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This editorial, published by the Rocky Mountain Institute, argues that stabilizing the global climate is not only possible but profitable through the application of advanced resource efficiency in energy, farming, and forestry. It contends that the costs of climate abatement are often overestimated by econometricians and that market failures, rather than a lack of cost-effective technology, prevent the widespread adoption of these solutions.

The research paper "The Negawatt Revolution: Electric Efficiency and Asian Development" argues that Asian development is hindered by the adoption of inefficient electrical equipment and a utility business model focused on increasing sales rather than customer satisfaction. The authors contrast this with a shift in the U.S. utility sector toward "negawatts"—saving electricity through efficiency and renewables—which is presented as a significantly cheaper and more sustainable alternative to building new power plants.

This 1989 research paper by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute argues for the creation of markets in resource efficiency to combat the economic tendency to treat natural resource depletion and pollution as free goods. Lovins proposes treating saved resources—such as 'negawatts' of electricity—as commodities that can be traded, auctioned, and hedged, providing a market-based alternative to regulatory mandates. He asserts that efficient technology is generally cheaper than producing new resources, creating a significant profit opportunity for those who sell efficiency rather than the resource itself.

This report details a project led by WattTime.org and RMI to catalyze the market for Automated Emissions Reduction (AER), a software-based technology that modulates the electricity consumption of internet-connected devices based on real-time grid emissions data. The project included a pilot deployment in Chicago and a stakeholder workshop (charrette) to identify value propositions and scaling strategies for residential and institutional customers, utilities, and policymakers.

This guide by RMI provides a comprehensive framework of design decisions for establishing a government-led Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for carbon removal. It outlines over 30 design questions and 110 options across categories such as market definition, procurement, governance, and legal structure to help stakeholders co-create an AMC tailored to the needs of the carbon removal sector.

This document is an appendix to a toolkit by RMI that provides a comprehensive set of questions for regulators to use when evaluating how utilities incorporate Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives into their Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs). It aims to help regulators identify cost-saving opportunities and assess the rationale behind utility assumptions regarding clean energy tax credits, hydrogen, carbon capture, and electrification.

This fact sheet details the technical and financial assumptions used in an analysis of heat pump adoption in California, specifying system efficiencies, energy load sources, and utility rates for electricity, natural gas, and propane.

This guide by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) provides best practices for universities to develop and implement effective campus climate action plans. It organizes its recommendations into three pillars: people (team assembly and stakeholder engagement), policy (investment decision-making and contracting), and plan (baseline development, renewable energy strategies, and portfolio-wide implementation).

This case study details a deep energy retrofit of the Carol Avenue Apartments in Boston, a 33-unit affordable housing property built in 1910. The project, scheduled for completion in late 2024, focuses on eliminating on-site fossil fuel combustion through electrification, improving the building envelope from the interior to preserve a historic brick façade, and installing rooftop solar PV systems.

This guide provides the data sources, assumptions, and methodology used by RMI to create 'State Clean Energy Eco' graphics. These graphics illustrate the economic, social, and health opportunities associated with a transition to a net zero carbon US economy by 2050, focusing on state-level metrics across electricity, industry, transportation, buildings, and human impact.

This RMI fact sheet argues that renewables and battery storage are now more effective than natural gas for supporting economic development and energy access in the Global South, offering superior reliability, deployment speed, and cost-effectiveness while avoiding the long-term financial and security risks associated with gas infrastructure.

This fact sheet outlines the data sources and methodology used by RMI to estimate peak demand capacity and savings from various energy efficiency, grid technology, and repowering solutions by 2030.

This fact sheet provides guidance for designers and specifiers on reducing embodied carbon in the built environment through strategic design, material substitution, and specification.

This policy brief from RMI outlines the role of policymakers in reducing embodied carbon in the built environment, emphasizing the use of regulations, incentives, and standards to drive private-sector reductions and stimulate market demand for low-carbon materials.

This fact sheet from RMI provides guidance for real estate developers on reducing embodied carbon—the emissions associated with building materials and construction—which accounts for at least one-quarter of the energy-related global carbon emissions attributed to buildings.

This fact sheet details the technical assumptions used to analyze the benefits of heat pumps over electric resistance heating. It specifies efficiency ratings for ASHPs and HPWHs, explains the use of EIA and NREL data to create home archetypes across US climate zones, and describes the methodology for calculating hourly efficiency and electric volumetric prices.

This case study details the planned zero-carbon deep energy retrofit of Hano Homes, a 20-apartment affordable housing property in Boston, MA. The project aims to achieve Phius certification by implementing a superinsulated exterior shell, transitioning to all-electric mechanical systems, and installing a rooftop solar array to reach net-zero energy operations.

This document details the technical assumptions used to analyze the benefits of heat pumps over delivered fuels in the United States. It specifies the use of 2020 EIA RECS microdata for building archetypes, 2024 state-average energy prices, and specific efficiency ratings (HSPF2, SEER2, and UEF) for air source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters based on current market models and climate zones.

This fact sheet from RMI advocates for product-level greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting in the steel industry, specifically differentiating between ore-based and scrap-based production to enable informed purchasing decisions and drive decarbonization.

This executive summary outlines the methodology used by RMI to analyze the greenhouse gas (GHG) and co-benefits of three specific clean transportation policies in Illinois: electric vehicle sales standards, GHG planning for infrastructure, and increased transit investment.