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Incisive commentary from RAP experts
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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Navigating towards net-zero power system: it is not the ‘heading’ but the ‘course’
The energy price and supply risks we are facing today are making the decarbonisation of the power sector by 2035 an even more significant challenge. But if we deviate the heading of our ship from the course for longer than… View Summary +
A Song in the Key of E: Emissions, Efficiency, Equity, and Electrification
A lot of folks out there (including we at RAP) have, for the last four decades, been devising ways to make utilities more economically efficient, their customers more energy-efficient, and the power system cleaner, sustainable, more equitable, and non-emitting. But… View Summary +
From laggard to leader: How Poland became Europe’s fastest-growing heat pump market
With the war in Ukraine compelling everyone to rethink their energy strategies and focus on getting rid of Russian fossil fuel imports, while maintaining what is left from the affordability of energy supply, the go-to tactics are achieving several energy… View Summary +
Indian power sector has opportunities to create value for the discoms and their consumers by mainstreaming behind-the-meter resources
The electricity sector in India has experienced an evolution of sorts throughout the years. Since the early the 1990s, the sector has grown from a vertically integrated monopoly with generation, transmission, and distribution all under one roof, to the current… View Summary +
How heat pump sales are starting to take off around the world
Experts see heat pumps as one of the main solutions for tackling the carbon emissions associated with keeping buildings warm, both in the UK and internationally. Yet sales of the technology, often likened to a… View Summary +
The Complex Landscape of Net Metering Reform in California: Why an Installed Capacity Charge?
Rooftop solar in California has grown from an infant industry two decades ago to a 10-gigawatt resource that contributes significantly to customer and electric system needs today. The state is blessed with ample sunshine in many regions, and its urgency… View Summary +
解锁一体化区域电力市场的收益
中国的风能和太阳能装机容量仍居世界领先地位，总装机容量超过500吉瓦。此外，中国承诺在2030年前达到碳排放峰值，并在2060年前实现碳中和，为此，中国制定了到2030年，风能和太阳能发电总装机容量达到1200吉瓦，即从2020年起每年新增约80吉瓦可再生能源发电的目标。由此，电网公司也面临着更多风能和太阳能并网所带来的挑战。尽管每个国家的政策、机制和技术情况不尽相同，随着可再生能源的渗透率提高，世界各地的电网运行商和政策制定者将面临类似的挑战。中国已经在消纳风能和太阳能发电方面取得了令人印象深刻的进展，但正如一些研究中提到的，要确保所有这些机制良好地协同工作，还有很多工作要做。 世界各地应对这些挑战的一个基本方法，对中国来说也同样至关重要，那就是建立更多的区域市场，脱离以省为单位的调度方式并向区域经济调度过渡。区域经济调度是指以最小化短期运行成本（理想情况下包括排放的社会成本）为目的运行区域电力系统。在一些地区，如中国西北地区，基于省级的电力调度意味着各省级调度中心在更大地理范围平衡可再生能源和水力发电的作用会受限。… View Summary +
Getting off the fossil fuel roller coaster
When the global economy picks up steam, so do commodity prices. Gas demand bouncing back to pre-Covid levels started a new upswing in the price cycle. We are seeing classic market dynamics at work: demand outstrips supply and… View Summary +
Rebalancing energy levies is a practical way to increase the electrification of heat
Every year households in the UK install about 1.7 million gas boilers. In May, the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council reported that 2021 looks to be a record year for gas boiler sales, with year-to-date sales up 41 per… View Summary +
Trust, not control: Germany, EVs and the power of consumer choice
‘How electric vehicles endanger electricity supply’ rang the alarm in a major German newspaper in 2018. The author warned that the local electricity networks would collapse if people returned from work in the evening and all charged their cars… View Summary +
