Comments Off on Make the Swap: Why it’s Time for Heat Pumps, Not ACs
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Amidst rising gas prices and groundbreaking US climate legislation, heat pumps are in the national spotlight. Now is the time to accelerate the deployment of this super-efficient technology across the country. But on a practical level, what is the most feasible and cost-effective path for consumers to adopt and operate heat pumps in their homes?
CLASP and RAP co-hosted a dynamic conversation about the opportunities to increase the deployment of heat pumps by using them to replace end-of-life air conditioners. This unique solution, in which the legacy heating system remains in place as a backup for high heating loads, offers consumers leading cost and energy savings while taking vital steps toward full home heating decarbonization.
Participants heard from leaders across the policy, research, industry, and installer communities to learn more about how this solution is already contributing to state and federal decarbonization goals.
Comments Off on Electrifying last-mile delivery: Total cost of ownership analysis (Webinar)
Last-mile delivery vehicles are a prime candidate for electrification due to their predictable schedules and relatively short routes. But how does the total cost of ownership of electric delivery vehicles compare to their diesel counterparts? In some major European cities, cost parity is expected to be achieved this year, while others will see parity by the end of this decade.
This webinar presented new research by the International Council on Clean Transportation and RAP that uses comprehensive modeling to consider the different cost components fleet operators encounter during ownership, such as purchase costs, detailed energy costs, maintenance costs, taxes, and financing costs. The authors also discussed policy measures that could help to overcome the cost of ownership gap between battery-electric and diesel trucks in the near term and stimulate early market uptake of battery-electric last-mile delivery trucks.
The book is an extended synthesis from the E3-India (Economy, Energy, Emissions) project, an initiative aimed at enabling evidence-based policy making at the regional level in India. This volume, edited by Prof Kakali Mukhopadhyay (Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune & McGill University, Canada), is a compilation of sector-specific studies that exploit the E3-India model to assess the national and sub-national policy implications and their distribution across states. To this end, the project constructed the first ever set of regional Input-Output tables for 32 States and Union Territories in India for comprehensive economy-wide assessment of regional policies.
E3-India is a macro-econometric model used to simulate the effects of economic and energy policy at the national and sub-national level, providing the information that policy makers need when assessing the merits of policy proposals. The model has been in the public domain and freely available to researchers since December 2019.
We invite you to a virtual book launch and deep dive of regional policy analysis with a panel of distinguished senior experts.
The launch is hosted by:
Dr Rajiv Kumar (Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog and Chancellor Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, India)
Prof Terry Barker (Honorary Professor, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Founder and Trustee of the Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics and Founder and Director of Cambridge Econometrics Ltd.)
Discussion and remarks by distinguished senior experts
Book contributors will highlight the relevance of modelling wider state level economic impacts of flagship government of India policies, including Make in India initiative, Atmanirbhar Bharat relief packages, India’s nationally determined commitments (NDC’s), and doubling farmer’s incomes.
More details and a schedule of events available here.
Comments Off on Improving DISCOM viability through behind-the-meter energy efficiency and renewable energy interventions
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The Indian power sector is experiencing unprecedented changes, visible in several ways:
Through the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act.
Financial challenges faced by the electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) due to reduced revenue realization on account of the COVID-19 economic impact.
Power pricing corrections in the renewable and conventional power sources.
The recent launch of the real-time-market and the coal/gas markets.
Recent opportunities through end-use efficiency measures and flexibility of the load to respond to power availability.
While supply-side solutions emerge, options through end-use efficiency improvements are important. These efficiency improvements are considered the first fuel in matured power markets before introducing other decarbonisation measures.
With the technological advances, energy efficiency, demand-response, rooftop photovoltaic, and battery and thermal energy storage are offering specific system value in the form of:
Reducing societal costs.
Stabilising the grid through ancillary services.
Valuing energy markets instead of capacity lock-ins.
Evaluating inputs to long-range planning.
Such opportunities have been tried in matured power systems in North America, the European Union, and India, with certain demonstrations carried out. Departing from the conventional notion of the end-use efficiency and the DISCOMs acting as adversaries, it is important to create business structures that bring the end-use investment opportunities within the regulated and emerging electricity markets. These structures should meet the financing goals for DISCOMs, as well as the end users, while creating the grid of the future.
Through this curated webinar session, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) are coming together to learn from existing global and local experience with behind-the-meter interventions. Our aim is to create deeper insights for designing effective regulatory and policy initiatives that enable greater utilisation of demand-side resources in India, supporting not only deeper decarbonisation of the power sector, but also enhancing and consolidating financial viability of the DISCOMs.
Agenda
Welcome and introductions to the webinar and expert panel
Mr. Padu S. Padmanaban, Former Director & Senior Energy advisor, USAID India
Mr. Richard Rossow, Senior Advisor and Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies
Mr. Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, Energy Efficiency Services Limited
Questions to the panel
Is this the right time to embed clean energy investments through partnerships in the Indian DISCOM segments?
What are the top three recommendations on the policy-changes or regulatory imperatives you would make for enhancing energy efficiency and renewable energy interventions?
