Knowledge Center
We believe that sharing our expertise and collaborations in clean energy policy is how real, effective change happens.
From reports and policy briefs, to webinars and podcasts—RAP advisors have built an extensive collection of resources providing in-depth analysis and practical solutions to today’s energy challenges.
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Ensuring that an acceptable level of electric system reliability is maintained as the Clean Power Plan is implemented is in everyone’s interest. This short paper suggests ways states can think about their reliability targets and associated tolerance bands in assessing… View Summary +
Time and again statements asserting that high penetrations of clean energy resources like energy efficiency and renewable energy could endanger electric system reliability have proven false. We refer to these assertions collectively as “playing the reliability card” against clean energy. View Summary +
The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) recently called for a fresh look at standby rates for combined heat and power (CHP) systems, and demonstrated how poorly-designed standby rates can impede the adoption of CHP resources, while well-designed rates can encourage these… View Summary +
This short policy brief dispels the myth that electricity portfolios with high penetrations of variable renewable resources threaten reliability. The authors review eight recent studies commissioned by utilities, governments, and non-governmental organizations to address this issue, and find that none… View Summary +
As installed solar photovoltaic grows at unprecedented rates, the role of the electricity consumer is fundamentally changing. Customers are transitioning from being passive recipients of utility services to being active participants in both providing and receiving grid services. Distributed generation… View Summary +
Installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity more than tripled in the past three years, while installed costs for residential and commercial systems have fallen by about 30 percent. Industry analysts forecast that PV capacity will double from current levels by the… View Summary +
Improvements in distributed generation economics, increasing consumer preference for clean, distributed energy resources, and a favorable policy environment in many states have combined to produce significant increases in distributed generation adoption in the United States. Regulators are looking for the… View Summary +
Increased adoption of distributed solar photovoltaics (PV), and other forms of distributed generation, have the potential to affect utility-customer interactions, system costs recovery, and utility revenue streams. If a greater number of electricity customers choose to self-generate, demand for system… View Summary +
The challenges associated with improving grid function and ensuring customer value are universal, whether addressed in the context of an independent system operator (ISO) or not. Some utilities choose to join ISOs for the increased coordination in resource procurement, transmission,… View Summary +