Scaling Technological Greenhouse Gas Removal: A Global Roadmap to 2050

With our climate at a tipping point, technological greenhouse gas removals has emerged as a new frontier in the solution space. This report presents a roadmap of actions needed to scale greenhouse gas removal by 2050. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, predominantly from human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have led to a host of environmental changes that threaten ecosystems, agriculture, water resources, and human health. In the face of this challenge, the world has mobilized various emissions reduction strategies such as fossil fuel phaseout, the deployment of renewables, reducing deforestation, electrification of end uses, increases …

Advancing Carbon Dioxide Removal Beyond the Hype Cycle

After years of organic growth and the emergence of multiple players, it is time for the CDR industry to stand up and proactively drive alignment of expectations. The four essential levers necessary for CDR to timely scale highlighted collectively are:

– Rapidly establishing large and sustainable demand from private markets and from public institutions;
– Accelerating technology de-risking of projects including for first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects and driving cost down;
– Enabling funding for sustainable capital expenditure;
– Fostering public acceptance as the base of public action and project deployment.

There are 4 main areas of needs and opportunities to drive …

Naval Reactors: Independent Analyses of Cost, Schedule, and Quality of Work Needed for Spent Fuel Handling Facility Project

Naval Reactors, jointly managed by the U.S. Navy and DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, is constructing a new facility to replace and upgrade the handling and processing of naval spent fuel. Naval Reactors has experienced challenges completing the project, causing schedule delays and cost increases of more than $2 billion.

Senate Report 118-58 accompanying S. 2226, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, includes a provision for GAO to review the status of naval spent fuel and related facilities. This GAO report (1) describes Naval Reactors’ plans for managing spent fuel, (2) assesses the extent to which SFHP …

Tackling Extreme Heat: Recommendations for Strengthening Massachusetts Policy

On behalf of A Better City, Researcher Tanya Stasio, PhD, Assistant Researcher Elisabeth Seliga, Researcher Jordan Burt, Research Assistant Lila McNamee, and Principal Economist Liz Stanton, PhD prepared a policy brief and accompanying background report that (1) provides a discussion of extreme heat in Massachusetts and the disproportionate impact on low-income and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, (2) reviews policies to address extreme heat in the Commonwealth and across the United States, and (3) develops six recommendations for Massachusetts policymakers to address both short-term extreme heat emergency preparedness and long-term heat resiliency in the Commonwealth, supporting cooler …

Insights from Fossil Fuel Replacement Case Studies

On behalf of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Researcher Jordan Burt, Assistant Researcher Elisabeth Seliga, Researcher Tanya Stasio, PhD, Research Assistant Lila McNamee, and Principal Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, prepared a report that reviews case studies of fossil-fuel plant conversions to clean energy resources across the country and discusses the replacement of existing peaker plants in Massachusetts to achieve statewide climate goals. The report identifies three key takeaways for the Commonwealth:

1. Fossil-fuel sites can be desirable locations for clean energy siting

2. Reducing reliance on fossil-fuel generation can help lessen the burden of environmental and health impacts on already …

Metallic Component Margins under High Seismic Loads (MECOS): Towards a New Approach for Seismic Design of Piping Systems

The seismic design rules for nuclear power plant piping systems that have been in practice since the 1960s have been applied to hundreds of piping supports and seismic restraints for nuclear power plants. This quantity of seismic hardware brings about design and operational difficulties at nuclear power plants that include:

– excessive plant congestion that limits access for inspection and maintenance;
– plant staff facing increased radiation exposure while accessing equipment for inspection or maintenance;
– an unnecessary constraint of the thermal expansion of the pipes during normal operation;
– a high cost for the plant’s initial construction;
– a …

State Capacity for Building Infrastructure

Recent legislation has brought the goal of getting the most out of public infrastructure funds to the fore. The high cost of building major infrastructure in the US is a longstanding challenge, but it is not inevitable. This paper highlights three elements of state capacity that underlie the high costs and slow timelines the US faces. The first challenge is personnel: government pay has not kept up with private pay, and the public workforce has not kept up with the workload; public-sector work is instead increasingly privatized, raising costs. The second challenge is procedure: government workers operate under onerous procedures …

Utility Engagement Playbook for Industrial Customers

While industrial electrification must play a critical role in decarbonizing the U.S., utilities often lack clear pathways to support industrial customers’ electrification efforts. Electricity costs frequently make such transitions financially unfavorable compared to natural gas.

The Utility Engagement Playbook for Industrial Customers: Addressing Power Sector Barriers to Electrification, prepared for the RTC by Synapse Energy Economics and the World Wildlife Fund, provides a comprehensive roadmap industrial companies can use to overcome electrification barriers by engaging utilities and policymakers.

This Playbook aims to:

– Describe the barriers to industrial electrification related to the electric utility sector.
– Explore potential utility, regulatory, …

Power Trip: How Utilities Use Customer Money to Fund Lobbying, Corporate Branding, and Luxury Lifestyle Expenses

As state lawmakers prepare to convene for their 2025 legislative sessions, they have a clear opportunity to rein in a common practice by monopoly utilities to charge their customers for inappropriate and unnecessary expenses, according to a new report from the Energy and Policy Institute.

The report includes real-world examples showing how the nation’s most prominent investor-owned utilities have routinely tried to charge customers — and often succeeded — for problematic expenses ranging from staff lobbying and slick corporate advertising, to private jet flights and spa services. Additionally, the report outlines policy solutions designed to protect utility customers from shouldering …

Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: Policy Brief

Clean energy offers many benefits to consumers, including reducing consumers’ electricity bills, lowering total electricity system costs, and providing health and resilience benefits. States can accelerate consumers’ access to these benefits with policies that support energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore the consumer benefits of clean energy, and identify actions states can take to promote them.

– Contribute to a least-cost electricity system by using low-cost resources such as end-use efficiency, demand flexibility, behind-the-meter solar PV and storage, and utility-scale renewable energy.
– Greenhouse gas emissions reductions and improved …