Inclusive Shared Solar: The State Policy Landscape and Select Community Solar Project Profiles

Installing solar energy can help reduce household energy costs, increase energy resilience, and stimulate local job growth. Community solar allows households unable to install solar directly on their property to access these benefits through a shared model. While community solar programs have expanded significantly, in recent years many continue to reach primarily wealthier customers. States play a crucial role in the development of community solar markets and, in this capacity, can help minimize the costs and ensure the benefits of solar extend more effectively to low- and moderate income (LMI) populations. Policies at the state level can require or incentivize …

States Energy Storage Policy: Best Practices for Decarbonization

Decarbonization of electricity generation is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and energy storage is a key enabling technology for scaling up renewables to meet state decarbonization goals. Yet the most effective approaches to energy storage policymaking are far from clear. This report, published jointly by Sandia National Laboratories and the Clean Energy States Alliance, summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of states leading in decarbonization goals and programs. It also summarizes findings from a 2022 survey of energy storage developers; and it provides a “deep dive” into key state energy storage policy priorities and the challenges …

Wind and Solar Growth Save €12 Billion Since Russia Invaded Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine revealed the high cost of relying on fossil fuel imports—but renewables growth helped avoid a worse crisis. In the year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU has faced enormous pressure to mitigate energy security risks and protect itself against the soaring costs of fossil fuel imports.

Gas prices skyrocketed to an unprecedented high of €313 / MWh as Russia cut pipeline exports to the EU. This caused the cost of producing power from gas to reach over €650 / MWh. With coal prices also surging, the increased cost of fossil fuels pushed up electricity prices …

How US Cities are Finding Creative Ways to Fund Climate Progress

Even as the international community coordinates global climate action through the Paris Agreement and the U.S. government makes strides through major bills such as the Inflation Reduction Act, there is plenty that cities must still do on their own to clean up their economies and built environments. One of the most frequent approaches are decarbonization plans, which are often nested within larger climate action plans. Decarbonization plans outline specific steps cities will take to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their electricity systems, buildings, transportation networks, and related sectors.

This report summarizes specific funding and financing policies found in 50 …

Energy Affordability in Maryland

Almost 400,000 Maryland households pay more than six percent of their income on home energy bills. These high energy cost burdens often force individuals and families to make impossible choices between paying utility bills and other essentials such as rent or medicine. Over the next twenty-five years, energy costs will likely increase as utilities invest billions to replace natural gas infrastructure under the 2013 Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement (STRIDE) law. Yet whether these investments will serve their useful life remains unclear, as state climate policy requires a dramatic shift away from fossil fuels, creating a serious risk of stranded …

Floating Wind: Turning Ambition into Action

Offshore wind is experiencing a decade of progress. But with space at a premium and many offshore areas proving too deep for bottom-fixed turbines, the attractiveness of floating wind is growing and looks set to take a sizable piece of the overall offshore wind pie. DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook forecasts that by 2050, 15% of all offshore wind installed capacity will come from floating offshore wind. This means that approximately 300 GW of floating offshore wind will be installed globally in the next 30 years, requiring around 20,000 turbines, each mounted on top of floating units weighing more than 5,000 …

Climate-Tech to Watch: Hydrogen Powered Aviation

Policymakers and the aviation industry see hydrogen as a promising low-carbon fuel for aviation. But to make hydrogen-powered flight a reality, they first need to bring down the cost of green hydrogen and overcome aircraft design challenges.

Commercial aviation accounted for roughly 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018, and that share is expected to grow. And according to the Energy Information Administration, the aviation sector is not on track to reach the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Leaders in the aviation industry see hydrogen as a potential solution to addressing the climate impacts of short- …

Maine Offshore Wind Map

The Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap is the product of more than 18 months of work, under the leadership of the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO). The Roadmap describes how Maine is uniquely positioned to benefit from the responsible advancement of offshore wind. As one of the nation’s most fossil fuel-dependent states—with nearly 60% of all homes reliant on heating fuels, and Maine and New England’s energy grid over-reliant on natural gas for electricity—Maine is distinctly vulnerable to price and supply volatility of imported fossil fuels, such as the soaring costs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The Roadmap’s …

Retained Transportation Fuel Spending in the Southeast

Dependence on gasoline and diesel for vehicle travel has created a transfer of wealth from Southeastern states to other parts of the country and even the world. A portion of what drivers pay at the pump leaves to pay for parts of the fuel supply chain outside of the state where the fuel is sold. The portion that remains in a given state is referred to here as “retained transportation fuel spending.” The purpose of this paper is to compare how much money is currently retained in the Southeast with how much money will be retained when electric vehicles (EVs) …

Assessing the Current State of U.S. Energy Equity Regulation and Legislation

This report examined state energy equity actions from January 2020 to July 2022. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory partnered with E9 Insight to screen executive, legislative, and regulatory actions focusing on energy equity. A total of 95 actions were identified across 22 states and Washington, DC. Energy equity was most associated with resource planning, decarbonization, and energy efficiency regulatory focus areas. States tended to focus on distributive and procedural justice tenets over recognition and restorative justice tenets. The review also suggested that energy equity metrics are in nascent stages; most outcomes identified in equity actions did …