The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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Electrical load is the backdrop for all power systems analysis. As a coequal partner in the supply-demand balance that must be maintained on electrical grids at all times and for all timescales, load is a major source of variability and uncertainty in grid operations. Despite this, utility load forecasting is typically done in a top-down manner that lacks the granularity in time, geography, end use, and technology that is needed to explore the potential impact of technological shifts; and many studies of future grid systems employ relatively simple scaling of historical loads, placing more emphasis on supply-side resources such as …
View Full ResourceCooling is one of the wonders of the modern age. However, for hundreds of millions of people living in the hottest climates, the impact of not having access to modern cooling services is profound. Every year, millions of people die due to the absence of cooling that could help address hunger and malnutrition, preserve the efficacy of vaccines, and alleviate the worst of deadly heat waves. Cooling access can also help increase farmer incomes and lift people out of poverty by increasing the sales value of their produce when it meets the market.
This report identifies another significant population group …
View Full ResourceAdoption of rooftop solar in the United States primarily has been concentrated in higher-income
households (Moezzi et al. 2017; Vaishnav et al. 2017). As technology costs decline and markets
expand, however, focus is shifting to increasing solar access in underserved market segments—
particularly to low-to-moderate income (LMI) households, or those earning 80% or less of the
area median income (AMI). A key policy goal is to expand solar access more equitably to ensure
the benefits of solar, including reduced energy burden, increased resilience, and hedge against
electricity rate changes are available to all ratepayers. To achieve this goal, a deeper…
Energy efficiency and related demand management policies help mitigate the impacts of climate
change by reducing the use of fossil fuels and reducing the energy sector’s vulnerabilities to
climate change impacts. Over the past forty years, federal and state-level energy efficiency
policies (or standards) have been applied to household appliances, the corporate average fuel
economy, electric demand-side management programs, weatherization assistance, and building
codes. The U.S. residential housing sector accounts for approximately 21% of total primary
energy consumption and 20% of domestic carbon dioxide emissions. Building construction codes
and standards regulate the energy efficiency of newly constructed homes or commercial …
Energy resiliency has been thrust to the forefront by recent severe weather events and natural disasters. Billions of dollars are lost each year due to power outages. This article highlights the unique value renewable energy hybrid systems (REHS), comprised of solar, energy storage, and generators, provide in increasing resiliency. We present a methodology to quantify the amount and value of resiliency provided by REHS, and ways to monetize this resiliency value through insurance premium discounts. A case study of buildings in New York City demonstrates how implementing REHS in place of traditional backup diesel generators can double the amount of …
View Full ResourceOn February 9, 2018 the City of Chicago released its 2017 Chicago Energy Benchmarking Report and Infographic. The City also posted energy data for over 2,700 properties, as authorized under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance. Click here to read the report or 1-page Infographic, and to review the data release for 2017 and for all previous years.
Energy Benchmarking is the foundation of Chicago’s strategy for reducing carbon emissions from large buildings. In Chicago, the emissions from the properties subject to the energy benchmarking ordinance represent 20% of citywide carbon emissions, which is more than every car, truck, and bus …
View Full ResourceThis initial scoping paper lays out the set of issues to be addressed by identifying the key
design choices to be made in implementing a carbon tax:
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Scope and Emissions Coverage: Determining which sectors and which gases are taxed and what amount of total US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would be covered by a tax is critical. The broader the scope, the more efficient and environmentally effective the tax, as it increases the number of GHG abatement opportunities.
Point of Taxation: Carbon emissions can be taxed upstream, at the point of fuel production, downstream at the point of fuel consumption,
Energy efficiency is central to all global energy transitions. It is the world’s most available, secure and affordable energy resource and every government around the world has the power to further exploit efficiency for widespread benefit.
Energy Efficiency 2017 is the global tracker examining the trends, indicators, impacts and drivers of energy efficiency progress. The questions addressed in this year’s report include:
– How quickly is the world becoming more energy efficient? Which countries are making most progress?
– What are the impacts of energy efficiency on the global economy and energy system?
– How does energy efficiency affect global, …
This paper presents the first publicly available comprehensive survey of the magnitude of demand charges for commercial customers across the United States—a key predictor of the financial performance of behind-the-meter battery storage systems. Notably, it is estimated that there are nearly 5 million commercial customers in the United States who can subscribe to retail electricity tariffs that have demand charges in excess of $15 per kilowatt (kW), over a quarter of the 18 million commercial customers in total in the United States. While the economic viability of installing battery energy storage must be determined on a case-by-case basis, high demand …
View Full ResourceThis working paper is part of the larger World Resources Report Towards a More Equal City, which views sustainability as composed of three interrelated issues: the economy, the environment, and equity. We use the equitable provision of urban services as the premise for examining whether meeting the needs of the under-served can improve the other two dimensions of sustainability.
To address the question of how to power the city for all, we have conducted extensive literature reviews and consulted with international organizations such as the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program, the Global Buildings …
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