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.
Resource Library
21 to 30 of 132 item(s) were returned.
Solar energy is rapidly developing as one of the most common forms of renewable energy production. They produce clean, locally generated energy — a must-have in a time of ambitious sustainability goals. But not all solar installations are alike. While they capture the benefit of lower emissions and reduce the cost of electricity consumed, many do not realize the full investment value because of disruption costs that stem from utility grid dependence.
Our white paper will provide you with valuable insights and practical advice on how to optimize your solar installation to achieve maximum value. Learn about the limitations of …
View Full ResourceTo address the impacts of climate change, the U.S. electric grid will be undergoing significant changes by integrating clean energy resources such as solar and wind. These efforts will be accelerated with the recent passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Furthermore, electric customers will continue to adopt intelligent energy devices, including smart lighting and thermostats, which will be able to communicate with rooftop solar, electric vehicles, and more. These efforts will be critical for combating climate change and providing resilience benefits before, during, and after major events. However, as the U.S. electric grid …
View Full ResourceDemand flexibility (DF)—the ability of buildings and equipment to adjust energy use dynamically in response to grid conditions—and its application in grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB)—energy efficient, smart buildings that provide demand flexibility co-optimized to serve occupants and the grid— offer important capabilities for managing an increasingly complex electricity system. They will be key to address imperatives of energy affordability and equity, reliability and resilience, and environmental protection, including energy system decarbonization. The potential to align energy use in buildings and facilities with grid conditions to mutually support customer, grid, and societal needs has far reaching electricity policy, regulatory, and investment …
View Full ResourceTo face a climate-altered future, the United States needs a resilient, affordable, and nimble electric system, one that can adjust and adapt to any situation, keeping the lights on no matter the challenge. Ensuring that we have affordable and available electricity requires that Congress pass legislation now to support renewable energy and build a more resilient electric grid—the system that connects a source of energy such as a power plant to the consumers who use it.…
View Full ResourceSteel does not last forever. A significant percentage of the steel utility structures in service are over 40 years old, an age at which
the cumulative effects of corrosion begin to take their toll. Traditionally, utilities have not included below-grade assessments in their maintenance programs, resulting in unseen and unidentified hazards. These facts, combined with environmental impacts, have put America’s steel transmission structures, and the country’s power grid, at increasing risk.
Steel structure assessment and remediation results in structures that are more resilient in weather events, last significantly longer, and cost less to maintain. The outcome is an improved and …
View Full ResourceThis report provides an overview of the supply chain resilience associated with several grid energy storage technologies. It provides a summary of each technology’s supply chain, from the extraction of raw materials to the production of batteries and other storage systems, and an analysis of the vulnerabilities of each supply chain. It also discusses the current supply chain risk and resilience for the United States, as well as competitiveness of the U.S. supply chain and potential opportunities. This analysis serves as a basis for highlighting several vulnerabilities and their causes in the grid energy storage supply chain to inform policy …
View Full ResourceElectricity is essential for the operation of virtually all other critical sectors, such as water, telecommunications, natural gas, transportation, and petroleum products. Further, in many cases each of these other vital sectors are critical to the generation and operation of the electric grid. During a power outage caused by a human or natural disaster, impacts are not limited to one sector, and the resulting economic and human consequences ripple across multiple sectors and impact the lives and livelihoods of not only the community affected by the disaster, but oftentimes neighboring communities and states as well.
This report explores the importance …
View Full ResourceBuildings drive up to 80 percent of the peak demand on energy grids in the United States. As utilities incorporate more time-of-use pricing based on the cost or carbon intensity of the electricity being generated, grid interactivity has become more important and valuable than ever.
Grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) are energy-efficient buildings that flex their energy load from one time to another based on the cost or carbon intensity of grid electricity. GEBs are constantly responding to minute changes to grid price and carbon intensity, resulting in more beneficial integration between buildings and the grid that can reduce utility costs …
View Full ResourceThis Applied Economics Clinic policy brief—prepared on behalf of GreenRoots, a resident–led organization working to achieve environmental justice in Chelsea, East Boston, and surrounding communities—presents ways in which microgrids, depending on their design, can provide opportunities for vulnerable communities to realize important benefits. We define characteristics of “sustainable community microgrids” that have the potential to enhance grid resilience, lower electric bills, improve public health and strengthen the local community when equitable outcomes are prioritized throughout the project.…
View Full ResourceThe Biden Administration has proposed investing in reliable, efficient electric power lines that deliver more renewable energy. In the “American Jobs Plan,” released on March 31, the Administration laid out a plan for investing in American jobs and renewable energy, as well as strengthening the resilience of the electrical grid. However, the United States needs a national power grid in order to increase its energy security and resilience to extreme weather events. By improving electricity transmission, a national power grid would also make the transition to clean energy easier and cheaper. The Administration should seek to better integrate the United …
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