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This case study examines the transition of the Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco) in Minnesota from a coal-fired power plant to a clean energy hub. It details how Xcel Energy, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and local stakeholders utilized federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), along with a 'generator replacement' process to bypass interconnection queues, to replace coal capacity with solar and battery storage while supporting the local workforce and economy.

This case study describes how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enables a new third-party financing model for solar energy, specifically benefiting low-income households and nonprofits. It highlights the installation of a 12kW solar array at the Watts-Willowbrook Church of Christ in Compton, California, as a primary example of this model in action.

This guide by RMI outlines how Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) can use regulatory actions to ensure utilities leverage the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to reduce costs for ratepayers. It provides four case studies from Washington, Georgia, Oregon, and New Jersey, demonstrating proactive, mid-planning, procurement-stage, and program-design interventions to improve grid affordability and reliability.

This briefing by RMI explores how the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program, established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), can be used for "capital recycling" to accelerate the clean energy transition. The author argues that by using low-interest federal loans to displace costly utility equity and refinance "low-quality" rate base components (legacy fossil fuel costs), utilities can reduce ratepayer costs while maintaining sustainable shareholder earnings. The document provides a five-step implementation framework and applies it to case studies of utilities in Iowa and Missouri, while also detailing federal compliance requirements such as NEPA.

This toolkit provides electric utility regulators with tools, benchmarks, and guidance to ensure that utility integrated resource plans (IRPs) fully incorporate the funding and opportunities provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This report by RMI analyzes the US Department of Energy's Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program, specifically how utilities can use its low-cost financing to refinance legacy fossil fuel asset costs and invest in clean energy. Through modeling of two utilities—Alliant in Iowa and Ameren in Missouri—the report demonstrates that EIR financing can significantly reduce costs for ratepayers compared to traditional utility financing or securitization.

This report analyzes how a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allowing the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) to be applied to interconnection costs could improve the financial viability of onshore wind and solar projects in the United States. By examining data from five regional grids, the authors find that a 30 percent ITC could have bridged the cost gap for approximately 22 GW of withdrawn projects and 15 GW of active projects, potentially enabling a volume of deployment exceeding the 2023 record of 31 GW.

This briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) examines the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a USD 27 billion grant program established by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act 2022. The document outlines how the GGRF can mobilize private capital to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote climate justice in low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDACs), while identifying implementation challenges and proposing five strategic actions to maximize its impact.

The RMI report 'Clean Repowering: A Near-Term, IRA-Powered Energy Transition Accelerant' identifies a strategy called 'clean repowering'—siting new clean electricity generation and storage at the same point of interconnection as existing or retiring fossil generators—to bypass interconnection delays and leverage Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives in the United States.

This guide by RMI describes how the City of San Antonio is utilizing the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) direct pay mechanism to scale on-site solar energy. By aggregating multiple small projects across city-owned facilities, San Antonio aims to offset a portion of its electricity consumption and achieve long-term financial savings while pursuing net-zero energy goals.

This research paper by RMI analyzes energy burden—the proportion of household income spent on electricity and fuel—across all 50 US states using 2020 Energy Information Administration data. It finds that extremely low-income households face a disproportionately high energy burden, often exceeding the 10% threshold for energy poverty, and evaluates how federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and specific state-level policies can mitigate these burdens while pursuing decarbonization.

This briefing by RMI discusses how state energy offices in the United States can optimize the deployment of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds by enabling 'stacking'—the ability for households to combine multiple federal, state, and utility incentives for whole-home retrofits.

This RMI report analyzes the barriers and gaps associated with 'stacking' (combining) federal, state, and local financial incentives for residential clean energy retrofits in the US. It identifies significant complexities in application processes, unclear guidance on the order of funding, and critical funding gaps for health and safety repairs and pre-electrification upgrades. The report provides a framework for program administrators to improve accessibility, particularly for low-income households, to ensure the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other funds effectively drive decarbonization.

This policy brief argues that self-reported methane emissions from US oil and gas operators are significantly underreported, which undermines climate progress and the effectiveness of the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) Waste Emissions Charge. The author advocates for the integration of empirical data and remote sensing to capture 'super-emitting' events and ensure accurate financial penalties and mitigation efforts.

This guide by RMI outlines how US states can maximize the impact of $8.5 billion in home energy rebates provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It details two primary programs—the Home Efficiency Rebates and the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates—and proposes three strategic actions for states: prioritizing low-income and disadvantaged communities, stacking multiple incentives to reduce upfront costs, and developing complementary state-level policies to scale building retrofits and workforce training.

This briefing by RMI discusses the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) Program, a Department of Energy (DOE) loan initiative under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). RMI argues that investor-owned utilities (IOUs) can use these low-interest loans to accelerate clean energy transitions, increase shareholder returns, and lower costs for ratepayers, though the program is currently underutilized and rarely mentioned in utility earnings calls.

This research note by Energy Innovation compares its own modeling of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) 2023. The authors argue that the AEO underestimates the IRA's impact on emissions reductions and clean energy deployment, particularly in the electricity and transportation sectors, due to differences in model scope, tax credit inclusion, and economic assumptions.

RMI's analysis of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) quantifies the potential economic and health benefits for US states, highlighting that ambitious adoption of clean energy technologies could secure significant investment, create thousands of jobs, and improve public health outcomes by 2030.

This guide provides implementation recommendations for state energy offices (SEOs) to design and deploy the Home Electrification Rebate program, a $4.5 billion initiative established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to support residential electrification for low- and moderate-income households.

The report 'Coal Cost Crossover 3.0' analyzes the economic viability of existing coal-fired power plants in the United States compared to new renewable energy alternatives. Using 2021 data and accounting for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the study finds that nearly all coal plants are more expensive to operate than replacing them with wind or solar, particularly when resources are sited locally to leverage existing grid interconnections and energy community tax credits.