Catalyzing the Market for Automated Emissions Reduction Post-Charette Report

The report explores automated emissions reduction (AER), a software-based technology that modulates the electricity use of internet-connected devices based on real-time grid emissions data. Based on a pilot in Chicago and a stakeholder workshop, the report finds that AER can reduce pollution by 5–40% for specific loads and lower customer acquisition costs for utility demand response programs. It proposes five priority near-term initiatives: institutional and residential pilots, device certification, integration into GHG accounting protocols, and the creation of open-source infrastructure.

• Automated emissions reduction (AER) can reduce pollution by 5–40% per year for specific loads using current generation data, with electric vehicles and water heaters offering higher savings potential than air conditioning.
• AER can significantly lower the cost of recruiting customers for utility demand response (DR) programs, with survey data indicating a 30–60% reduction in the required incentive for customers to participate when an AER feature is offered.
• The project identified a specific near-term goal to achieve a reduction of 2 tons of mercury across the Great Lakes region, with a longer-term potential to reach 41 tons by 2020.
• The effectiveness of AER is highly dependent on the quality of marginal emissions data; while first-generation data allowed for a 3% CO2 reduction for water heaters in MISO, future direct data from system operators could enable reductions exceeding 40%.
• AER is complementary to both CO2 and mercury reduction goals, as optimizing for either typically reduces energy production from coal plants and utilizes nearly identical control signals.
• The report proposes five priority initiatives for near-term action: launching institutional and residential customer pilots, creating a recognized device certification brand, integrating AER into greenhouse gas accounting protocols, and developing open-source tools and infrastructure.

APA

Abbott, S., Dyson, M., & Mandel, J. (n.d.). Catalyzing the Market for Automated Emissions Reduction Post-Charette Report. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/AER-Post-Charette-Report_RMI_May-2017.pdf

Chicago

Abbott, Stephen, Mark Dyson, and Jamie Mandel. Catalyzing the Market for Automated Emissions Reduction Post-Charette Report. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/AER-Post-Charette-Report_RMI_May-2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abbott |first1=Stephen |last2=Dyson |first2=Mark |last3=Mandel |first3=Jamie |title=Catalyzing the Market for Automated Emissions Reduction Post-Charette Report |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/AER-Post-Charette-Report_RMI_May-2017.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abbottndcatalyzing, author = {Abbott, Stephen and Dyson, Mark and Mandel, Jamie}, title = {{Catalyzing the Market for Automated Emissions Reduction Post-Charette Report}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/AER-Post-Charette-Report_RMI_May-2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }