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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 briefing discusses the application of securitization in US states to mitigate the financial and social risks of coal plant retirements. By replacing high-cost utility capital with low-interest bonds, states like Wisconsin, Michigan, and New Mexico have reduced ratepayer costs and provided funding for clean energy and community transition. The document highlights Colorado's legislation as a model for integrating consumer protections, worker assistance, and renewable energy reinvestment.

The briefing outlines a strategy for the U.S. federal government to support fossil fuel workers facing displacement due to the energy transition and the economic impact of COVID-19. It proposes three immediate federal interventions: employing workers to rehabilitate abandoned coal mines and plug orphan oil and gas wells, expanding funding for existing economic development programs like the POWER Initiative and the EDA ACC program, and utilizing innovative financial mechanisms such as securitization to lower costs for ratepayers and fund community support. For long-term stability, the author advocates for a comprehensive federal energy transition adjustment assistance program modeled after the Department of Labor's Trade Adjustment Assistance, providing retraining, relocation allowances, and wage insurance.

GreenLatinos supports the nomination of Representative Debra Haaland for Secretary of the Interior, noting that her confirmation would make her the first Indigenous person to lead a Cabinet-level Department. The organization argues that her leadership is a vital step in ensuring that Indigenous Peoples and traditionally overlooked communities, including Latinos, are prioritized in conservation efforts.

Earthjustice and Vote Solar successfully challenged several utility proposals in New Mexico to protect the growth of rooftop solar and prevent fossil fuel expansion. Key actions include blocking El Paso Electric's attempt to create a separate, higher rate class for solar customers in 2015 and defeating a rate hike by Southwestern Public Service Company in 2016. Additionally, in 2021, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission denied El Paso Electric's application to expand the Newman Generating Station, avoiding a projected $160 million cost to ratepayers.

The document details a series of record-breaking climate events in 2020, including an unprecedented number of billion-dollar disasters in the US, extreme wildfires in California and Colorado, and devastating tropical cyclones in the Philippines and the Bay of Bengal. It highlights that 2020 was on pace to be the second-hottest year on record and notes the acceleration of Arctic sea ice retreat. Experts cited in the text emphasize that these events are driven by human-caused climate change and call for urgent climate action and funding for affected poor populations.

The document examines the decline of the U.S. coal industry, driven by cheaper alternative energy and rising extraction costs, and the resulting workforce crisis. It evaluates various federal legislative proposals and existing programs aimed at economic diversification, such as the RECLAIM Act and EDA grants. The brief highlights opportunities for transition in renewable energy, energy efficiency, environmental restoration, broadband deployment, and entrepreneurship, emphasizing that a 'just transition' requires a holistic, community-driven approach rather than a simple shift from one single industry to another.

The document analyzes the 2019 securitization laws of Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico, which allow utilities to issue ratepayer-backed bonds to refinance investments in early-retired electric plants. It identifies Colorado's legislation as a 'best practices model' due to its extensive consumer protections and public interest requirements, while noting that New Mexico's law is more narrowly focused on a specific utility and plant. Montana's approach is described as falling between the two. The brief highlights key legislative elements such as the ability of commissions to hire independent experts, requirements for quantifying consumer savings, and the use of bond proceeds to mitigate impacts on workers and communities.

The document advocates for the transition of the Southeast U.S. electricity sector from vertically integrated monopolies to a competitive wholesale market, potentially via a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). It highlights that such a shift could save customers 29 percent on electricity costs and reduce emissions by 37 percent below 2018 levels by 2040. The authors suggest incremental steps, such as Energy Imbalance Markets (EIM) and all-source procurement, as pathways toward full restructuring. Additionally, the report emphasizes the need for integrated distribution planning for distributed energy resources and a 'just transition' framework to support communities affected by the phase-out of coal power.

The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that the US Department of the Interior has seen a spike in the marginalization and politicization of science since 2017. The report outlines a roadmap to strengthen scientific integrity by increasing scientific capacity, protecting communication rights, amending formal integrity policies, and addressing conflicts of interest among political appointees.

The document explores 'solar for coal swaps,' where third-party investors and developers purchase and retire a utility's coal assets in exchange for contracts to provide new solar power. This model aims to bypass utility inertia and high costs, particularly for municipal and cooperative utilities. The brief highlights that by 2025, 22.5 GW of such plants will be uneconomic compared to local solar. Case studies from New Mexico and Colorado, involving Kit Carson Cooperative, Holy Cross Energy, and Delta Montrose Electric Association, demonstrate how these swaps can reduce consumer rates and promote local economic development despite resistance from wholesale providers like Tri State Generation and Transmission Cooperative.

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.

Minnesota's electric cooperatives, serving 30% of the state's customers, remain tied to coal-fired power plants in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming through Generation & Transmission (G&T) co-ops. While investor-owned utilities in Minnesota are phasing out coal, these co-ops face 'all-requirements' contracts and long-term fuel agreements that restrict their ability to adopt renewables. Many of these out-of-state plants operate uneconomically, costing customers over $93 million between 2015 and 2017.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute criticizes the U.S. decision to exit the Paris Agreement, noting that the formal exit date is set for November 4, 2020. Despite this federal withdrawal, the document highlights a surge in subnational commitments to 100 percent clean energy, with one in four Americans now living in such areas. It specifically identifies the 'We Are Still In' coalition and the U.S. Climate Alliance as key drivers of this momentum, alongside corporate commitments through the RE100 program.

The paper argues that current wholesale electricity markets, designed for large fuel-burning plants with high production costs, are ill-equipped for a future dominated by wind, solar, and storage, which have near-zero production costs and different operational characteristics. It identifies a disconnect between federal wholesale rates and state retail rates as a barrier to demand-side flexibility. The authors propose ten principles for modern markets—including technology neutrality, grid reliability, and long-run efficiency—and outline two emerging pathways for reform: a "Robust Spot Market" approach focusing on decentralized bilateral contracting, and a "Long-Term Plus Short-Term Markets" approach utilizing a centralized forward market.

The report explores how large utility customers, including cities and corporations, can achieve high renewable energy goals through various procurement models. It details options such as green tariffs, sleeved PPAs, and community solar, while addressing the critical role of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in accounting and disclosure. The document emphasizes the need for collaboration between utilities, customers, and regulators to ensure that the transition to carbon-free energy is cost-effective, avoids cross-subsidization of non-participants, and maintains grid reliability.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) supports the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2019, which aims for the decarbonization of the U.S. electric power sector by mid-century. The legislation is described as technology-inclusive, supporting carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, hydroelectric generation, and renewables. It proposes incentives for always-available zero-carbon electricity via a credit multiplier and a new Department of Energy RDD&D program. CATF notes that this federal effort aligns with existing state-level legislation in California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Washington, as well as targets set by major utilities covering 37.9% of US electricity sales.

The document details a transition in U.S. energy policy from renewable portfolio standards to Clean Electricity Standards (CES), which allow for a diverse range of zero-carbon technologies, including nuclear and carbon capture. It provides a comprehensive list of states and utility companies that have enacted or pledged 80-100% carbon-free electricity targets, noting that these commitments collectively cover approximately 38% of U.S. electricity sales and 31% of national utility CO2 emissions.

The report identifies a significant surge in global oil and gas pipeline development, with North America leading the trend. It contends that this expansion is predicated on a 'super cycle' of demand from Asia that is incompatible with IPCC climate goals and threatened by the rise of renewables and competing production in other regions. The authors compare the current situation to the 2011–2016 coal mining crash, warning that high leverage and a loss of 'social license' create a high risk of stranded assets.

The document argues that consolidated interim storage of high-level radioactive waste is a risky and counterproductive plan that creates unnecessary transportation and security hazards. It highlights two specific license applications—one by Waste Control Specialists in Texas and another by Holtec International in New Mexico—and asserts that these projects face significant legal, technical, and community opposition. The authors claim that such facilities would not accelerate the move to permanent repositories and could instead become de facto permanent sites, while posing severe risks of radiation exposure and economic disaster in the event of a transport accident.