What levels of partnerships you would recommend to promote blending private and public capital in making DISCOMs financially viable and consumers to see reduced tariffs?
How do DSM interventions help DISCOMs in crisis, emergency and pandemic situations like COVID-19?
About the organizers
TERI: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), established in 1974, is a premier think-tank dedicated to research on sustainable development in India and the world over. Its key focus is on promoting clean energy, water and pollution management, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience.
The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)® is an independent, non-partisan, non-governmental organization dedicated to accelerating the transition to a clean, reliable, and efficient energy future.
Comments Off on Demand Response in US Markets: Lessons for a low-carbon transformation
U.S. power markets offer a range of environments in which demand response has evolved. Recent U.S. experience is best understood in the context of market fundamentals. While there have been notable successes, the transition to a low-carbon power sector is transforming historical paradigms, including the role of demand response.
Traditionally, demand response was principally a limited-use capacity product. In the future, however, responsive demand’s greatest value will be as an every-day energy product. Success will depend on who may participate and how they are compensated. Deployment of technology, retail energy and network tariff design, and consumer education will be key enablers.
Comments Off on Harnessing Performance-Based Regulation to Meet the Power Sector Challenges of the 21st Century
In many jurisdictions around the world, energy regulators are attempting to spur innovation in the electric power industry by connecting regulatory goals, targets, and measures to utility performance, executive compensation, and investor returns. The lead authors from RAP’s recent report, Next-Generation Performance-Based Regulation, joined Edison Electric Institute for a webinar, co-hosted with the 21st Century Power Partnership, to highlight successful examples of performance-based regulation in practice in the U.K., Denmark, France, Mexico, India, and the United States. David Littell, Camille Kadoch, and Dr. Jan Rosenow also discuss design considerations and options for crafting performance-based regulation or performance-based incentive mechanisms.
This session parallels parts of the performance-based regulation webinars recently held by the Clean Energy Solutions Center and RAP and new information as well—a great opportunity for a refresher or for a first-time listen!
Comments Off on 2016 State of the Electric Utility (Webinar)
The transformation of the utility sector has arrived—but a standardized approach on how to adapt has not. RAP Principal and U.S. Programs Director Richard Sedano will join other thought leaders to explore 21st century utility business models during the 2016 State of the Electric Utility webinar hosted by Utility Dive on March 9 at 2 pm EST.
Other panelists include Jon Wellinghoff, former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and partner at Stoel Rives LLP; Sue Kelly, president and CEO of the American Public Power Association; and Chris Black, COO/CTO of Tendril. Gavin Bade of Utility Dive will moderate the session.
The panelists will address:
Compliance with state and federal regulations, especially the Clean Power Plan
Adapting to a future with more distributed resources
Evolving customer engagement techniques
Emerging utility business models and investment opportunities.
Comments Off on Industrial Energy Efficiency & the CPP: Tools for States (Webinar)
Industrial energy efficiency can make manufacturers more competitive, enhance electric reliability, and reduce emissions. What’s more, EPA has signaled that states can look to industrial efficiency as one way to meet their emission targets under the Clean Power Plan. To do so, however, states will have to think “outside the box” and develop compliance plans that take advantage of this opportunity. This webinar, hosted by the Institute for Industrial Productivity, will profile a number of tools that can guide states in this process.
Featuring Presentations By:
Jennifer Kefer, Vice President, David Gardiner & Associates
Ken Colburn, Principal, Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)
Meegan Kelly, Research Analyst – Industry Program, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
Bruce Hedman, Technical Director, Institute for Industrial Productivity (IIP)
Comments Off on Tracking Renewable Energy for Compliance with the Clean Power Plan
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made clear that state clean energy programs—including those related to renewable energy—can contribute to a state’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) compliance. A key challenge for state regulators will be tracking the results of renewable energy programs, which can occur inside and outside of state boundaries. Renewable energy tracking systems, together with state policies designed to increase the production and use of renewable energy, will provide one key element to helping states reduce the carbon intensity of their power sector.
On Thursday, May 14, Jennifer Martin (Center for Resource Solutions) and David Farnsworth (Regulatory Assistance Project) explored the ways in which states are using renewable energy, and discussed how the functionality of existing regional renewable energy tracking systems can be used by states to track renewable energy and support compliance with the Clean Power Plan.
Comments Off on Designing and Implementing Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes (Webinar)
Governments in various jurisdictions around the world are endeavoring to improve end-use energy efficiency, and in some cases to also achieve other objectives, by designing and implementing schemes that place Energy Efficiency Obligations (EEOs) on particular parties. This regulatory mechanism requires obligated parties to meet quantitative energy saving targets by delivering or procuring eligible energy savings. The savings, in turn, must be the result of approved end-use energy efficiency measures.
The International Energy Agency Demand Side Management Programme welcomed David Crossley on June 25, 2014, for a webinar identifying the best practices for designing and implementing an EEO scheme. Dr. Crossley also highlights the results from detailed case studies and provide a unique comparative analysis of 19 different EEO schemes implemented in a range of jurisdictions around the world.
