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This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) advocates for the implementation of Minimum Efficiency Standards for Rentals (MESR) as a strategy for cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve residential energy security. Using the 'SmartRegs' program in Boulder, Colorado, as a primary case study, the document provides a seven-step roadmap for other cities to integrate energy efficiency requirements into their rental licensing processes.

This briefing by RMI argues that revitalizing old industrial sites using net-zero energy (NZE) design can drive urban economic development, improve resident quality of life, and reduce citywide carbon emissions. It highlights the advantages of 'district scale' redevelopment and provides several US-based examples of NZE projects transforming former manufacturing and steel sites into sustainable mixed-use communities.

This case study describes how the John Madden Company (JMC), a family-owned business in Colorado, implemented a large-scale energy efficiency project across two buildings in its portfolio. By utilizing Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing and bundling various efficiency measures, JMC achieved significant energy savings without upfront capital costs for the landlord or increased costs for tenants.

This executive summary by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) outlines four key insights derived from interviews with eight leading net-zero energy (NZE) home builders in the US, who collectively account for 20 percent of the country's single-family NZE homes. The document discusses the economic viability of NZE homes, strategies for customer acquisition, the impact of labor shortages on construction methods, and the risk-mitigation benefits of building high-performance homes.

This guide by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) argues that ride-hailing drivers for transportation network companies (TNCs) are ideal candidates for electric vehicle (EV) adoption due to high vehicle utilization, which maximizes savings on fuel and maintenance and increases potential carbon offsets.

Taiwan has introduced a renewable energy credit (T-REC) scheme to allow nonutility and foreign companies to procure renewable energy directly from projects, aiming to reduce scope 2 emissions and support a national target of 10–12.5 GW of renewable capacity by 2030.

This policy brief outlines a consensus of six key policy areas identified by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy to accelerate the transition to clean energy. It argues that these policies can unlock economic opportunities estimated to exceed $1 trillion per year worldwide and provide a pathway to meet the 2 degrees Celsius climate goal by 2030 using existing technologies and business models.

This RMI insight brief argues that the global climate finance system must evolve from a focus on 'direct access' to multilateral funds toward establishing national institutions, specifically Green Investment Banks (GIBs), to ensure true country ownership. The authors posit that for large emerging markets, national GIBs can better mobilize domestic private capital and coordinate financial flows to achieve nationally determined commitments (NDCs) than current international structures.

This RMI fact sheet debunks four industry myths regarding net-zero energy (NZE) leased buildings, asserting that they are more profitable for developers, attractive to a wide range of tenants due to productivity gains, and achievable in existing buildings through a structured process of data gathering and efficiency upgrades.

This briefing by RMI argues that current commercial electricity rate designs, specifically noncoincident demand charges, encourage inefficient battery storage use that can conflict with the needs of renewable-heavy power grids. The document advocates for a transition to time-varying rates and compensation for grid services to better align customer incentives with system-wide operational requirements.

RMI issued a statement correcting a previous blog post regarding the impact of transportation network companies (TNCs) on cities, acknowledging that current data uncertainty prevents a definitive conclusion on the relative impact of TNCs compared to personally owned vehicles.

Boulder Commons is a 100,000 square foot multitenant net-zero energy (NZE) project in Boulder, Colorado, designed to demonstrate the financial viability of NZE leased buildings for developers, landlords, and tenants.

This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) explores how electric utilities can move beyond traditional bill assistance to collaborate with low-and moderate-income (LMI) customers. It identifies new business models leveraging distributed energy resources (DERs) to reduce energy burdens, improve health and environmental outcomes, and create grid value.

The 2018 report by RMI and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) analyzes the commercial minigrid market in Nigeria, identifying it as a high-potential investment opportunity to address the fact that 55% of the population lacks electricity. Through audits of ten commercial projects, the report establishes best practices in site selection, community engagement, and owner-operator business models. It outlines a regulatory environment that is generally supportive but hindered by overlapping mandates and import barriers, and proposes specific interventions across the project development, construction, and operation phases to scale the market toward a potential annual revenue of ₦2.8 trillion (US$8 billion).

This RMI briefing argues that renewable energy and distributed energy resources (DERs) are cost-effective, resilient, and rapidly deployable solutions for rebuilding Puerto Rico's electrical grid following the damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

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.

This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) assesses the potential for renewable and distributed energy technologies to support the rebuild of Puerto Rico's electrical grid following the destruction caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The document argues that solar PV, wind, battery storage, and microgrids are now cost-competitive and can enhance the island's energy resilience and reliability compared to traditional fossil-fuel-based systems.

The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Electricity is a guide by RMI that outlines strategies for cities to transition to carbon-free renewable energy. It emphasizes a two-step process: committing to 100 percent renewable energy targets and implementing comprehensive action plans. The document details four specific actions: upgrading to smart LED streetlighting, creating electric districts by removing fossil-fuel infrastructure, installing municipal solar PV, and securing renewable energy supplies through mechanisms like power purchase agreements.

The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Biological Resources is a guide by RMI that outlines three primary actions for cities to manage biological resources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: organic waste diversion, urban forestry, and the promotion of plant-based diets.

The Carbon-Free City Handbook: Industry is a guide by RMI that outlines strategies for cities to reduce industrial carbon emissions, which account for 7% of emissions in major cities. The guide emphasizes strategic partnerships with corporate residents due to limited jurisdictional control and proposes three specific actions: implementing clean industrial heat, upgrading to efficient motors, and establishing operator training for energy management.