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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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Adios to coal, bienvenido demand flexibility: How Spain can lead the way in the energy transition
When a bunch of thermal power plants shut down simultaneously, around 4.6 GW on 30 June 2020, one would normally expect to hear concerns about emerging blackouts. But not in Spain. The recent closure of half of the remaining… View Summary +
California’s Outages Are a Teachable Moment
Two keen observers of the power sector, Jigar Shah and Cheryl LaFleur, have noted that the responses to the rotating power outages in California on August 14 and 15 became a Rorschach test of individual preexisting biases. Before… View Summary +
Early insights from India’s first month operating the real-time market
India’s real-time market (RTM), launched on June 1st, 2020 on both the power exchanges after two years of public consultations by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). The RTM is a centralized market platform which runs a double-sided closed auction,… View Summary +
Pushing water uphill: Putting power behind the renovation wave
For some time now I have been struck by the irony of the European Commission’s chosen name for its building renovation policy package, the “renovation wave,” given that increasing the rate of renovation has been like pushing water uphill. Currently,… View Summary +
Extra Credit: Maximizing the Benefits of Solar in Schools
While across the country America’s schools have been shuttered this spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sun continues to shine. More than 1,000 megawatts of installed solar capacity from nearly 5,500 K-12 school buildings continues to generate… View Summary +
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 +
Polish coal boiler phase-out an inspiration for clean heat
It all started in Krakow, Poland. The medieval city is known for its beauty, but also for poor air quality from coal heating. In 2012, a group of local residents joined together and founded the organisation Krakow… View Summary +
Cost Allocation: New Approaches for a New Era
Setting electric utility rates has traditionally been a three-step process: first, determining the revenue requirement; second, determining how to equitably divide costs among classes of ratepayers; and third, designing the rates themselves. That second step, cost allocation, is a… View Summary +
21世纪电力系统的灵活性
简介 电力系统最基本的规则是发输用电必须同时完成。多年来，电网运营商一直在确定系统的负荷，并通过增加可用的发电机来满足需求、调整供电。 然而，现在供应侧出现了快速爬坡和高度灵活的联合循环燃气轮机发电等新技术，需求侧也出现了智能热水器和储能等新技术，另外，输电能力和系统运行也得到了改善。这些新技术共同创造了巨大的机会，使电力系统比以往更加灵活。… View Summary +
