Evaluation of Publicly Accessible Nature-Based Solutions Databases as Sources for Evidence of Effectiveness

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are “actions to protect, sustainably manage, or restore natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges, simultaneously providing benefits for people and the environment” (White House Council on Environmental Quality, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House Domestic Climate Policy Office, 2022). They present opportunities to tackle both the climate and biodiversity crises simultaneously by supporting carbon sequestration by ecosystems, enhancing community resilience to climate hazards, and providing high-quality habitats for diverse species. However, uncertainty around the performance and reliability of NBS continues to be raised by engineers, local decision-makers, grant-makers, and the insurance …

NATO Climate Change and Security Impact Assessment

Climate change is a defining challenge of our time, with a profound impact on Allied security. At the 2021 Summit in Brussels, NATO Heads of State and Government (HOSG) endorsed a Climate Change and Security Action Plan and agreed that NATO should aim to become the leading organization when it comes to understanding and adapting to the impact of climate change on security.

This third edition of NATO’s Climate Change and Security Impact Assessment (CCSIA) responds to the demand for increased Allied awareness of the impact of climate change on security. Expanding on the key findings of the 2023 edition, …

Meeting Summer Peaks: The Need for Virtual Power Plants

Growing loads and increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather will put stress on the electricity grid this summer and in upcoming summers. Utilities and their regulators need solutions that:

1. Are rapidly deployable to meet near-term summer peaks;
2. Can leverage existing network and customer assets to manage investment (and associated rate pressure);
3. Are adaptable and configurable to address changing grid needs in the face of uncertainty; and
4. Enhance community energy resilience, given increasing risk of extreme weather.

Virtual power plants (VPPs) can meet those needs and should be considered by utilities and regulators as part of a portfolio …

The Nuclear Sector’s Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic was a global crisis of exceptional impact and duration that tested the ability of organizations and people to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and to learn and improve in real time.

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) stressed since the beginning of the pandemic the importance of learning from this historical event. When the world was in the middle of the crisis, it was clear that its ultimate impact on the nuclear sector would only be visible some years later, when the disease was brought under control.

These considerations prompted the NEA to launch a new activity under …

Critical Minerals & National Security

OurEnergyPolicy and The Earthshot Foundation are excited to present our first white paper of the Critical Minerals “Minologues” series. “Critical Minerals & National Security” delves into the interconnection between energy security and national security. While critical minerals are most often discussed in terms of their use in energy and smart technology, they are also essential components in defense systems.  This white paper is the first chapter in our series to illustrate the importance of these minerals from a geopolitical perspective and provide recommendations for how we can improve both energy and national security.…

Virtual Power Plant Flipbook

Virtual power plants (VPPs) — grid-integrated aggregations of distributed energy resources such as batteries, electric vehicles, smart thermostats, and other connected devices — can help balance electrical loads and provide several grid and community benefits, such as supplying critical grid services (including capacity, energy, ancillary services, and resilience), alleviating stressed transmission and distribution systems, and integrating more renewables for a cleaner energy supply.

Utilities and their regulators are increasingly turning toward VPPs as a key tool, alongside traditional infrastructure investment, to ensure safe, reliable, resilient, and affordable power in the face of near-term challenges created by load growth, extreme weather, …

Collaborating with Utilities to Meet Underserved Community Needs

Communities of color and low-income populations dedicate a disproportionate amount of their income to pay for energy. They also experience more frequent and prolonged service disruptions, impacting community health and safety.

When designed correctly, commercial solar + storage installations have the potential to ameliorate these issues. However, utility programs created to support such installations are frequently underutilized because communities often lack the time and resources needed to access them. Further, historically, few utilities have had the motivation and incentives or experience to account for this barrier.

RMI provided process support to Solar Energy Innovation Network teams, and described their experiences …

Transmission Planning for PJM’s Future Load and Generation Version 1

The United States needs to expand electricity transmission capacity to meet growing demand,
facilitate new generation interconnection and retirements, provide resilience against extreme
weather, and reduce cap constraints hindering access to low-cost energy sources. However,
building new high-capacity transmission is challenging, and currently not enough high-capacity
lines are being planned or developed.

A key barrier to transmission development is a lack of proactive transmission planning.
Opponents and skeptics of proactive planning often raise the specter of uncertainty and
speculation as a roadblock to achieving robust and reliable results. But these concerns will not
be resolved by ignoring the massive changes …

Transforming the Way We Serve Vulnerable Communities: Performance Incentive Mechanisms and Beyond

Each year, nearly 3 million Americans have their power shut off, leaving them unable to heat and cool their homes or access essential services like the internet. Meanwhile, 1 in 7 families live in energy poverty. These families are forced to make difficult choices, often sacrificing necessities like food and medicine to keep their lights on, all while living under the constant threat of having their power shut off. Unsurprisingly, this energy affordability crisis hits low-income communities the hardest, particularly communities of color.

Compounding this issue is the difficulty these communities face in accessing clean energy technologies. Resources like energy …

Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Innovative Grid Deployment

Deploying the advanced grid solutions available today could cost effectively increase the capacity of the existing grid to support 20-100 GW of incremental peak demand when installed individually, while improving grid reliability, resilience, and affordability. The grid is becoming a bottleneck to greater economic development, decarbonization, and equity priorities. Customers are demanding more grid capacity as regional electricity demand grows substantially for the first time in decades to serve a rapid uptick in data center and manufacturing needs and broader end-use electrification.
At the same time, heightened threats and increased dependence on electricity increase the importance of reliability and resilience …