Search Climate Insights Directory

This report by Energy Innovation analyzes the potential economic, environmental, and health impacts of the U.S. House of Representatives' 2025 budget Reconciliation legislation. The analysis compares a 'Current Policies' scenario against an 'EI Reconciliation May 2025' scenario, finding that the proposed repeals and modifications of clean energy tax credits and funding would increase household energy costs, lead to significant job losses, reduce electricity capacity, and increase greenhouse gas emissions and premature deaths.

This case study proposes the development of an "energy park" in Pueblo, Colorado, as a clean, reliable replacement for the Comanche Unit 3 coal-fired power plant slated for retirement in 2031. The energy park model integrates renewable generation, short-duration batteries, flexible industrial loads (such as thermal batteries and electrolyzers), and long-duration energy storage to mimic the dispatch profile of a firm power resource while driving local economic development.

This document is Appendix A of a report by Energy Innovation, detailing the modeling methodology used to assess the impacts of repealing federal energy tax credits. It provides a comprehensive table mapping specific sections of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to their inclusion in 'Business as Usual' (BAU) and 'IRA Repeal' scenarios, explaining the calculations for credits related to renewable energy, electric vehicles, carbon sequestration, and agricultural conservation.

This report by Energy Innovation uses the Energy Policy Simulator to analyze the economic and environmental impacts of repealing federal clean energy tax credits and funding programs, specifically those established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The analysis compares a 'Current Policies' scenario against a 'Repeal' scenario starting in 2025, finding that such a repeal would lead to significant job losses, increased household energy costs, reduced GDP, and higher air pollution.

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 briefing from Energy Innovation examines the challenges and opportunities for maintaining electric grid reliability during the transition to clean energy in the United States. It defines the components of reliability—resource adequacy, operational reliability, and resilience—and argues that while the shift to inverter-based resources (IBRs) and the retirement of fossil fuel plants create risks, these can be managed through interconnection reform, demand-side solutions, and a diverse portfolio of clean energy resources.

This report defines "energy parks" as large-scale microgrids that co-locate renewable energy generation, storage, and electricity consumers (loads) behind a single point of interconnection (POI) to the bulk power grid. The authors argue that this model reduces equipment costs, accelerates the "time to power" for industrial loads, and provides flexible grid services. The document outlines the evolution of these parks from simple solar farms with high inverter-loading ratios to complex hybrids involving thermal batteries and hydrogen electrolysis. It identifies significant regulatory hurdles, including interconnection queue delays, wholesale market participation rules, and state-level utility monopolies, and proposes a shift toward treating energy parks as "digital resources" with a universal participation model.

This guide describes the Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), a free, open-source System Dynamics computer model developed by Energy Innovation to help policymakers evaluate the effectiveness of climate and energy policies on greenhouse gas emissions, economic outcomes, and public health.

This research paper by Energy Innovation evaluates the potential impacts of two divergent U.S. policy pathways on greenhouse gas emissions, the economy, and public health through 2050. It compares a 'Continued Climate Leadership' scenario, aimed at meeting the U.S. Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), against a 'Project 2025' scenario, which involves repealing major climate laws and expanding fossil fuel production. The analysis finds that the Continued Climate Leadership pathway would significantly reduce emissions, create millions of jobs, and lower household energy costs, while the Project 2025 pathway would increase emissions, lead to substantial job losses, and raise energy costs for households.

This report introduces the Industrial Zero Emissions Calculator (IZEC), an open-source Excel tool designed to help stakeholders model and visualize the resource requirements—including electricity, hydrogen, bioenergy, and carbon capture and storage (CCS)—needed to fully decarbonize the industrial sector across five global regions.

This briefing, authored by Dr. Tanya Petach of the Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI), examines the drivers of declining lake and reservoir water storage globally. It highlights the distinction between anthropogenic causes, such as unsustainable water consumption, and climate-driven factors, such as increased evaporation and changing precipitation patterns, to argue for targeted policy interventions and adaptive management strategies to prevent urban 'Day Zero' scenarios.

This briefing summarizes three recent studies on how specific emotions—such as fear, guilt, hope, and sadness—influence individual and collective support for climate policies and sustainable behaviors across the United States, Australia, and India.

This policy design brief by Energy Innovation proposes a Production Tax Credit (PTC) to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions industrial heat. The author argues that because industrial facilities emit approximately a quarter of global greenhouse gases—primarily from burning fossil fuels for processes like melting metals and cooking food—a targeted PTC can drive decarbonization while supporting manufacturing jobs and national security.

This policy design brief by Energy Innovation proposes a technology-neutral emissions standard for industrial heat to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conventional pollutants. The author outlines specific design considerations for lawmakers to ensure the standard is simple to administer, incentivizes efficiency, and provides long-term certainty for industrial investment.

Energy Innovation has released version 4.0 of the United States Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), an open-source model updated to incorporate the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The updated model features a rebuilt electricity sector with hourly dispatch and expanded power plant types to better analyze the financial incentives and emissions trajectories of the U.S. energy system through 2050.

This research note by Energy Innovation argues that the U.S. Treasury Department must maintain the "three pillars" (incremental, deliverable, and hourly-matched clean electricity) in the final rules for the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The author contends that weakening these rules would undermine climate goals, increase electricity costs for consumers, and stifle the development of a flexible, domestic electrolyzer industry.

This briefing discusses the barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption for low-income consumers, specifically highlighting the risk of high repair costs. It argues for strategic investments in EV government fleets and public transportation to benefit environmental justice communities while cautioning that subsidies for individual purchase must be paired with considerations for full lifecycle costs to prevent vulnerable households from losing vehicle access.

This oral testimony from Energy Innovation to the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service argues for the retention of strict "three pillars" (incrementality, deliverability, and hourly time-matching) for the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The author contends that weakening these rules would lead to significant greenhouse gas emissions, undermine the long-term viability of the hydrogen industry, and result in the misuse of taxpayer funds.

This report by Rhodium Group, MIT CEEPR, REPEAT Project, and Energy Innovation assesses 2023 progress in US clean energy and transportation following the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). It finds that zero emission vehicle (ZEV) sales are meeting or exceeding post-IRA projections, while utility-scale clean electricity capacity additions, despite reaching record levels, are lagging behind the projections required to meet 2030 emissions targets.

This research paper by Energy Innovation estimates that approving pending liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects would increase domestic natural gas prices in the United States by 9 to 14 percent, leading to higher energy costs for households and businesses.