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RAP experts keep their finger on the pulse of the energy sector and provide timely analysis of topics impacting stakeholders TODAY.
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March 21, 2019
Gilets Jaunes, RGGI, and Recommendations for China’s Carbon Reduction Policies
- Christopher James
The gilets jaunes (“yellow vests”) protests in France have highlighted the critical role that consumers must play in defining how we decarbonize our economies. In light of this and similar setbacks for action on climate change, such as the… View Summary +
November 12, 2019
Improving Power System Dispatch Reduces Wind Curtailment More Effectively than Retrofitting Coal Plants
- Lu Hong ,
- Kevin Porter ,
- Max Dupuy
China has the most installed wind and solar capacity in the world and has potential to become “the world’s renewable energy superpower.” However, China’s power sector has also struggled with extensive curtailment of wind and solar generation. Although renewables… View Summary +
March 29, 2018
Renewable Portfolio Standards: Options from US Experience
- Ryan Wiser ,
- Rachael Terada
China is in the midst of creating a quota system for renewable energy. The policy may resemble that used in many U.S. states known as a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), but China’s electricity market and regulatory structures are unique, as… View Summary +
May 14, 2020
Net zero is nowhere in sight for UK clean heat policy
For months, we have been waiting for the UK government’s proposal for the future of clean heat policy. After committing to a net-zero carbon target for 2050, the need to take aggressive action now to drive down emissions from heating… View Summary +
March 20, 2018
Leveling the Playing Field for Storage Resources in China’s Electricity Markets: A View from the U.S.
- Max Dupuy ,
- Kevin Porter
In February, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a historic rule on participation of storage resources in the “ISO/RTO” wholesale electricity markets. ISO/RTO markets cover about two-thirds of the United States and are roughly analogous to the… View Summary +
May 28, 2020
Power Sector Transformation and Economic Recovery in China
The good news is that coal is struggling around much of the world because the business case for coal-fired power is diminishing year by year. In competitive procurements around the globe, portfolios of clean energy — wind and solar especially… View Summary +
January 4, 2018
Environmental Permits Can Help to Implement Power Sector Reform
- Christopher James
During my trip to China this past October and November, my tenth such during that time of year, I wore my facemask only once, on a day when the air quality index (AQI) was 260. While an AQI of 260… View Summary +
June 8, 2020
China’s Watchdog for State-Owned Enterprises Grapples With Coal-Fired Generation
The future of China’s power sector, which accounts for about a quarter of the world’s annual consumption of coal and a still-growing fleet of coal-fired generation units, is one of the central questions for world climate policy. Within… View Summary +
July 17, 2017
Industrial Energy Efficiency Can Improve Air Quality
- Sara Shapiro-Bengtsen ,
- Christopher James
Despite the Chinese government’s extensive efforts to improve air quality per the State Council’s “Ten Measures” Action Plan and implementation of regional air quality control measures, air pollution recently worsened in the Jing-Jin-Ji region (Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei). After… View Summary +
February 4, 2021
China’s Energy Plan: Making It Work for Carbon Peaking
In November 2020, China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) requested general input on the yet-to-be-published 14th Five-Year Energy Plan (2021-25) and allowed a brief window for submissions. This post is an edited version of the rapid-response input RAP provided. RAP focused… View Summary +