The smart grid holds great potential but smart grid investments will be cost-effective only if their benefits outweigh the substantial costs. Regulators and consumers need to know how the smart grid will deliver these benefits and make electric bills more manageable. Consumers must have dynamic pricing options and automated controls. Policies must support cl... Read More

In July 2008 the leaders of the EU and the G8 announced a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The European Council set the objective for Europe at 80 to 95 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The European Climate Foundation’s  Roadmap 2050 study shows that the transition to a fully reliable, fully ... Read More

While non-hydro renewable resources still only account for some 2 percent of China’s installed generation fleet, renewable energy in China has skyrocketed over the last decade.  On average, installed wind capacity has doubled annually since 2006. China was responsible for nearly half of all global installations in 2010, surpassing the US to achieve a total... Read More

The European Union set a target of achieving 20 percent energy savings by 2020, thereby saving consumers money, increasing the security of supply, reducing emissions, and creating jobs. The EU faces several challenges with this goal and is taking steps to meet it, including revising the 2006 Energy Services Directive. In this context, RAP is helping policymakers... Read More

In 2003, RAP first developed the concept of the efficiency power plant (EPP), a set of integrated energy efficiency programs whose savings mirror the output of a conventional power plant.  Since then, we’ve worked with our Chinese partners to further refine the idea, develop funding sources and initiate pilot programs in six provinces. More recently, we’ve u... Read More

RAP recently helped Arizona regulators put their state on a long-term course to grow energy efficiency savings to levels as high as anywhere in the US, working with the Arizona Corporation Commission to achieve a 22% reduction in electricity demand by the year 2020 (based on 2010 numbers). To reach this goal, regulators had to develop a framework for utility inv... Read More

RAP's Richard Sedano is staffing "Utility Motivation for Energy Efficiency," one of SEE Action's eight working groups. Under the supervision of US DOE and US EPA, SEE Action works to help states achieve maximum cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in homes, offices, buildings and industry by 2020. Mr. Sedano will help members understand the motivations ... Read More

The European Climate Foundation's Roadmap 2050 study and other European reports highlight the need for Europe to decarbonise its power sector by the 2030s in order to achieve its economy-wide 2050 carbon reduction targets. RAP is working with Member States, EU policymakers, and stakeholders to design an optimal mix of policies and market rules that will att... Read More

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) creates a framework for reducing EU-wide emissions by placing a price on emitting carbon. Since the third phase of the ETS introduced the auctioning of allowances from 2013 on, it is increasingly clear that the price signal sent by the ETS will require other policies to drive the deep emissions reductions needed by 2050. RAPÂ... Read More