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
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In August 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the first-ever carbon pollution standards for existing power plants (Box 1). The CPP builds on progress already under way to move the country toward a cleaner electricity system, including rapidly falling prices of renewables and increased deployment of moneysaving energy efficiency measures. The plan enables states to use a wide range of options to meet their standards, such as existing clean energy policies and power plants (the focus of this analysis), other tools to cut electricity use and increase the use of renewables, and broader …
View Full ResourceElectricity is illuminating, but its generation, transmission, and distribution have long been opaque. Today, however, the once static utility industry is becoming a dynamic and transformative opportunity for the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy future.
An array of technological, competitive, and market forces are changing how the U.S. generates power and the ways that Americans interact with the electric grid. A century-old centralized system is yielding to advanced, distributed-energy generation capabilities—in which power is produced at or near the place where it is consumed—that allow the industry to respond to new market opportunities and evolving consumer desires.
At the root …
View Full ResourceMoving people and goods from point A to B has never been easier, but our current transportation systems also take a toll on our environment. Transportation currently accounts for 71% of total U.S. petroleum use and 33% of the nation’s total carbon emissions. With new technology, can we make our transportation system cleaner and more cost effective? NREL is applying its analytical expertise and imagination to do just that. Solutions start with systems thinking. Connecting the dots between physical components—vehicles, fueling stations, and highways— and institutional components—traffic laws, regulations, and vehicle standards—helps illuminate solutions that address the needs of the …
View Full ResourceOn August 3, President Obama and EPA announced the Clean Power Plan – a historic and important step in reducing carbon pollution from power plants that takes real action on climate change. Shaped by years of unprecedented outreach and public engagement, the final Clean Power Plan is fair, flexible and designed to strengthen the fast-growing trend toward cleaner and lower-polluting American energy. With strong but achievable standards for power plants, and customized goals for states to cut the carbon pollution that is driving climate change, the Clean Power Plan provides national consistency, accountability and a level playing field while reflecting …
View Full ResourceAnalysis from UCS shows that existing clean energy commitments put most states well on the path to meeting their emissions reduction benchmarks and final targets in the Clean Power Plan. These commitments include carbon caps, mandatory renewable electricity and energy efficiency standards, announced coal plant retirements, and bringing on line nuclear power plants currently under construction.
Using the Clean Power Plan’s rate-based approach for setting emissions goals, the analysis shows that:
–31 states are already on track to be more than halfway toward meeting their 2022 Clean Power Plan benchmarks, with 21 set to surpass it.
–20 states are already …
Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the final version of its Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units. Known colloquially as the “Clean Power Plan,” the rule sets standards for carbon-dioxide emissions from existing power plants.
The CPP calls for an overall reduction in CO2 emissions of 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. However, it applies different standards to each state depending on what prescriptions, in the EPA’s view, are technically feasible. The CPP proposed two alternative standards for each state: a mass-based standard that limits the total amount of CO2 …
View Full ResourceTransporting people and goods accounts for 1.8 trillion tons, or 27 percent, of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and approximately 70 percent of all U.S. oil use (or about 13.1 million barrels of oil per day, excluding biofuels). With the burning of gasoline and diesel accounting for 59 percent and 24 percent of the transportation sector’s emissions, respectively, significant reductions in auto and truck emissions are essential to climate change mitigation efforts. Fleet electrification coupled with renewable electricity generation are gradually gaining traction, along with cleaner alternative fuels, but increasing the fleet’s energy efficiency remains critical. Increasing vehicle fuel efficiency …
View Full ResourceMoving people and goods from point A to B has never been easier, but our current transportation systems also take a toll on our environment. Transportation currently accounts for 71% of total U.S. petroleum use and 33% of the nation’s total carbon emissions. With new technology, can we make our transportation system cleaner and more cost effective? NREL is applying its analytical expertise and imagination to do just that. Solutions start with systems thinking. Connecting the dots between physical components—vehicles, fueling stations, and highways— and institutional components—traffic laws, regulations, and vehicle standards—helps illuminate solutions that address the needs of the …
View Full ResourceEarlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the final version of its Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units. Known colloquially as the “Clean Power Plan,” the rule sets standards for carbon-dioxide emissions from existing power plants.
The CPP calls for an overall reduction in CO2 emissions of 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. However, it applies different standards to each state depending on what prescriptions, in the EPA’s view, are technically feasible. The CPP proposed two alternative standards for each state: a mass-based standard that limits the total amount of CO2 …
View Full ResourceStates can help increase investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency by utilizing “green banks,” institutions that use innovative financing initiatives to assist customers with developing clean energy. This promising avenue for scaling up investments in clean energy is particularly useful in the context of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which requires states to reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants. To demonstrate this approach in action, this report highlights the efforts of six state governments (Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Iowa, and Massachusetts) and one national government (Germany) to mobilize public and private capital to strengthen clean energy investment.…
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