Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector

The U.S. Department of Energy led the development of a Blueprint for decarbonizing U.S. buildings by 2050 to lay out a national strategy for aggressively reducing building greenhouse gas emissions while delivering equity, affordability, and resilience benefits to communities. The vision includes action the federal government can take to meet specific targets for increasing building energy efficiency, accelerating onsite emissions reductions, transforming the grid edge, and minimizing embodied life cycle emissions.

The national strategy reflects the central role that buildings play in achieving economy-wide climate goals while delivering cost savings, healthier environments, and high-quality jobs for the American people. Federal …

The Florida Wildlife Corridor and Climate Change

The Florida Wildlife Corridor (FLWC) is a critical conservation initiative aimed at preserving natural landscape connectivity across Florida. Spanning the length of the state, from Alabama to the Everglades, the FLWC not only plays a vital role in protecting endangered species like the Florida Panther, but also brings economic and climate benefits to local communities. Although the FLWC was not designed to enhance climate resilience, its climate benefits are not trivial, and a successful FLWC will help Florida achieve climate resilience more easily and quickly.

After four decades of research and advocacy, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act was unanimously passed …

Texas Oil and Gas Association Quarterly Energy Economics Outlook

In the ever evolving economic and energy landscape, the outset of 2024 brings with it updated economic forecasts, particularly in the face of broad expectations for a slowdown. Yet, emerging data show resilience and unexpected growth, challenging preconceived notions and setting the stage for a reevaluation of this year’s prospects.

This article delves into the latest insights from TXOGA’s quarterly monitoring and analyses of economic and energy markets, with critical implications for American households and businesses, core to energy security and affordability, and especially important to Texas.…

USDA Outlines Vision to Strengthen the American Bioeconomy through a More Resilient Biomass Supply Chain

In September 2022, President Biden signed Executive Order (EO) 14081 on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy. The EO directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the heads of appropriate agencies as determined by the Secretary, to submit a plan to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (APEP), to support the resilience of the U.S. biomass supply chain for domestic biomanufacturing and biobased product manufacturing, while also advancing food security, environmental sustainability, and the needs of …

Nova Analysis Final Technical Report

As the adoption of solar plus storage technology is rapidly increasing, there is a need for a more wholistic view of homes adopting them. In homes, both energy efficiency (EE) upgrades and DERs provide value not just to the homeowner, but to utilities and even society at large through emissions. Traditionally, EE and DERs are separate sectors, which makes it difficult to understand the co-benefits of their adoption. To address this, we created a novel workflow of tools that allows for a complete analysis of both efficiency and DERs. We also looked at a suite of metrics designed to capture …

Generator Interconnection Scorecard

Currently, over one million megawatts of generator and storage projects are actively seeking to connect to the U.S. transmission grid. The various grid interconnection processes across the nation have been slow and received criticism from a wide range of stakeholders for being dysfunctional. The 2024 Advanced Energy United Generator Interconnection Scorecard evaluates the outcomes and processes of the generator interconnection process across the seven U.S. regional grid operators (the RTOs/ISOs), finding some bright spots and room for significant improvement.

Now that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued Order No. 2023 requiring RTOs/ISOs to implement reforms to the interconnection process, …

Reducing Pollution Without Sacrificing Reliability

The power sector is in the midst a profound transition. Myriad climate policies at nearly all levels of government, including the landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), have incentivized the accelerated adoption of low-and zero-emission energy resources. These policies have sped along sectoral shifts already underway due to changing market conditions, plummeting renewables prices, and the replacement of aging coal-fired power plants with cheaper, more efficient resources. Meanwhile, the electric grid faces increasing vulnerability from climate change impacts that have become unavoidable, in addition to projected future increases in electricity demand. Both the structure and operation of our electric grid …

Technical Potential and Meaningful Benefits of Community Solar in the United States

Community solar is any solar project or purchasing program within a geographic area in which the benefits flow to multiple customers, such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups. Community solar customers typically subscribe to or own a portion of the energy generated by a solar array and receive an electric bill credit for electricity generated by their share of the community solar system. Community solar can offer greater household savings for electricity customers, provide access to solar energy for low- to moderate-income (LMI) customers, generate resilience and grid benefits, and boost solar workforce development, among other benefits.1 The goal …

Rooftop Solar on the Rise

Solar energy is abundant, affordable and a big part of America’s transition to renewable energy. Solar power is particularly valuable when it produces energy right where we need it: on the rooftops of our homes and businesses.
Rooftop solar is good for the environment and consumers – reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, easing strain on the grid during periods of high demand, increasing resilience to threats like extreme weather, and limiting the amount of land needed for clean energy, all at steadily falling cost.
State and local policies that make it easier for homeowners and business owners to install …

Mining ESG: 2023 in Review and What to Expect in 2024

While the mining industry continued to grapple with the geopolitical and inflationary pressures that characterized the previous year, 2023 saw some ESG backlash, but mostly growing entrenchment of ESG and corporate sustainability principles globally. ESG was again ranked as a top industry risk by multiple entities, while climate change risk and decarbonization continued to be the key focus.
To help with navigating the complexities of the mining ESG landscape, Sympact has compiled this 2023 Mining ESG Review report, summarising top highlights and new sector-relevant guidance across a range of core industry ESG topics. They have collated the headlines and resources …