Aligning Utility Strategies with Customer Preferences: Research-Backed Insights on EV Managed Charging

To help utilities understand this landscape, Franklin Energy conducted extensive research to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer preferences and concerns related to EV charging and in particular, managed charging. This research involved a secondary analysis of existing EV driver research, including data analysis of charging behaviors and peak usage times, and a review of existing utility managed charging program designs, along with available demand response impact comparisons. Finally, Franklin Energy conducted a statistically significant survey of EV owners and near-term buyers to determine their charging practices, preferences, and perceptions of common utility managed charging programs. Leveraging these insights, utilities …

Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Should Use Available Information to Measure the Effectiveness of Its Groundwater Efforts

EM is responsible for addressing hazardous and radioactive waste from nuclear weapons production and energy research at DOE sites. Contaminated groundwater at these sites poses threats to public health and the environment, making groundwater cleanup critical to EM’s mission.

GAO was asked to review EM’s groundwater cleanup efforts. This report examines (1) the groundwater cleanup requirements at selected EM sites; (2) the scope, cost, and schedule for groundwater cleanup; and (3) the extent to which EM measures groundwater cleanup progress.

GAO examined four sites selected to represent a variety of facility types at different stages of the cleanup process governed …

Innovation at the Horizon: Accelerating Innovation of Emerging Hybrid CDR Technologies

Innovation at the Horizon: Accelerating Innovation of Emerging Hybrid CDR Technologies (November 2024) provides a snapshot of current hybrid carbon dioxide removal (CDR) activities across the United States, with a focus on potential innovation breakthroughs. This report is the fourth in the Frontiers of CDR series—which includes —Rock Solid, From the Ground Up, and Uncharted Waters. This work follows on those earlier reports that explored underexamined pathways for CDR in mineralization, terrestrial, and marine environments.

Innovation at the Horizon focuses on hybrid CDR measures, which incorporate state-of-the-art technological enhancements to leverage natural processes for carbon absorption, conversion, and storage in …

Using Technology to Illuminate the Path to Sustainability

If enterprise-wide sustainability strategies are to be successful, companies must move beyond the days of siloed data. The goal of creating a centralized sustainability data system is now within reach thanks to a new generation of cloud-based technologies. Aided by the latest AI, these systems have real-time access to trusted data and can create an immediate impact against the value chain.

Through interviews with chief sustainability officers and subject matter experts, combined with the use of third-party data, this report explores how to advance from sustainability compliance to an AI-driven sustainable business strategy. It addresses the following topics:

– Why …

Real-Time Platforms for Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response within Countries: National Guidance to Enhance Cross-Border Information Exchange and Co-ordination of Protective Actions

The NEA Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) assists NEA member countries in identifying critical and emerging issues in radiological protection, analysing their possible implications for policy, regulation and practices, and contributing to the development of approaches for their resolution. The Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters (WPNEM), working under the auspices of the CRPPH, established the Expert Group on the use of Real-Time Platforms (EGRT) for member countries to collaboratively address improving cross-border co-ordination by sharing experience in the use of real-time information platforms in nuclear and radiological Emergencies Preparedness and Response (EPR). The establishment of the …

Building a Vibrant Domestic Biomanufacturing Ecosystem

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report on Building a Vibrant Domestic Biomanufacturing Ecosystem. This report describes the current state of U.S. biomanufacturing capacity and identifies key factors driving growth. Stakeholders indicated that while the United States has maintained a leadership role in biomanufacturing innovation, we still need infrastructure to scale-up technology and produce in America. The report identifies 11 actions that policymakers could consider in order to sustain the U.S. biomanufacturing capacity that has been catalyzed by the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader Investing in America agenda. This modern industrial strategy supports our climate and clean …

State Efforts To Decarbonize Key Industrial Sectors

The materials at the bedrock of the United States’ infrastructure and economy—such as cement, iron, and steel—contribute significantly to today’s climate crisis. The industrial sector accounts for nearly one-third of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States, and the manufacturing of construction materials and products is responsible for 15 percent of global GHG emissions annually. Industrial facilities also emit criteria air pollutants and toxic air pollutants that present health risks for communities in the surrounding area. Rooted in the legacy of redlining, communities of color are disproportionately burdened by pollution from industrial facilities. After years of inaction, federal …

Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Sustainable Aviation Fuel

SAF is a drop-in jet fuel replacement that is produced through a variety of pathways and results in a reduction in lifecycle emissions compared to fossil jet fuel. A scale-up of domestic SAF production can have positive economic, social, and environmental impacts in addition to the benefits associated with reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Certain SAF blends also have the potential to reduce air pollution surrounding airport communities and reduce contrails, the latter of which also warms the climate.

In September 2021, the U.S. set an ambitious target to scale domestic SAF production through the SAF Grand Challenge. Eligible SAF under …

World Energy Transitions Outlook 2024

The success achieved this decade in reducing greenhouse gas emissions will determine whether global temperature rise can be limited to 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels this century. IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario, set out in the World Energy Transitions Outlook, presents a pathway to achieve the 1.5°C target by 2050, positioning electrification and efficiency as key transition drivers, enabled by renewable energy, clean hydrogen and sustainable biomass.

The 2024 Outlook provides an overview of progress by tracking implementation and gaps across all energy sectors, and identifies priority areas and actions based on available technologies that must be realised by 2030 to achieve net …

Unclean but Affordable Solid Fuels Effectively Sustained Household Energy Equity

Extensive use of traditional solid fuels necessitates a clean transition to modern energy, yet rising costs hinder equitable progress, presenting a challenge that remains underexplored. Here the authors quantify household energy inequities in China and evaluate shifts during the cooking and heating transition by compiling data from nationwide questionnaire surveys and statistic datasets. The authors find that by meeting 42.6% of household energy needs at low costs, solid fuels sustain equitable energy consumption across different income groups, being measured by the Concentration Index (CI). However, energy burden inequity remains substantially with the CI value increases by up to 43% during …