Once in a while, it can be interesting to take a deep look at what one state is doing in the power sector reform arena. New York, California, and others get a lot of attention. But the small state of Rhode Island (pop. 1.05 million) has significant ambition and is taking a path that a small state, really any state, can take. Rhode Island started with a lot of ... Read More

Two years ago, RAP produced a Menu of Options  for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the power sector for the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. The report contains 26 detailed chapters, 25 of which look at proven technologies for reducing power-sector GHG and other pollutants, and at various policies that have also been demonstrated to promo... Read More

Just over two years ago, China’s top leaders launched a major round of power sector reform. From a clean energy perspective, the reform efforts to date show clear progress, but deeper reform efforts will be a challenge. Development of Competitive Wholesale Market Mechanisms Efforts to implement new wholesale market mechanisms have been a high-profile item on ... Read More

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 um 20 Prozent festschreiben. In dem sogenannten Winterpaket hat d... Read More

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 a program to buy back or retrofit the vehicles involved; Create a subsidiary—Electrify America—to d... Read More

Since its formation over a hundred years ago, the electric utility industry in the United States, and the regulatory framework that governs it, has traditionally operated under the core principle that if you sell more electrons, you earn more money. This is also called the “throughput incentive.” It's the same with businesses from lemonade stands to automobil... Read More

When the German Ministry of Energy and Economic Affairs published its green paper on energy efficiency, it not only put the spotlight on efficiency, it also started the conversation around a necessary underlying energy policy framework. Until now, energy efficiency has been viewed merely as an additional service offered to end-use customers, but rarely as one of ... Read More

Das Bundeswirtschaftsministerium hat mit seinem Grünbuch Energieeffizienz das Thema aus der Nische geholt und damit einen guten Startpunkt für die Diskussion des notwendigen ordnungsrechtlichen Rahmens gesetzt. Denn bisher wurde Energieeffizienz oft nur als zusätzliches Serviceangebot für Endkunden gesehen, jedoch selten als elementarer Baustein für das Geli... Read More

When Premier Li recently delivered the 2017 government work report, he stressed the importance of efficient integration of renewable energy as a measure to make Chinese skies blue again. Although China has become the biggest investor in renewable energy and has the most installed capacity, it does not reap the full benefits of these investments. Record high curta... Read More

In our prior Retooling Regulation posts, we illuminated the need to integrate energy and environmental regulatory planning processes, spotlighted recommended steps to do so via a process we’ve dubbed “E-Merge,” and considered the legality of such an approach. In this fourth and last post, we look at experience to date with related retooling efforts. Firs... Read More