. Community engagement can lead to innovative, equitable, and …

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Supermarket Emission Reduction Analysis

Commercial refrigeration contributes about one third of the nation’s emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, the highly potent greenhouse gases used as refrigerants. This study demonstrates the large potential for direct emission reductions and energy efficiency gains in supermarket systems, and provides the costs and benefits for a variety of viable options for new and existing stores based on their size and location.…

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Carbon Dioxide Removal Solutions

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, both dramatic reductions in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and the large-scale removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere will be necessary to stabilize the climate by 2050 and have a chance of keeping temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. The amount of CO₂ removal (CDR) or negative emissions required depends on the extent and speed to which emissions are reduced and how far temperature “overshoots” the 1.5-degree target. Critically, the longer it takes to reduce emissions, the greater the need for CDR. The IPCC estimates that …

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U.S. Advanced Nuclear Energy Strategy for Domestic Prosperity, Climate Protection, National Security, and Global Leadership

This document provides a strategic framework for the United States to guide domestic and international activities related to advanced nuclear energy. It provides a roadmap to achieving U.S. global leadership on advanced nuclear technologies by leveraging the unique capabilities and roles of government, the private sector, academia, civil society, and U.S. allies. …

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Balancing Act: Can Petrochemicals Be Both Emissions Free and Zero-Waste?

As the global energy transition toward low carbon resources continues, our dependence on oil, natural gas, and coal as sources of fuel will diminish substantially. However, demand for these fossil resources will not disappear entirely. On the contrary, the world is experiencing, and will continue to experience, a rapid increase in demand for oil and natural gas as feedstocks for petrochemical products. This is perhaps most clearly seen in the planet’s demand for, and production of, plastics—almost all of which are derived from fossil fuels.

The production of petrochemicals is not immediately recognizable as a continuing source of carbon emissions, …

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Ground Source Heat Pumps: Peak Impacts in Maryland

Maryland, like a number of other states, has adopted plans to begin decarbonizing its energy sector and the broader economy. An October 2019 draft plan from the Maryland Department of the Environment increased the state’s ambitions, with a goal of a 44% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, relative to a 2006 baseline. Electrification of heating and transportation is one of the most promising pathways for decarbonizing large portions of the economy. Heating, for example, traditionally involves the direct onsite combustion of fossil fuels (fuel oil, natural gas, propane, for space and water heating), and accounts for a …

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Unplugged and Abandoned: The growing orphan well crisis facing the Railroad Commission of Texas.

As investment moves away from oil and gas companies in favor of businesses with a better return, the state of Texas faces a significant economic threat. Combined with declining demand from depressed commodity prices, shifting consumer preferences and the global COVID-19 pandemic, the state faces a surge in oil and gas company bankruptcies and declining revenue from fees it collects from the industry. Meanwhile, the Railroad Commission of Texas—the state’s oil and gas regulator—has been asleep at the switch. Insolvent or financially distressed operators exacerbate the potential economic risks, public health dangers and environmental hazards posed by unplugged and abandoned… View Full Resource

Steep Climb Ahead: How Fleet Managers Can Prepare for the Coming Wave of Electrified Vehicles

Rocky Mountain Institute’s report, Steep Climb Ahead—How Fleet Managers Can Prepare for the Coming Wave of Electrified Vehicles, finds that major fleet managers have begun electrifying their fleets, which will ultimately save them money and reduce their carbon footprints. But in order to electrify their vehicles at scale, they will need to begin serious planning for it now. Organizations with large fleets will need to undertake a fundamental business restructuring in order to execute a successful transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

This report offers the first comprehensive assessment of how major US fleet managers are approaching the electrification of …

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Seeds of Opportunity: How Rural America Is Reaping Economic Development Benefits from the Growth of Renewables

Despite a turbulent start to the 2020s, an important and positive message for rural America is emerging in the decade ahead: rural communities have a significant opportunity to strengthen and diversify their local economies by embracing and actively engaging in the ongoing renewable energy transition.

By 2030, renewable energy capacity in the United States will at least double, and potentially grow by a factor of seven or higher if new policies are enacted to capitalize on continuing cost declines in wind and solar. As a result, rural communities—which host 99 percent of onshore wind and a growing share of utility-scale …

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Distributed Wind Research Program Workshop Report

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) Distributed Wind Research Program seeks to enable wind technology as an affordable, accessible, and compatible distributed energy resource (DER) option for individuals, businesses, and communities.

WETO’s Program includes national laboratory projects and partnerships with industry and academia. WETO organized the Distributed Wind Research Program Workshop to bring together laboratory and industry project stakeholders to achieve the following objectives:

Educate – Create a shared high-level understanding for the breadth of WETO’s distributed wind research Collaborate – Facilitate coordination and collaboration between funding recipients to leverage resources Innovate – Understand future… View Full Resource