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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.

A joint letter from various environmental and climate organizations calling on global insurance associations to ensure COVID-19 stimulus packages support a low-carbon transition rather than fossil fuel industries, while urging the insurance sector to end coverage for coal and oil and gas expansion.

The report examines the procurement processes of vertically integrated utilities in the United States, highlighting how monopsony power and financial incentives often lead to the over-procurement of capacity and a bias toward self-built, gas-fired generation. Using Xcel Colorado as a model, the authors recommend five best practices for regulators: determining technology-neutral needs through resource planning, requiring competitive all-source bidding with robust evaluation, conducting advance review of procurement terms, ensuring utility ownership does not conflict with competitive bidding, and upholding rules for fairness and transparency. The report analyzes case studies from Colorado, New Mexico, Georgia, Minnesota, Indiana, Texas, California, Virginia, and North Carolina to illustrate the effectiveness of all-source RFPs in reducing costs and increasing renewable energy deployment.

The briefing argues that expanding the U.S. electric bus fleet would create manufacturing jobs, reduce carbon emissions by 7 million tons annually, and improve public health by replacing diesel engines. It proposes utilizing $20 billion in federal grants to replace 60,000 buses—approximately 10% of the national fleet—through existing programs like Clean Cities and the Low and No Emission Vehicle Program.

The World Resources Institute criticizes Japan's decision to maintain its 2030 emissions reduction target of 26% from 2013 levels, stating the plan is 'no stronger than the one it submitted five years ago'. The author contends that Japan could strengthen its target to 42% using affordable low-carbon technologies and warns of financial risks from stranded fossil fuel assets. The document recommends that Japan increase its renewable energy target to 50% of the electricity mix by 2030, phase out domestic coal and overseas coal finance, and end fossil fuel subsidies.

The briefing urges the Puerto Rican government to move from planning to action following the passage of Act 17, which sets a 100 percent renewable energy goal. It highlights the urgent need for new capacity in solar and battery storage to mitigate reliability risks caused by earthquake damage to the Costa Sur Power Plant and the legacy of Hurricane Maria. The author advocates for the expedited procurement of solar projects, the use of virtual power plant solutions to integrate existing distributed batteries, and the development of energy efficiency programs to reduce demand and lower costs for ratepayers.

Pitstop Lodge, an eco-conscious restaurant in Gordon's Bay, South Africa, installed a hybrid-microgrid consisting of a 70kWp solar PV system, a 100kVA generator, and a 178kWh battery pack after Eskom failed to extend the electricity grid to its location. This system provides a constant electricity supply, reducing generator use to two hours per day and resulting in annual carbon offsets of 104 tCO2 and energy savings of approximately 105,014kWh.

The report evaluates Nepal's future energy options, finding that while hydropower remains central, integrating wind, solar, and battery storage can enhance system flexibility and support river conservation. Using the SWITCH model, the study demonstrates that strategic conservation of rivers, such as the Karnali basin, can be achieved with minimal impact on overall system costs. It also highlights the risks of relying solely on hydropower, noting that such a strategy increases costs by 10.7% and requires significant overbuilding of capacity to meet dry-season demand. The analysis further indicates that imports from India are critical for affordability, as eliminating them would increase system costs by approximately 45%. Additionally, the report explores regional equity and export strategies, suggesting that a diversified energy mix can support social goals and potential profitability if export prices exceed 30 $/MWh.

The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that energy storage can provide direct public health, economic, and resilience benefits to underserved communities if policymakers intentionally design targets, incentives, and utility planning processes to prioritize equity. The brief highlights the potential for storage to replace polluting 'peaker' plants, reduce demand charges for low-income residents, and maintain critical services during disasters, while warning that these outcomes require explicit policy mandates and stakeholder engagement.

The We Mean Business coalition calls on governments to align their policies with the 1.5C warming limit to provide the clarity and confidence businesses need to invest in zero-carbon technologies. The statement highlights that while nearly 1,000 businesses have made climate commitments and over 190 are transitioning to 100% renewable electricity via RE100, decisive government action is required to embed carbon costs into financial systems and phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Key policy demands include strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the implementation of TCFD recommendations, and support for the deployment of solar, wind, and electric vehicle infrastructure.

