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The policy brief advocates for a specific amendment to the Build Back Better Act regarding tax normalization rules for clean energy infrastructure. While praising the bill's inclusion of direct pay and the option for solar developers to use the production tax credit (PTC), RMI argues that the investment tax credit (ITC) for storage and transmission is undermined by normalization requirements. These rules force utilities to retain some financial benefits for shareholders rather than passing them to customers. RMI estimates that allowing an opt-out from normalization would save approximately $150 million for every billion dollars spent on such infrastructure, potentially reducing carbon emissions by 50 million metric tons annually and saving customers over $1 billion per year by 2030.

The Puerto Rico Community Energy Resilience Initiative (CERI) focuses on increasing energy resilience for low-to-moderate income communities by installing solar-plus-storage microgrids at critical facilities. Through pilot projects, CERI found that a community-driven approach, combined with flexible financing and technical assistance, is the most effective way to serve needs ignored by the current market. The initiative emphasizes local ownership to bolster local economies and the use of concessionary capital to make systems affordable for facilities with varying credit histories. Technical assistance is highlighted as essential for correct system sizing and procurement, while capacity building ensures long-term maintenance and sustainability.

The document emphasizes that climate resilience in India's power sector is essential for sustainable development and economic growth. It recommends moving beyond disaster response toward adaptive planning and technical upgrades, such as energy storage and grid hardening, supported by innovative financing from financial institutions.

The document asserts that the transition to clean energy requires a synergistic approach combining utility-scale power, local electricity production (such as rooftop solar), and a modernized transmission system. It rejects the framing of these solutions as being in competition, noting that solar and wind are the least-cost power sources and that combining them enhances grid resilience during extreme weather. The author calls for federal infrastructure legislation and state-level planning to support both inter-regional transmission and local power generation.

The document analyzes the 'Big Freeze' in Texas, attributing the disaster to a combination of inadequate building codes, failures in the natural gas supply chain, and an 'energy-only' electricity market design that failed to incentivize winterization. It argues that scarcity pricing is insufficient for managing 'high-impact common-mode events' and recommends a holistic approach to risk management, including emergency price caps, improved building codes, and demand-side investments.

The document argues that the US power sector faces a critical investment window between 2020 and 2030, with an estimated 420 GW of resource procurement needed. It advocates for a shift toward 'all-source', 'objective-aligned', and 'least-regrets' procurement practices to move away from legacy processes that reflect past conditions rather than emerging trends. The guide provides specific actionable recommendations for legislators, state commissions, and utilities to increase transparency, engage stakeholders, and better integrate distributed energy resources (DERs) into the planning and procurement cycle.

The document outlines California's energy storage strategy, highlighting the progress made toward early procurement goals and the significant capacity increases needed by 2050. It details various storage technologies, the impact of legislative mandates like AB 2514, and the barriers to further deployment, including market rules and the need for long-duration storage to support renewable integration.

The Mokoloki project demonstrates a new 'undergrid' business model where a private developer, Nayo Tropical Technologies, provides reliable electricity to a community within the territory of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC). The pilot has achieved 99.9 percent reliability, reduced energy costs for customers by ₦20/kWh, and decreased utility losses in the area by over 90 percent. The project supports local healthcare through 24/7 power for clinics and stimulates economic growth by powering small businesses and attracting new enterprises.

The document argues that the current US electricity grid is inherently fragile due to its linear dependencies and one-way flow of services, meaning disruptions in any single component can lead to customer outages.

The report addresses the vulnerability of energy infrastructure in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to extreme weather, arguing that while solar PV is a cost-effective alternative to imported fossil fuels, it requires specific engineering and policy standards to survive Category 5 hurricanes. Based on field analyses of failures from 2017–2019, the authors recommend moving away from shared top-down clips toward through-bolting and dual post piers for ground systems, and prohibiting ballasted-only rooftop systems. Implementing these resilience measures is estimated to increase engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) costs by approximately 5%, a cost offset by avoiding total system rebuilds. The report emphasizes multi-stakeholder collaboration and the integration of high-wind standards into local building codes to ensure long-term energy security.

