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This guide by RMI outlines how local and state decision makers can utilize the Inflation Reduction Act's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) to fund clean transportation. It specifically recommends incorporating e-bike subsidies and targeted electric vehicle (EV) incentives for 'superusers' into Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) to maximize competitiveness for EPA funding based on equity and emissions reduction metrics.

This report by RMI argues that US state departments of transportation (DOTs) must shift their focus from roadway expansion and vehicle electrification toward reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by investing in pedestrian infrastructure, transit, and micro-mobility to meet climate targets and improve public safety.

This report by RMI outlines a strategic framework—focused on competitiveness, constraints, and coordination—to accelerate energy transition investment in the Great Lakes region. It argues that while the region possesses significant industrial legacies and innovation assets, it faces structural hurdles such as slow population growth, labor shortages, and a lack of cohesive industrial strategies. The document proposes that states move beyond simple investment attraction toward coordinated industrial policies, leveraging federal incentives from the IRA, IIJA, and CHIPS Act to build regional clusters in sectors like EV batteries, low-carbon steel, and sustainable fuels.

This briefing by RMI analyzes the potential for transitioning the Great Lakes region's steel industry to near-zero-emissions production. It identifies a gap between aggressive federal incentives—such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)—and the lack of coordinated, steel-specific industrial strategies at the state level. The report evaluates three primary decarbonization pathways: Blast furnace–basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) with carbon capture and storage (CCS), natural gas direct reduced iron (DRI) with CCS, and renewable hydrogen-based DRI, noting that hydrogen DRI offers the lowest emissions intensity and most competitive levelized costs when subsidies are included. It emphasizes the region's economic importance, as the Great Lakes house all of the US's integrated steel mills and two-thirds of the nation's steelworkers, while warning that failure to modernize could lead to a loss of competitiveness and jobs to other regions or international markets.

This policy brief by RMI examines the potential for the Great Lakes region of the United States to become a globally competitive hub for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). It analyzes the region's strengths in feedstock availability, existing ethanol infrastructure, and logistics, while identifying a significant gap in coordinated state-level industrial policy to support the SAF value chain.

This briefing by RMI analyzes the potential for the Great Lakes region to lead the electric vehicle (EV) and battery supply chain. While the region possesses historical automotive strengths and significant R&D capacity, it faces competition from the 'Battery Belt' in the Deep South and gaps in state-level industrial policies. The document outlines the four stages of the supply chain—upstream, midstream, downstream, and reuse/recycling—and provides a gap analysis of regional policies compared to federal initiatives, urging Great Lakes states to coordinate on strategic coordination, production incentives, and end-of-life regulations to maintain competitiveness.

This guide by RMI explores how Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) can leverage their extensive rooftop and parking assets to drive solar development, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while increasing shareholder value. It identifies significant untapped capacity, outlines the financial and regulatory barriers to adoption, and proposes community solar as a viable solution to overcome these challenges.

This appendix provides a financial viability analysis of 'export-only' electrolyzer projects in the United States, which utilize co-located new clean energy resources and allow for opportunistic electricity sales to the grid. The analysis concludes that such projects, which comply with the three principles of additionality, deliverability, and hourly time-matching, are competitive across large portions of the U.S., suggesting that rigorous 45V tax credit guidance regarding lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions would not hinder industry growth.

This RMI fact sheet explains the technology, benefits, and market opportunities for geothermal heat pumps (also known as ground-source heat pumps) in the United States. It highlights their efficiency in both hot and cold climates, their role in reducing building emissions, and the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on lowering installation costs.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) reviewed federal legislation from the 115th through the 117th Congress to identify laws promoting climate adaptation and resilience. EESI identified 41 laws that address over 16 different climate impacts, ranging from acute events like wildfires to slow-onset events like thawing permafrost, though much of the federal approach remains centered on disaster response and recovery.

This fact sheet describes the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), an open-source tool developed by RMI and Energy Innovation to help states estimate the impacts of climate and energy policies. It specifically outlines how the EPS can be used by state governments to meet the requirements of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, including GHG inventory, emissions projections, and benefits analysis.

This report by Energy Innovation analyzes the building sector provisions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), detailing how rebates, tax credits, and funding for building codes can accelerate decarbonization. It provides a roadmap for federal, state, and local policymakers to implement these incentives, emphasizing the need for complementary regulations—such as updated appliance standards and building codes—to overcome the challenge of slow building stock turnover and meet 2030 climate goals.

This guide from the World Resources Institute outlines strategies for U.S. local governments to expand community solar access for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households, leveraging new federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and various municipal-level interventions.

This fact sheet provides a series of maps characterizing the lower Winnipeg River basin (LWRB) and the Manitoba portion of the broader Winnipeg River basin (WRB). It details the basin's geography—with the WRB covering 136,840 km2 and the LWRB covering 4,650 km2—and includes spatial data on surficial geology, land cover, forest cover, zoning, Indigenous presence, 2016 population density, and drinking water advisories.

This fact sheet describes the geological, soil, and land cover characteristics of the lower Winnipeg River basin (LWRB), noting its dominance by forested land and Precambrian bedrock.

This fact sheet describes the hydrology of the lower Winnipeg River basin (LWRB), focusing on river discharge, water levels, and the role of hydroelectric generating stations. It provides historical discharge data, climate projections for the 2050s, and discusses the river's contribution to Lake Winnipeg's water volume and nutrient loading.

This briefing by RMI examines how several US states are using securitization—a financing tool that replaces high-cost utility capital with low-interest ratepayer-backed bonds—to facilitate the equitable retirement of coal-fired power plants. The document details how this mechanism can lower electricity rates for consumers, enable utility investment in clean energy, and provide funding for displaced workers and affected communities.

This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for decarbonizing the US building sector, primarily through electrification. It outlines ten key strategies for public utilities commissions (PUCs) and government agencies to transition away from fossil fuel infrastructure, emphasizing equity, market transformation, and the management of stranded asset risks.

This report analyzes electric generation procurement by vertically integrated utilities in the United States, contrasting 'all-source' procurements—which are technology-neutral—with single-source processes. Using case studies from states like Colorado, Georgia, and New Mexico, the authors argue that utilities often exercise monopsony power to favor self-built, gas-fired generation over cheaper renewable alternatives. The report provides five best practices for regulators to ensure fair, competitive, and cost-effective procurement of power plants.

This briefing transcript features a panel of experts discussing coastal resilience in the Great Lakes region, focusing on climate impacts, nature-based solutions, tribal adaptation strategies, and climate-smart agriculture. The discussion emphasizes the economic and environmental importance of the Great Lakes, the role of coastal wetlands in mitigating flooding and improving water quality, and the necessity of integrating traditional ecological knowledge and local leadership into federal and state policy.