The 2019 Green Infrastructure Investment Opportunities report for Australia highlights a significant pipeline of projects in renewable energy, low carbon transport, sustainable water, waste management, and green buildings. While Australia has seen a boom in solar and wind investment and a growing green bond market, the report notes a continued reliance on high-carbon infrastructure and a lack of integrated national emissions reduction priorities. It argues for a greater role for the superannuation sector and the adoption of 'brown-to-green' transition strategies for carbon-intensive industries to meet Paris Agreement targets.

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 report finds that a significant portion of the U.S. coal fleet is now more expensive to operate than replacing it with new local wind and solar power. In 2018, 74% of the fleet was 'at risk' of being undercut by renewables, a figure projected to rise to 86% by 2025. The analysis emphasizes that these findings are conservative because they only consider resources within 35 miles of existing plants and do not account for broader transmission expansion or combined energy portfolios.

The policy memo outlines a framework for federal infrastructure investments in the United States, emphasizing the need to modernize the electric grid, accelerate offshore wind and battery storage, and implement 'climate-ready' design standards. It advocates for targeting investments toward underserved communities and displaced fossil fuel workers to ensure an equitable transition to a low-carbon economy.

The report examines the South African utility-scale renewable energy market, focusing on the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and the 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). It highlights the transition from a coal-dominated energy mix toward wind and solar, detailing the economic impact of the REIPPPP, emerging opportunities in municipal procurement and project refinancing, and the role of the Western Cape as a greentech hub.

The report identifies that the typical LCOE for well-run minigrids is at least $0.60 per kWh, which is too expensive for widespread use. It proposes six cost-reduction pathways—hardware standardization, demand stimulation, customer engagement, clustered project development, low-cost financing, and regulatory reform—to bring the LCOE down to $0.25 per kWh by 2020. The document also provides an investment roadmap to transition from grant funding to commercial debt.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that the draft IRP 2018 is unlawful and irrational because it includes 6,732MW of new coal capacity despite its own findings that a least-cost plan would exclude coal. The CER highlights severe failures in the draft, including inflated electricity demand forecasts, outdated and high cost assumptions for renewables and battery storage, and a total lack of consideration for water and climate change externalities. The document specifically objects to the Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal projects, citing their high emissions and risks to water resources in the Waterberg and Highveld regions. Furthermore, the CER criticizes the Department of Energy for failing to conduct meaningful public consultations with impacted communities and for withholding the Plexos modelling data necessary for transparent stakeholder review.

Synapse Energy Economics identifies several critical flaws in South Africa's draft 2018 IRP, arguing that it relies on an unreasonably high load forecast, overstates the costs of renewable energy and battery storage, and ignores the economic optimality of retiring aging coal plants. The report highlights a significant disconnect between the IRP's optimized modeling—which suggests no new coal in the 2020s—and the proposed resource plan, which calls for over 6,500 MW of new coal capacity. Additionally, the authors criticize the plan for inadequate carbon budgeting, failure to account for water scarcity, and a lack of transparency in providing modeling data to stakeholders.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), writing on behalf of the Life After Coal Campaign, has called on Standard Bank to cease financing the Thabametsi and Khanyisa coal-fired power stations. The CER argues that these projects are not 'procured' due to missing atmospheric emission, water use, and generation licences, and are subject to High Court reviews. The document asserts that the 2018 draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) incorrectly includes these projects despite a 'least cost' option consisting only of solar, wind, and gas. The CER claims the projects would cost South Africa nearly R20 billion more than necessary, increase electricity prices for consumers, and exacerbate severe health issues in the Waterberg-Bojanala and Highveld Priority Areas. Furthermore, the CER highlights that these plants would have greenhouse gas emission intensities 'almost 60% higher than Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile power stations', undermining South Africa's Paris Agreement commitments.