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The Unsung Hero of the Climate Fight: Energy Efficiency

By Elaine Prause
It’s official: There is absolutely no time to waste, and our mission is clear. Whether or not you were surprised by the key findings from the recently released Working Group 1 contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, this version is the most direct yet in stating findings that warming is human-induced and ... Read More

Lapping the Field: A Model Approach to Managing EV Adoption in Connecticut

By David Littell, Donna Brutkoski
Sales growth of plug-in vehicles well outpaced the auto industry as a whole over the first half of 2021 — just another piece of evidence that utilities and regulators must move quickly and thoughtfully to meet the fast-increasing demand for electric-vehicle infrastructure. Now the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has pulled to the fro... Read More

In a Quickly Changing World, Gas Utilities and Regulators Need a Plan

By Megan Anderson
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 serve the current 70 million residential and 3.5 million commercial and industrial consumers of fossil gas in... Read More

Electrification: Using more to emit less

By Jan Rosenow
Estimating the emissions savings associated with electrification is complex. A number of analysts have made admirable attempts to appraise emissions savings resulting from a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) from internal combustion engine vehicles or to electric heat pumps from gas condensing boilers. These studies show electrification leads to significant reduct... Read More

Unwinding Finance for Coal Power in China: The Role of Power Sector Reform

By Max Dupuy
Building on its commitment to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060, China’s government recently pledged to “strictly control” coal power capacity over the next five years, before beginning to phase it out in subsequent years. Yet, despite these targets and the weakening underlying economics of coal-fired power plants relativ... Read More

“十四五”规划：西北地区电力行业转型下一步怎么走？

By Wang Xuan
在国际能源转型的大浪潮下，制定中国电力行业低碳发展路线的工作也在逐步深入。习近平总书记在2020年底气候雄心峰会上宣布，到2030年，中国单位国内生产总值二氧化碳排放将比2005年下降65%以上，非化石能源占一次能源消费比重将达到25%左右，风电、太阳能发电总装机容... Read More

How the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive risks destroying Europe’s forests

By Dominic Scott, Jan Rosenow, Samuel Thomas
In meeting their 2020 renewable energy targets, EU Member States have overseen large increases in renewable power. But this has been accompanied by a less welcome development: a near doubling in the amount of energy derived from solid biomass, which is currently classified as zero carbon. The majority of this biomass comes from the EU’s forests – and a maj... Read More

Reliability is a challenge but the opportunities are endless

By Rasika Athawale
Distribution companies (discoms) are under increased pressure to begin maintaining an uninterrupted supply of electricity. In her recent annual budget speech, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman noted that the discoms’ “monopoly behaviour” is a deterrent to the country’s economic growth. As a means of correcting the problems, Sitharaman annou... Read More

Fit and fair: The case for a European fund for targeted renovation

By Louise Sunderland, Samuel Thomas
This week European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans revealed that any extension of carbon pricing to heating and transport would be accompanied by a “climate action social fund.” He states the purpose of this fund is to compensate for possible adverse effects, especially for the most vulnerable citizens. Our new report Pricing is just the Icing a... Read More

Rugby, and the art of regulating energy in times of uncertainty

By Bram Claeys, Dominic Scott
Here’s an analogy you weren’t expecting: Regulating energy is, surprisingly, much like regulating the sport of rugby. Regulators in both areas contend with challenges from a number of fronts. Rugby “regulators” have had to, over time, adapt the game to please players, fans and sponsors to keep the sport viable and entertaining. Energy regulators are also ... Read More

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