Search Climate Insights Directory

This guide by RMI defines energy system resilience as a community's ability to maintain critical services during and after extreme weather, distinguishing it from reliability, which refers to day-to-day grid performance. The document outlines the necessity of resilience due to climate volatility, aging infrastructure, and increasing grid strain, while highlighting that vulnerable populations and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are disproportionately affected by outages.

This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes the role of lithium in the energy transition, its global supply chain, extraction methods, and the environmental and social impacts associated with its production.

This policy brief by RMI examines the critical shortages in the United States' electric grid supply chain, noting that demand for hardware has surged since 2019 due to load growth and grid modernization. The document details the risks of high import reliance and proposes a three-pronged federal strategy—easing near-term bottlenecks, expanding domestic production, and promoting innovation—to secure the supply chain, reduce costs, and foster economic growth.

This report by RMI argues that the United States is well-positioned to lead the next-generation geothermal supply chain by leveraging existing oil and gas expertise, but warns that targeted policy and research are required to avoid bottlenecks and capture economic benefits.

Heat pumps are increasingly cost-competitive with gas furnaces due to their superior efficiency, producing two to five times more heat than the electricity they consume. In the U.S., residential heat pumps have outsold gas furnaces for four years, and their adoption in industry could boost GDP by over $50 billion by 2050. Other alternatives like hydrogen are deemed less viable due to higher costs, safety risks, and lower efficiency.

A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) arguing that the US government is dismantling critical disaster protections and weather forecasting capabilities while the petrochemical industry continues to expand in hurricane-prone regions, leaving vulnerable communities exposed to escalating climate risks and financial instability.

This policy brief by RMI provides four recommendations for Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) to improve the evaluation of Performance Incentive Mechanisms (PIMs). The document emphasizes the need for recurring evaluations, transparency through public dashboards, portfolio-wide assessments to avoid duplication, and the use of design guidelines to measure net benefits to customers.

This report by Energy Innovation analyzes the projected economic, environmental, and health impacts of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), a 2025 budget Reconciliation legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The analysis compares a "Current Policies" scenario against an "EI House OBBBA" scenario, finding that the bill's repeal of clean energy tax credits and environmental standards would lead to higher energy costs, significant job losses in manufacturing, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and higher premature death rates.

This report by RMI examines the potential of advanced transmission technologies (ATTs)—comprising grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) and advanced conductors—to expand electricity grid capacity and reliability. While pilot projects in the United States have demonstrated success in increasing capacity and reducing costs, the report identifies significant barriers to scaling these solutions, including risk aversion, financial disincentives, and a failure to integrate ATTs into long-term grid planning. RMI suggests that large corporate energy users can accelerate adoption through policy advocacy and by facilitating coordination between utilities across different service territories.

This executive summary presents a meta-analysis of research from nonpartisan groups, universities, and government agencies regarding the impact of federal technology-neutral electricity tax credits (§45Y and §48E) on consumerSS. United States household energy bills. The document argues that these credits lower electricity costs by reducing the investment costs for wind, solar, battery, nuclear, and geothermal projects, with utilities passing these savings to consumers. It warns that repealing these credits would increase energy bills for households and businesses, particularly as electricity demand grows due to factors such as data center expansion.

This report by RMI analyzes the impact and potential of US federal clean energy tax credits on the industrial sector. It finds that these incentives have already spurred significant private investment and job growth, with the potential to bring nearly $235 billion in federal investment to US states by 2030 under a high-growth scenario.

This report by RMI examines the challenges of forecasting large electricity loads—such as data centers and advanced manufacturing—in the United States. It argues that traditional forecasting methods are insufficient for the rapid growth and unique operational characteristics of these loads, which can lead to risks in grid reliability and customer affordability. The document provides a framework for understanding load characteristics, outlines best practices for utilities, and offers specific regulatory actions to ensure forecasts are thorough, up-to-date, and validated.

This policy brief provides guidance for utility modelers and regulators on integrating the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program into capacity expansion modeling. It outlines a three-step approach to maximize ratepayer savings: modeling portfolio-wide financing savings, prioritizing 'clean repowering' at existing fossil sites, and optimizing transmission investments. The document emphasizes the urgency of applying for EIR funding by the end of 2025 to meet the September 30, 2026, conditional commitment deadline.

This research paper analyzes transportation investments under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), highlighting the tension between funding for public transit and the continued prioritization of personal vehicle infrastructure.

In May 2024, the US Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) updated minimum energy standards for new construction, requiring new covered buildings under four stories to comply with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (2021 IECC) and taller buildings to meet ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 90.1-2019. These updates, combined with 45L tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), make high-performance multifamily housing financially viable, particularly for all-electric constructions and those in specific climate zones.

This briefing by the World Resources Institute examines the impact of the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) on the U.S. auto manufacturing workforce. It identifies high-risk job categories, emerging skill requirements, the influence of AI and vertical integration, and the challenges regarding job quality and unionization in the 'Battery Belt' and Southern states.

This report by RMI analyzes how updated energy efficiency standards and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax incentives can reduce energy costs for low-income Americans by encouraging the construction of high-efficiency, all-electric homes.

This report by the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) examines the intersection of methane emissions from the agri-food sector and human health. It identifies primary emission sources—including livestock, rice cultivation, and land-use change—and proposes systemic solutions that offer co-benefits for public health, such as reduced respiratory illness and improved nutrition.

This report by the Global Climate and Health Alliance examines the sources of methane emissions within food and agriculture systems and outlines the human health co-benefits of mitigation strategies. It advocates for systemic changes to food production and consumption, including the adoption of plant-rich diets and improved agricultural techniques, to reduce global warming and improve public health outcomes.

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.