Capturing the Reliability Benefits of Grid-Forming Batteries

Implementing grid-forming (GFM) controls on new battery storage systems has the potential to increase grid reliability at low cost. As of 2021, interconnection queues in the United States contained an estimated 427 GW of battery storage capacity that, in the absence of incentives or requirements for GFM controls, will be built with conventional grid-following (GFL) controls. Some of these batteries will be deployed in weak grid areas already dominated by GFL inverter-based resources (IBRs) (wind, solar, and battery storage). Power export capability from these areas may already be limited due to stability concerns, and the integration of additional GFL IBRs …

AEO2023 Issues in Focus: Inflation Reduction Act Cases in the AEO2023

The Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023) reflects, to the extent possible, laws and regulations adopted through mid-November 2022, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This report assesses changes to the energy system and U.S. energy related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions due to IRA implementation, holding other assumptions constant. To meet this objective, we assess the effects of the IRA by comparing the Reference case, which includes IRA provisions, against a case that excludes all IRA provisions.

To address some of the uncertainty around IRA provisions, we present two additional cases with variations of certain tax credits and incentives applied to …

No Time to Waste: Governing Cobalt Amid the Energy Transition

Poor governance is limiting the value of cobalt for mining countries. Cobalt’s role in the energy transition depends on better governance. Cobalt is currently a critical input to batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage, demand for which is rising as
energy markets transition away from fossil fuels. However, known reserves of cobalt are limited predominantly to the DRC, which is a risky place to operate given its poor record on corruption, taxation, license security and the welfare of artisanal miners. These constraints may limit mining investment, and harm both the local environment and communities. Consequently, battery manufacturers are seeking …

Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report 2023

After a decade of little progress, global gas flaring volumes fell by around 3% in 2022. However, despite this welcome reduction, greater and sustained efforts are needed to end this wasteful and polluting practice. The growing sense of urgency in tackling global gas flaring is further fueled by an increased concern regarding the amount of methane emitted during flaring. This year, our Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report considers the ‘state of the science’ and the uncertainty surrounding methane destruction efficiency of flares. It draws the worrying conclusion that, globally, CO2 equivalent emissions due to flaring could be higher than …

Advancing Offshore Wind Energy in the United States

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been a global leader in supporting critical wind energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) for decades, helping usher in commercial wind energy production. These investments have contributed to the rise of today’s wind energy sector. This offshore wind energy strategy outlines DOE’s approach for accelerating the development of U.S. offshore wind to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and establish a pathway to deploying 110 GW or more by 2050. As a critical part of this pathway, this strategy seeks to also support the deployment of 15 GW of floating offshore wind …

Promise Breakers

The Glasgow Statement, a joint commitment forged at the UN climate summit in 2021, is shifting an estimated USD 5.7 billion per year in public finance out of fossil fuels and into clean energy, with the potential of much more if additional signatories fulfill their commitment. This was the first international political commitment to address public finance for oil and gas, moving beyond an exclusive focus on coal. The Statement was arguably one of the most concrete achievements of the COP26 summit. 

Signatories agreed to end their international public finance for fossil fuels by the end of 2022. In this …

The Economics of Electricity Reliability

The physics of an electrical grid requires that the supply injected into the grid is always in balance with the quantity consumed. If that balance is not maintained, cascading outages are likely to disrupt supply to all consumers on the grid. In the past, vertically integrated monopoly utilities have ensured that supply is adequate to meet demand and maintain grid stability, but with deregulation of generation, assuring adequate supply has become much more complex. The unique characteristics of electricity distribution means that there are immense potential externalities among market participants from supply shortfalls. In this paper, we discuss the institutions …

Europe Gas Tracker 2023

In the ongoing fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU gas panic threatens a massive overcapacity buildout at the hands of a few member states that have harnessed and in some cases ignored EU policy recommendations. If most of it comes to fruition, this added import capacity now on the table and being rapidly developed in various countries will lead to expanded fossil gas infrastructure and carbon emissions that further distance the EU from its greenhouse gas mitigation goals.…

NRC Looks Ahead to Licensing Fusion Energy

Fusion promises to be a game-changing energy source, able to produce gigawatts of dispatchable clean energy to build energy security and strengthen the fight against climate change. The fusion industry has received more than $4 billion in private investment among more than two dozen companies, technology development is fast accelerating, and the first fusion power plant may well be on the grid by the turn of the decade.

The U.S. government has also budgeted $1 billion in public investment for fusion energy advancement via the Biden Administration. To be ready, under the direction of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Modernization Act …

Zero Emission Long-Haul Heavy-Duty Trucking

Clean Air Task Force conducted a first-of-its-kind analysis comparing the operational performance of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV), identifying key advantages to FCEVs in efforts to decarbonize long–haul heavy-duty trucking.

The report takes a novel approach to analyzing questions of cost by comparing the operational performance of BEV and FCEV drive trains and infrastructure as alternatives to diesel trucking on a popular long-haul route in the U.S. It finds that FCEVs outperform BEVs in terms of the number of stops required (three vs. eight), total time spent refueling (1.4 hours vs. 43.8 hours), and available …