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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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In a Quickly Changing World, Gas Utilities and Regulators Need a Plan
America’s favorite fictional salesman of propane and propane accessories, Hank Hill, may have said it best: “When you plan ahead, then when things happen, you’re prepared.” Changes in the energy sector have big ramifications for the way utilities… View Summary +
A Win for Building Electrification: EPA Elevates Heat Pumps over One-Way ACs
Millions of U.S. homes have central air conditioning for the summer and separate fossil fuel heating systems for the winter. A great way to boost home heating electrification is to replace those central air conditioners with look-alike “two-way” heat pump… View Summary +
Hybrid Heat: the Cool Path to Home Heating
The opportunity: If the over 50 million US homes that have central air conditioning and a separate heating system just replaced their AC with a look-alike and more efficient “two-way” heat pump unit, those households could not only cool over… View Summary +
A Trans-Atlantic Take on Building Efficiency: Lessons from Germany and New England
Despite being an ocean apart, Germany and New England are similar in many respects. More than 75% of energy used for residential heat in both places relies on natural gas or heating oil. And both have adopted ambitious energy and… View Summary +
Be Strategic with Your EV Funding: The Essential Charging Network
As the Rolling Stones once told us, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” That idea might certainly apply to jurisdictions that would love to have the resources to build out a comprehensive charging network for electric vehicles, but find… View Summary +
How Electrifying Trucks Can Help Roadside Neighborhoods Breathe Easier
We know that electrifying trucks, as we wrote last month, can reduce significant amounts of air pollution; it can also have significant health benefits, particularly for frontline communities. Analysis by Alexander Meitiv and Ann Xu for Texas A&M’s… View Summary +
Utilities Want to Provide EV Fleet “Advisory Services.” Should Regulators Approve?
As the electrification of vehicle fleets goes mainstream, fleet owners are facing a gauntlet of challenges, starting with engaging their electric service provider. The utility response of providing “advisory services” is both creative and presents new challenges for utility and… View Summary +
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 +
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 +
Calming Chicken Little: An EV Grid Tale Without the Scary Ending
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 +
