We have a simple theory: a conscious regulatory effort to enable new business models for non-utilities could be a powerful force for change, providing benefits to utilities and producing economic and environmental benefits for consumers. The point is best illustrated through a story about Charlie, a 30-something living in Indiana, and his experience buying his... Read More

More than 147 million Americans in 43 states breathe unhealthy air. Coal- and gas-fired power plants are significant contributors to this problem. The Clean Air Act has historically addressed power plants through regulation of smokestack emissions, employing “stovepiped,” pollutant-by-pollutant control strategies. Air quality has improved materially, but ofte... Read More

States have a long history of collaborating to achieve energy and environmental goals at lower cost and with greater efficiency than they could achieve alone. Collaborating to implement EPA’s forthcoming 111(d) rule may once again offer across-the-board benefits to the power sector, EPA, and the states themselves. Better for the Electric Power Sector Reli... Read More

Lately, it seems as if everyone associated with the power sector or an environmental organization is opining on whether EPA will allow this approach or that mechanism to count toward compliance in its proposal to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Rather than listening to these progn... Read More

In a new series of reports commissioned by the Agora Energiewende, RAP is preparing high-level profiles of the electricity sector in several European Member States. The reports provide an expert summary of the structure of the electricity industry, regulatory framework, power markets, and policy and political developments in each of the Member States profiled. Th... Read More

There are several ways to view the big changes underway in the US power sector. One is through the lens of the dramatic success of net metering. In 2003, before the Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a federal net metering standard, fewer than 7,000 customers in the entire country were net metered. By the end of 2011, less than ten years later, 43 states adopted n... Read More

An unlikely animal is the new face of renewable energy in the US. The “duck” curve illustrates the load shape some grid operators expect to contend with as increasing levels of wind and solar resources create ramping challenges for conventional generation. Join just about any industry conference or conversation about integrating renewables, and the duck s... Read More

Combined heat and power (CHP) installations offer industrial and commercial owners stable energy prices, lower overall energy costs, and reliable power during grid outages. Under some electricity rates, CHP customers face confusing and potentially contradictory tariff conditions, leading to excessive costs for the back-up electricity and grid services provided by... Read More

China’s power sector accounts for about a quarter of global coal consumption. The Chinese government’s economy-wide energy and environmental plans outlined in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015) and the new Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (2013–2017) call for large improvements in air quality and caps on coal consumption. Many polic... Read More

在睿博能源智库（RAP）、美国能源基金会(EF)和美国自然资源保护协会（NRDC）的共同委托下，三益（E3）咨询公司开发了一款针对中国用户的终端能效评估计算器软件。该计算器自带负荷数据库和能效措施数据库。前者可生成商业、工业和居民的终端用电负荷图；后者包含了大�... Read More