How a Green Bank Can Drive the North Carolina Clean Energy Economy: A Market Opportunity Overview

This report provides an analysis of clean energy finance opportunities that will accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy in North Carolina. Green Banks have been proven as an effective engine for job creation by leveraging public resources to catalyze private investment, which is particularly relevant in this time of high unemployment. These institutions have helped states make progress on renewable portfolio standards and other greenhouse gas emission goals. Green bank financing can also assist municipal, industrial, commercial, and agricultural facilities transition to cleaner energy resources and lower operational costs. A North Carolina Green Bank (or Clean Energy Fund) …

Energy Transitions

The LEP Framework paper provides a comprehensive overview of a suite of climate and labor policies, supported by the AFL-CIO and EFI, that will accelerate America’s transition to a low carbon economy while preserving and creating access to high quality jobs. The paper provides a summary of the importance of each initiative from a climate perspective and the jobs’ benefit it will provide American communities.

The framework identifies 10 key areas necessary for creating new jobs and advancing social equity in a deeply decarbonized economy:

1. A national action plan for the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technology;

Recycle: Bioenergy

In an era of accelerating change, the need to create energy systems that guarantee a secure and affordable energy supply globally while protecting the environment is strengthening the momentum for a global energy transformation. That transformation involves moving away from fossil fuels towards renewable sources of energy, supported by increased efficiency and the reduction of total overall energy consumption. Bioenergy will have essential roles in all sectors in this energy transformation and in building a climate-friendly circular carbon economy that delivers economic and social benefits.

Bioenergy is the largest source of renewable energy in use today, globally accounting for 70% …

The Race Gap in Residential Energy Expenditures

Black households have higher residential energy expenditures than white households in the US. This residential energy expenditure gap persists after controlling for income, household size, homeowner status, and city of residence. It decreased but did not disappear between 2010 and 2017, and it is fairly stable in levels across the income distribution, except at the top. Controlling for home type or vintage does not eliminate the gap, but survey evidence on housing characteristics and available appliances is consistent with the gap being driven at least in part by differences in housing stock and related energy efficiency investments.…

On energy sufficiency and the need for new policies to combat growing inequities in the residential energy sector

The decreasing cost and increasing availability of new technologies capable of improving household energy efficiency, generating and storing renewable energy, and decarbonizing major end use appliances have begun to significantly transform many residential communities across the U.S. Despite these positive developments however, the degree to which disadvantaged communities (DACs) have been able to participate in and benefit from these transformations remains far from equal. Using historical time series data at the zipcode level within Los Angeles County, we document the scale and extent to which DACs continue to be left behind. These data show per-capita levels of electricity and natural …

Working in Partnership for a Resilient and Innovative Energy Future

Improving energy, water, and waste efficiency is critical for our buildings, homes, and manufacturing plants. These are the places we live, learn, and work. Enabling American businesses and families to reduce their energy costs without compromising occupant comfort and needs is an enormous opportunity. Enhancing the resilience of our buildings to withstand extreme events and disasters, while at the same time driving great efficiency, is a benefit for occupants and owners alike. Energy-efficient, well-managed facilities provide a pathway for saving money and strengthening our communities.

Through the Better Buildings Initiative, market leaders are working in partnership with the U.S. Department …

2019 New Hampshire Clean Energy & Employment Report

The 2019 New Hampshire Clean Energy and Employment Report (NHCEER) analyzes the following five sectors of the New Hampshire economy:
x Clean Fuels;
x Clean Electric Power Generation;
x Clean Transmission, Distribution, and Storage;
x Energy Efficiency; and
x Alternative Transportation.

Based on a comprehensive analysis of employer data collected in the fourth quarter of 2018, the 2019 NHCEER finds that Clean Fuels, Clean Electric Power Generation, Clean Transmission, Distribution, and Storage, Energy Efficiency, and Alternative Transportation sectors in 2018 employed approximately 17,000 New Hampshirites or 2.9 percent of a workforce of nearly 671 thousand. Employment in these sectors increased …

Cost of saving natural gas through efficiency programs funded by utility customers: 2012–2017

This study estimates the cost of saving a therm of natural gas from energy efficiency programs funded by utility customers during the period 2012 to 2017. Berkeley Lab researchers compiled and analyzed efficiency program data reported by investor-owned utilities and other program administrators in a dozen states representative of the four U.S. Census regions — Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Utah. Depending on the year, the dataset accounts for about 50 percent to 70 percent of annual national spending on natural gas efficiency programs.

The estimated cost of saving natural …

Clean Energy Standard for Industry: Scoping Analysis

An analysis of the potential for policy-driven emissions reductions in three major industrial sectors: iron and steel, cement, and petrochemicals, with focus on a clean energy standard.…

Impacts of Green New Deal Energy Plans on Grid Stability, Costs, Jobs, Health, and Climate in 143 Countries

Global warming, air pollution, and energy insecurity are three of the greatest problems facing humanity. To address these problems, we develop Green New Deal energy roadmaps for 143 countries. The roadmaps call for a 100% transition of all-purpose business-as-usual (BAU) energy to wind-water-solar (WWS) energy, efficiency, and storage by 2050 with at least 80% by 2030. Our studies on grid stability find that the countries, grouped into 24 regions, can match demand exactly from 2050 to 2052 with 100% WWS supply and storage. We also derive new cost metrics. Worldwide, WWS energy reduces end-use energy by 57.1%, aggregate private energy …