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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Deployment of heat pumps is a key part of greenhouse gas reduction goals set out in the Inflation Reduction Act. In this paper, a collaboration between RAP and CLASP, the authors analyze impacts of the IRA on heat pump… View Summary +
For over 50 years, a wide variety of reforms has been tried to correct the flaws of traditional methods of utility regulation generally and rate-making specifically. One category of reforms implemented by many jurisdictions to remedy some of those flaws… View Summary +
To meet decarbonisation goals, global renewable power capacity will need to more than triple by 2030, according to leading energy agencies. Centralised renewable generation will not deliver this level of change on its own, nor should it. Distributed energy resources… View Summary +
Electric utility regulators are paying closer attention than ever before to individual distribution system investment decisions, in part because of the rapid growth in distributed energy resources and the need for new grid modernization investments. To achieve the best… View Summary +
Electric utility regulators are paying closer attention than ever before to individual distribution system investment decisions, in part because of the rapid growth in distributed energy resources and the need for new grid modernization investments. To achieve the best… View Summary +
A growing number of states have considered reforms to their net metering practices in recent years, a period of decreasing prices for distributed energy resources, rapid changes in technology and evolution of the electricity system. Depending on its… View Summary +
In a roundtable webinar discussion, RAP staff highlighted what states can do (and are doing) on a variety of topics — from performance regulation to system planning to rate design — to navigate the energy transition with the customer’s interests… View Summary +
Net metering with monthly netting — a simple billing mechanism for distributed energy resources (DERs), often primarily solar PV — has existed since the early 1980s. In recent years, there has been a wide-ranging national debate about the best methods… View Summary +
Traditionally in planning power sector investments, utilities have been focused on two metrics for success: reliability and affordability. These metrics remain important, but they do not effectively account for the climate, environmental, and human impacts of fossil fuels, which disproportionately… View Summary +
In a webinar presentation, Jessica Shipley and David Farnsworth of RAP and Asa Hopkins and Kenji Takahashi of Synapse Energy Economics discussed the ways in which existing energy policies and regulatory structures can create unnecessary barriers to electrification, and detailed their… View Summary +
New technologies, such as air source heat pumps and smart thermostats, are changing the way we produce and use energy — making it cheaper and more efficient to electrify heat and hot water in buildings. As the power grid gets… View Summary +
North Carolina’s 2019 Clean Energy Plan set a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the state’s electricity sector by 70% from 2005 levels by 2030 and being carbon-neutral by 2050. The plan emphasizes affordability and economic growth at the… View Summary +
The environmental and economic benefits that electric vehicles provide to users, and ultimately to all electricity consumers, will depend on how the vehicles are charged and how charging infrastructure is deployed. Research has shown how managed electric vehicle charging can… View Summary +
The transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) presents a unique opportunity for the utility sector. EVs have the ability to become a valuable grid resource because of their flexibility, but if their integration is not well-managed,… View Summary +
As the market for electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States continues to grow, states are beginning to pay more attention to the issues that arise. Although no one state agency has clear responsibility for it, utility commissions are taking… View Summary +