Evaluating Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on the U.S. Power System

In this report, we detail the methods and results of a study estimating the potential impacts of key provisions of IRA and BIL on the contiguous U.S. power sector from present day through 2030. The analysis employs an advanced power system planning model, the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS), to evaluate how major provisions from both laws impact investment in and operation of utility-scale generation, storage, and transmission, and, in turn, how those changes impact power system costs, emissions, and climate and health damages. While not exhaustive in capturing every provision, the analysis estimates the possible scale of power sector …

The Necessity of G7 Leadership in Cleaning the Steel Market

The G7 countries are well positioned to bolster global cooperation on greening international trade of carbon-intensive goods as the group includes three of the five largest steel producers globally and two of the four largest steel importers. With the May 2023 G7 Summit in Hiroshima approaching, there is a window of opportunity for G7 countries to place industrial decarbonization, with a focus on steel, at the top of the agenda to make significant progress in reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This paper explores the necessity of G7 leadership in creating global cooperation to clean heavy industry, particularly steel. This …

The Top 100 Offshore Wind Supply Chain Innovators Report 2023

Offshore wind has tremendous potential in the United States following the Biden administration’s pledge to see 30 GW of capacity installed by 2030. However, the market also faces tremendous challenges, including limited grid, port and installation vessel capacity and the need to rely on nascent floating technology for West Coast and other lease areas. As a result, the U.S. offshore wind supply chain will need large doses of innovation to achieve its growth objectives. It is already rising to the challenge, as this report shows. This list of the top 100 U.S. offshore wind supply chain players to watch this …

Navigating the Transportation Electrification Experience

While cities and states across the nation are taking different paths toward EV adoption, those paths have recently been super-charged with federal mandates and incentives along the way. Supporting customers through this market shift to electrification is advantageous to both utilities and their customers, although the path isn’t always straightforward. This guide will break down the keys to supporting your customers through every stage of EV ownership, whether your utility’s goal is to mitigate the risk of unforeseen spot-load additions, strengthen your relationship with customers, or anything else along the way.…

United States Renewable Markets Insight Report

Global geopolitical issues, the COVID-19 pandemic, unforeseen policy changes, and extreme weather have all tested U.S. electricity markets and renewable energy procurement over the past few years. This inaugural edition of the United States 3Degrees’ Renewable Markets Insight Report takes a closer look at the energy and PPA market landscape in the U.S.

This report examines the current U.S. renewable energy landscape by starting with fundamental power and gas market drivers and trends, then looking briefly at renewable procurement options to watch, diving into the substantial policy and regulatory activity, unpacking PPA market trends, and closing with the unbundled REC …

Comparing Connecticut’s Electric Vehicle Charging Program with others from around the United States

To support Connecticut’s goal to deploy 125,000-150,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) established a nine-year statewide EV charging program—administered by Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating Company—that aims to install nearly 65,000 EV charging ports by 2030. On behalf of the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, this Applied Economics Clinic (AEC) white paper reviews EV charging programs in Connecticut and fourteen other states (California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont) and compares those programs’ ability to provide net benefits to consumers …

Clean Hydrogen: Policies to Help America Lead

Clean hydrogen will play an outsized role in decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy. The more we do now to ensure that the US can grow a durable competitive advantage in the global market for clean hydrogen, the more of that market will be captured by US companies and the more jobs in the clean hydrogen value chain will be filled by American workers. Commercial diplomacy and trade policy actions are critical for US market access to European purchasers. Designing domestic regulations and incentives t0 reflect the opportunities and limitations of export markets would yield a stronger US hydrogen sales …

Record High Electricity Rates Still Not Enough to Get Customers Thinking About Sustainability

Electricity bills in the United States rose 13.1% on average in 2022, higher than the overall rate of inflation. Concurrent with this trend, utilities have introduced aggressive carbon reduction goals and sustainability initiatives that rely on customers reducing their energy consumption through a combination of time-of-use rates, energy-saving appliance rebate programs and more.

Ultimately, our research finds that utilities with a clearly stated sustainability goal, a concerted plan to achieve that goal and widespread support for that plan among customers are slowly changing customer behaviors and perceptions. These examples are rare, however, and the vast majority of electric utilities and …

Effects of Land-Based Wind Turbine Upsizing on Community Sound Levels and Power and Energy Density

Multiple technological, social, and market factors of wind power are evolving rapidly. Most notably, significant wind turbine scaling is occurring and is forecasted to continue. While the larger turbines expected to be deployed in the future are more powerful and efficient, they are also expected to operate at higher sound levels and require larger setbacks than those installed in the last decade. These sometimes-competing deployment trends and impacts cannot be understood via simple extrapolations of past trends. This study analyzes the effect of these future larger turbines on wind turbine micro-siting, project-level power and energy density, and community noise impacts. …

Annual Energy Outlook 2023

EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023) explores long-term energy trends in the United States. Since last year’s AEO, much has changed, most notably the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Public Law 117-169, which altered the policy landscape we use to develop our projections. We project that U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions drop 25% to 38% below the 2005 level by 2030. For reference, the United States’ nationally determined contribution (NDC), submitted as part of the Paris Agreement, calls for a target of 50% to 52% of net greenhouse gas emissions below the 2005 level by 2030. We only consider …