The report details a collaborative process in Colorado's Upper Roaring Fork Valley to enhance grid resilience against hazards like fires. It concludes that partnerships between utilities and community stakeholders lead to more efficient solutions and that integrating distributed clean energy, such as solar and battery storage, can provide both emergency backup and daily operational benefits.

The report examines the increasing need for energy resilience in the Upper Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado, following the 2018 Lake Christine Fire. It argues that traditional grid hardening and backup generators are insufficient and proposes a shift toward distributed energy resources (DERs) and community-centric planning. Through a partnership between Holy Cross Energy (HCE) and local stakeholders, the report identifies five priority resilience areas: community microgrids, bulk power supply flexibility, mobile generation fleets, gasoline pump resilience, and critical end-use efficiency. It emphasizes the need for 'blue sky' value—benefits during normal operations—to justify the cost of 'black sky' emergency investments and recommends new business models, such as split ownership and updated tariffs, to facilitate the deployment of clean energy resilience solutions.

The report examines the deep links between California's water and energy sectors, noting that water services account for approximately 20% of electricity and 30% of natural gas consumption, while hydropower provides an average of 15% of electricity. Using WEAP and LEAP modeling, the study finds that water conservation and potable reuse can reduce energy demands and costs, whereas desalination increases them. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, the report emphasizes the necessity of massive growth in solar, wind, and energy storage, alongside the continued role of low-cost hydropower. It also warns that federal policy interference could increase electricity production costs by $23 billion and raise CO2 emissions by 16% compared to the state's policy baseline.

The briefing introduces 'hours-of-safety' to measure how long a home remains at a comfortable temperature after power is lost during extreme weather. It highlights the life-threatening risks of heat waves and polar vortexes, particularly for vulnerable populations in poorly insulated housing. The author advocates for passive design strategies—such as improved insulation, tighter envelopes, and cool roofs—combined with islandable solar PV and battery storage to increase passive survivability and community resilience.

The document details how the 115th Congress integrated resilience into various sectors through legislation like the Disaster Recovery Reform Act and the National Defense Authorization Act. It highlights the rising economic costs of climate-driven disasters, the importance of pre-disaster mitigation, and the role of nature-based infrastructure in reducing risk. The authors argue that while progress has been made in defense, water, and transportation, the federal government must further institutionalize climate adaptation and resilience metrics to protect lives and property.

The document provides an overview of energy storage solutions, highlighting the transition from traditional pumped-storage hydropower to advanced battery technologies like lithium-ion. It details the technical trade-offs between different storage methods, the economic trends driving adoption, and the regulatory environment in the U.S. aimed at increasing grid flexibility and resilience.

The document examines various energy storage solutions, including pumped-storage hydropower, batteries, and compressed air, highlighting their capacity to mitigate the intermittency of solar and wind power. It details the dominance of pumped-storage hydropower in the U.S. utility-scale market and the rapid growth of lithium-ion batteries. The text also outlines specific state-level storage targets in the U.S. and global projections for storage capacity needed to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.

The E.D. Edwards Power Station in Illinois faces an uncertain future as its owner, Dynegy-Vistra, seeks state bailouts and relaxed pollution rules. The document argues that retiring the plant would improve public health and save consumers money, while the 206-acre site could be repurposed for a 41-megawatt solar farm and energy storage. However, a significant challenge remains in the form of high-hazard coal ash storage on-site.

The briefing challenges three myths regarding the role of renewables and distributed energy resources (DERs) in Puerto Rico's grid recovery. It asserts that renewables and energy storage are now cost-competitive with fossil fuels, with energy storage costs dropping 70 percent between 2010 and 2016. The text highlights that renewable infrastructure proved more durable than transmission networks during the 2017 hurricanes, noting that 90 percent of utility-scale solar and wind capacity remained operational or ready. Furthermore, it argues that these technologies can be deployed quickly, citing examples of large-scale storage projects completed in months, and recommends a coordinated effort by the Puerto Rico government and utility to prioritize these projects for a more resilient energy future.

The document argues that emerging energy technologies—including solar PV, wind, battery storage, and microgrids—are now cost-competitive and more resilient than traditional fossil-fuel-based systems. It highlights that while the 2017 hurricanes caused the longest sustained outage in U.S. history, the resulting damage provides an opportunity to rebuild the grid using distributed resources that can be deployed quickly and reduce reliance on expensive imported fuels.