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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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January 30, 2018
Calming Chicken Little: An EV Grid Tale Without the Scary Ending
- Jim Lazar
When kids hear the fairy tale Chicken Little, they learn that a confused little bird is hit on the head with an acorn and concludes the sky is falling. It then manages to convince a handful of other animals of… View Summary +
November 22, 2017
Across the Pond, but in the Same Boat: The 2017 California–Germany Bilateral Energy Conference
Germany and California hold the distinctions on their respective continents of being first movers in decarbonization policy. Both have aggressively pursued power sector decarbonization with ambitious renewable energy policies, and both have now set their sights on decarbonizing the building… View Summary +
August 29, 2017
Energy efficiency loopholes risk to Paris Agreement
Energy efficiency is key to achieving the ambitious carbon reduction goals set out in the Paris Agreement. The International Energy Agency (IEA) created a model scenario, aligned with the Agreement, which indicates that half of global emission reductions… View Summary +
May 18, 2017
Energieeffizienz im Winterpaket der EU-Kommission – wie ambitioniert sind die Pläne?
Die europäische Energie- und Klimapolitik steht an einem Scheidepunkt: Im Jahr 2020 enden die 20-20-20-Ziele, die eine Senkung der Treibhausgasemissionen um 20 Prozent vorsehen, die Erzeugung von 20 Prozent der Energie in der EU aus erneuerbaren Quellen und die Verbesserung der Energieeffizienz… View Summary +
April 24, 2017
Getting More Mileage from State VW Settlement Funds
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice reached an unprecedented settlement in Volkswagen’s enforcement case, in which the automaker was found to have cheated on vehicle emissions tests. Under the $14.7 billion settlement, VW is required to: Create… View Summary +
February 21, 2017
Buildings Have Quietly Become the Most Strategic Energy Investment in Europe
- Edith Bayer
At the second State of the Energy Union conference, European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič noted the central role of local authorities and the business community in driving energy efficiency in Europe and underlined the Commission’s determination to harness… View Summary +
August 9, 2016
The Duck is Learning to Fly in California and Hawaii
- Jim Lazar
I took a look at electricity data recently from California and Hawaii and I saw a duck that was learning to fly. Well, what I saw was that the so-called Duck Curve–the load shape some grid operators… View Summary +
July 27, 2016
EU Vehicle CO2 Standards: Redesign for Power System and EV Synergies
- Sarah Keay-Bright
The EU’s upcoming CO2 standards for light-duty vehicles (LDVs) provide an opportunity to accelerate modernisation and decarbonisation of both the transport and power sectors. This presents a one-time opportunity to boost EU global competitiveness. Adapting these standards to take… View Summary +
July 7, 2016
Hot Showers and Cool Rides: Wind, Sun, and the Duck Curve
- Jim Lazar
As we look out over the power sector transformation that is unmistakably upon us, there are those who warn of the sacrifices, the risks, and the costs that could come with more and more intermittent electricity generation—wind… View Summary +
March 30, 2016
Deja Vu All Over Again
Yogi Berra famously had a quote for every occasion. If asked to describe the effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 9 stay of the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), I’d bet he’d say, “… View Summary +