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24 results
Residential Clean Technologies Still Make Sense — Even Without Tax Credits
An RMI analysis evaluates the viability of residential clean technologies—electric vehicles (EVs), air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), and rooftop solar—in the US following the expiration of federal tax credits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. The report finds that these technologies still provide significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions and household cost savings, though the most effective technology varies by region and household archetype.
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Document type: Report
The State of Utility Planning, 2025 Q2
The RMI report 'The State of Utility Planning, 2025 Q2' analyzes integrated resource plans (IRPs) for electric utilities across the United States. It finds that utilities are increasingly projecting higher electricity demand and responding by expanding gas power plant capacity and delaying fossil fuel retirements, leading to a widening gap between projected emissions and net-zero climate targets.
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Document type: Report
Maximizing the Value of the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program for Utility Customers
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.
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Document type: Briefing
The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program: Federal financing for an equitable, clean economy
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.
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Document type: Report
Bringing Solar Power to the People
This case study describes RMI's efforts to make rooftop solar more accessible to low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities through inclusive Solarize campaigns. Between 2021 and 2022, RMI organized cohorts of 27 cities to implement bulk-purchasing programs combined with grants and community partnerships to reduce financial and administrative barriers to solar adoption.
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Document type: Case study
Coal Cost Crossover 3.0
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.
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Document type: Report
3 Ways Federal Investment in Trees and Forests Can Support Economic Growth
This briefing by the World Resources Institute outlines how federal investment in three tree-based natural climate solutions—reforestation, agroforestry, and wildfire risk mitigation—can help the United States meet its 2030 emissions targets while driving economic growth and job creation.
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Document type: Briefing
Financing Tools for an Equitable Transition to a Clean Economy
This briefing by RMI proposes the creation of a Clean Transition Financing Program via the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) to mitigate the financial burdens on ratepayers and frontline energy communities during the United States' transition to a clean economy.
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Document type: Briefing
Federal Programs Support Diverse Environmental Workforce Opportunities for Veterans
This fact sheet outlines several federal and partner-led programs designed to transition military veterans into civilian careers within the low-carbon workforce, specifically focusing on land management, agriculture, conservation, and fisheries.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Securitization in Action: How US States Are Shaping an Equitable Coal Transition
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.
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Document type: Briefing
Electric Buses: Benefits Outweigh Costs
This fact sheet, based on interviews with EESI staff, examines the transition from diesel to battery-powered electric buses (BEBs), highlighting their environmental and health benefits, economic trade-offs, and the current state of deployment in the United States and globally.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Green Bond Fact Sheet
This fact sheet details a USD 104 million C-PACE ABS issued by CleanFund on July 31, 2018, which is the second C-PACE securitisation globally.
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Document type: Fact sheet
FHA Should Reconsider Its About-Face—About PACE
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) decision to stop insuring new mortgages on homes with property assessed clean energy (PACE) loans is misguided. RMI contends that the FHA overstates the risks of PACE while ignoring the significant default risks associated with high energy costs in inefficient homes.
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Document type: Statement
R-PACE: A GAME-CHANGER FOR NET-ZERO ENERGY HOMES
This insight brief by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (R-PACE) financing can accelerate the adoption of net-zero energy (NZE) new construction in the United States. By attaching financing to the property rather than the owner, R-PACE addresses key market barriers such as high up-front capital costs and the split incentive between builders and homebuyers.
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Document type: Briefing
HOW TO SCALE HOME ENERGY FINANCING PRODUCTS
This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) analyzes the landscape of home energy financing in the United States, identifying barriers to scaling both traditional and nontraditional lending products. It argues that the ease of origination and the timing of home improvements are more significant drivers of consumer choice than interest rates or loan terms.
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Document type: Briefing
Despite Stay, America’s Economy and Climate Need the Clean Power Plan
The World Resources Institute argues that the U.S. Supreme Court's temporary stay on the Clean Power Plan (CPP) should not deter climate action, asserting that the plan is legally sound and provides significant economic and public health benefits that outweigh its compliance costs.
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Document type: Statement
Limiting the Cost of Renewables: Lessons for California
This research paper evaluates various cost-limiting tools used in U.S. state renewable energy policies—including alternative compliance payments, contract price caps, and retail rate impact caps—to provide recommendations for California's RPS cost limitation. The analysis finds that while cost limits can insure against extreme costs, they often create market uncertainty, may be set based on political rather than economic data, and can inadvertently act as price floors, potentially hindering the achievement of renewable energy targets.
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Document type: Research paper
Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Agriculture Sector: Lessons from the IPCC SREX Report
This briefing synthesises the IPCC SREX report's findings on climate extremes and the agriculture sector. It highlights that disaster risk is increasing due to higher exposure and vulnerability, particularly in developing countries. Key threats include intensified droughts, heatwaves, and flooding, which cause significant economic losses and threaten food security. The document advocates for 'climate-smart' agriculture, improved disaster risk management, and a combination of short-term coping strategies and long-term structural adaptations to build resilience.
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Document type: Briefing
Biofuels Also Create Dangerous Spills
This fact sheet from Friends of the Earth argues that biofuels are not a clean alternative to oil, as they cause environmentally harmful spills, aquatic life die-offs, and air pollution, while lacking adequate government oversight and standardized cleanup procedures.
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Document type: Fact sheet
State Actions on Climate Change: A Focus on How Our Communities Grow
This report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) analyzes how state climate action plans in the United States incorporate land use, transportation, and green building policies as of July 2009. It finds that while transportation and green building are common, specific 'smart growth' land use practices are the least frequent component of these plans.
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Document type: Report