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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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The UK is sleepwalking into a big problem with its gas network
To decarbonise the UK, the long term use of gas for heating, including any potential for hydrogen, is limited. Getting off gas is now an obvious climate change and energy security necessity. Both the UK government… View Summary +
How to reap the benefits of district heating? Make it local
The city of Groningen in the Netherlands has long been home to Europe’s largest fossil gas field. As fossil fuel production winds down, city authorities are looking for alternative residential and commercial heat sources. One of the solutions they found… View Summary +
Business as usual? Heating and cooling in the EU’s updated Renewable Energy Directive
On 28 June, a committee made up of members of European Parliament finally signed off on a new EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), the landmark law that aims to speed up the deployment of renewable energy across the EU. View Summary +
How clean is Europe’s district heating?
District heating needs to speed up decarbonisation to reach climate goals Over the past year, how we heat our buildings has become a top priority for most citizens, businesses and governments. And rightfully so, as a third of… View Summary +
Navigating the Workforce Bottleneck
The workforce is the driving engine of the economy. This adage is equally true even when the engine is efficient and electric. Clean energy jobs in the fields of energy efficiency and electrification are increasing. While the U.S. workforce grew… View Summary +
Clean, efficient and smart: District heating can support Europe’s decarbonisation efforts
Valuable flexibility can be exploited with efficient heating and cooling systems In the 1920s, the Parisian heat network burned coal to provide steam to pre-heat the trains leaving Gare de Lyon station. Over time, the network grew into a district… View Summary +
Prudent Gas System Planning Can Minimize Risk
According to the American Gas Association, from 2018 to 2020, natural gas utilities added an average of 753,619 customers and 20,724 miles of pipeline each year. This equates to adding more than one customer per minute and more than… View Summary +
In the Electrification Push, Familiar Tools Get Repurposed
Stephen King wrote, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.” Many “new” regulatory approaches to encourage building electrification are actually just new applications of tried-and-true methods policymakers have been using for years. Take, for example, clean heat standards, which… View Summary +
To Save Energy, Cities Turn to Building Performance Standards
When homes and buildings are first constructed, they must meet the building code in place at the time of construction. The median age of U.S. homes is 39 years, which means that most homes are decades out… View Summary +
Time for a System Update: Financing our Buildings’ Future
Buildings should last decades or longer, but to do so they must be periodically modernized — and that’s challenging when financing options are limited. This means we are missing opportunities to implement new technologies that support efficiency, health and productivity… View Summary +
