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.
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The release of the final rule for the Clean Power Plan (CPP) is likely to set off a mad dash among state regulators, utilities, and investors. States will have a number of critical design choices to evaluate as they move forward with their planning efforts—and a very short time to consider those choices and hear from the affected stakeholders. Initial state plans will be due within a year, final plans 1-2 years after. This will leave a narrow window for the lengthy tasks of analysis, stakeholder discussions, and state regulatory or legislative action.
Many states have launched their initial analytical …
View Full ResourceDefined as including energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, alternative transportation and greenhouse gas (GHG) management and accounting, the clean energy industry is a source of good jobs for tens of thousands of Tennesseans.
In 2015, clean energy firms in Tennessee supported 44,269 workers at 2,611 businesses. Nearly half (46%) of business respondents derive a majority of their revenue from clean energy activities. This was an increase of 2,600 workers over 2014 (6.3%), and businesses said they expect to create 2,500 more jobs by 2016.
Tennessee is somewhat unique in its concentration of large clean energy employers. In fact, more than …
View Full ResourceMost state renewables portfolio standard (RPS) policies in the United States have five or more years of implementation experience. Understanding the costs and benefits of these policies is essential for RPS administrators tasked with implementation and for policymakers evaluating changes to existing or development of new RPS policies. This study estimates and summarizes historical RPS costs and benefits, and provides a critical examination of cost and benefit estimation methods used by utilities and regulators. We find that RPS compliance costs constituted less than 2% of average retail rates in most U.S. states over the 2010–2013 period, although substantial variation exists, …
View Full ResourceSynapse conducted an analysis of the impacts of a clean energy future on electric-sector emissions and costs. In this technical review, we document the data, assumptions, and results related to modeling the emissions reductions of the scenario as compared to a reference scenario. We refer to the scenarios throughout this document as the “Clean Energy Future scenario” and “Reference scenario.” The Reference scenario is a no-new-policy scenario in which existing state renewable portfolio standards are met but not expanded. New load is met largely by new gas-fired generating capacity, and the existing fleet of coal-fired and nuclear plants are retrofit …
View Full ResourceIn June 2014, EPA issued a proposed rule setting carbon dioxide (CO2) emission standards for existing fossil fuel-fired power plants. The proposal, also called the Clean Power Plan (CPP), was promulgated under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.
To help states develop plans to meet their CPP emissions goals, NACAA has developed a technical document identifying a wide range of technologies, programs and policies that agencies might employ to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power sector as part of a CPP implementation plan. Entitled Implementing EPA’s Clean Power Plan: A Menu of Options, the tool is available …
View Full ResourceA Ford F-150 that travels 5 miles further on every gallon of gas. A Mercedes crossover that saves drivers over $8,000 dollars in lifetime fueling costs. A Mitsubishi compact that gets 40 miles per gallon.
These aren’t fuel efficiency fantasies; they’re real numbers that represent new vehicles on the market today. Thanks to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and global warming emission standards passed in 2010, today’s new cars and trucks are more efficient than ever before. And despite claims that the standards are expensive or technologically impossible, automaker manufacturers continue producing cleaner cars and trucks every year, saving …
View Full ResourceThe 2008 passage of Ohio’s landmark clean energy standards (S.B. 221) marked a turning point in Ohio’s economy. In the wake of the standards to cut energy waste by 22 percent and shift at least 12 percent of the state’s electricity to solar, wind and other clean energy sources, Ohio’s renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors boomed. Shuttered or struggling factories from Canton to Toledo were reopened and revitalized to make solar panels and parts for wind turbines. Clean energy companies began hiring out-of-work Ohioans at a record pace, even amid the nation’s worst recession in recent history. Ohio quickly …
View Full ResourceUnder the Clean Air Act, areas that have not attained one or more of the six National Ambient Air Quality Standards (currently more than 100 areas with a combined population of 143 million) must develop State Implementation Plans (SIPs) providing for implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the NAAQS. The act requires that, in these areas, federal agencies not engage in, approve, permit, or provide financial support for activities that do not “conform” to the area’s SIP. Although a wide range of federal funding and programs is subject to conformity, it as transportation planning (and ultimately highway funding) that is most …
View Full ResourceEnvironmental regulations, state-level portfolio standards, new methods for accessing natural gas reserves and aging power plants are opening opportunities for new electricity generation from renewable resources and natural gas. Advances in efficiency and smart grid technologies also have the potential to change historical demand curves. New renewable generation technology costs, including solar and wind, continue to fall, and installations are increasing. NREL works within these currents of change, and helps shape them to enhance our energy and environmental security. We help utilities, policymakers, investors, regulators, and industrial leaders around the world understand and navigate these currents. Our analysis, data sets, …
View Full ResourceThe United States moves more than $10 trillion worth of goods by truck each year. Nearly every product we buy— from the bed in which we awoke this morning, to the clothes we are dressed in, to the cell phone in our pocket, to the breakfast food that helps us start the day—has been on a truck at some point. While trucks carry everything from food to fuel, and from industrial equipment to animal feed, more than a third of the fuel used by trucks to move freight brings consumer goods to market. That means the fuel efficiency of trucks …
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