Category: Knowledge Centre

Making California’s Electricity Cheaper: Report

Making California’s Electricity Cheaper: Report

Oct 9, 2026 | , ,

Affordability is at the heart of almost every policy conversation across the nation, and California is facing a particularly acute energy affordability crisis — the state’s electricity rates are now the second highest in the nation and double the country’s average. Between 2000 and 2024, California’s electricity rates rose faster than inflation and became the highest in the contiguous United States, more than 50% higher than the US average. These prices are untenable, straining household budgets, and threatening the state’s electrification path to a climate-neutral economy. More than 80% of Californians rank lowering bills as a top or important priority for state leaders, and the state’s elected officials have a duty to address these intertwined problems for their constituents.

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EU Mid-Year Solar Market Update: Report

EU Mid-Year Solar Market Update: Report

Oct 9, 2026 | , , ,

The report highlights that, the first half of 2026 has shown a more resilient EU solar market than anticipated, but not an improvement in its underlying fundamentals. The renewed fossil fuel crisis has strengthened the economic and energy-security case for solar and supported demand in several markets, helping compensate for weakening support schemes and continued regulatory and grid constraints. Against this backdrop, preliminary country data indicate that the EU solar market grew slightly in H1. At the same time, the EU’s solar fleet once again demonstrated its strategic value, shielding consumers and businesses from fossil fuel price spikes and supporting Europe’s power system during a summer.

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Financing ASEAN’s Energy Transition: Report

Financing ASEAN’s Energy Transition: Report

Oct 9, 2026 | , ,

ASEAN has seen some success in getting capital to flow to utility-scale renewable energy projects. But that success does not extend downwards or outwards. Returns fall away sharply as project sizes shrink, storage sits at less than a third of the pipeline the region needs by 2030, and transmission earns single-digit returns that keep private capital away. Market design, more than capital or technology, is now the constraint for financing the region’s energy transition. This analysis finds that what complicates matters more is that ASEAN’s next phase of energy transition will move beyond utility-scale generation projects towards thousands of smaller distributed systems rather than a handful of large plants, on storage to absorb variable output, and on transmission to move power to where it is needed.

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Climate Finance in Latin America and the Caribbean: Report

Climate Finance in Latin America and the Caribbean: Report

Oct 1, 2026 | , ,

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has significant climate investment opportunities and some relatively mature markets, but climate finance remains far below needs and highly uneven across countries, sectors, and climate objectives. Brazil, Mexico, and several larger South American economies have deeper capital markets and larger project pipelines than other countries in the region, along with significant opportunities in renewable energy, industry, and land use. By contrast, other Caribbean, Central and South American countries face smaller markets, high exposure to climate shocks, greater dependence on imported fuels and more constrained fiscal space.

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Estonia’s Energy Transition: Paper

Estonia’s Energy Transition: Paper

Oct 1, 2026 | , ,

Estonia’s energy transition, driven by the rapid decline of oil shale generation, faces a trilemma between security, affordability, and decarbonization. Using a structural general-equilibrium framework, this paper evaluates the macroeconomic effects of Estonia’s new energy plan, combined with deeper European electricity market integration, EU mitigation policies, the impact of AI-related datacenters and broader electrification pressures. Results show that expanding domestic supply and market integration lowers long-term prices by one-third, increases GDP, reduces import dependence, and supports emissions reduction.

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Carbon Recycling Opportunities in ASEAN: Report

Carbon Recycling Opportunities in ASEAN: Report

Oct 1, 2026 | , ,

The report “Exploring Carbon Recycling Opportunities in ASEAN” is a collaborative study organised by the Asia Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Network of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia to support acceleration of decarbonisation in Asia. To achieve decarbonisation and NZE, there is no single solution that fits for all countries in the region. Natural resource endowments, technical capacities, available funding, and other resources may lead to different pathways in meeting NZE. The objective of this study is to include research institutions from various countries and expose them to potential carbon recycling issues and inclusively provide their thoughts on how to harness the opportunity.

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Policy Resilience in Brazilian Renewable Energy: Brief

Policy Resilience in Brazilian Renewable Energy: Brief

Sep 24, 2026 | , ,

The policy brief titled “Climate and Policy Resilience in Brazilian Renewable Energy” states that the Brazilian context involving a clean-electricity base, a more balanced lobbying landscape, and mounting climate and social pressure, makes it more difficult for the kind of abrupt and unrestrained energy policy swing seen in Colombia. The trend in Brazil tends to be more economically viable for renewables. However, these structural conditions by themselves will not guarantee the success of the transition.

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Myanmar’s Rooftop Off-Grid Solar Market: Report

Myanmar’s Rooftop Off-Grid Solar Market: Report

Sep 24, 2026 | , , ,

Solar is now the most cost-effective electrification option for a growing share of Myanmar’s energy demand. Monthly average diesel prices rose by nearly 900 percent in nominal terms, from MMK 682 per liter in January 2021 to MMK 6,057 per liter in April 2026, industrial grid tariffs increased by 80 percent in February 2026, and the cost of energy from large commercial and industrial (C&I) solar-plus-battery systems is at US$0.205 per kWh, now cheaper than the industrial grid tariff of US$0.250 per kWh. The C&I segment is approaching commercial viability and is likely to continue growing largely on commercial terms.

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Scaling Community Energy in the UK: Brief

Scaling Community Energy in the UK: Brief

Sep 24, 2026 | , ,

This SEI brief aims to inform how the UK’s ambition to expand the number of community-owned, renewable energy sources can translate into practical delivery. It outlines key hurdles that community energy efforts face and makes recommendations to overcome them. Its insights are drawn from discussion groups convened for this purpose, bringing together community energy practitioners, support organizations’ representatives, and experts from the sector. The UK has signalled renewed ambition to invest in efforts to accelerate the growth of community-owned energy to help communities “reap the benefits of clean, secure, home-grown energy” (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 2024).

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Oregon Energy Security Plan: Report

Oregon Energy Security Plan: Report

Sep 18, 2026 | , ,

The Oregon Energy Security Plan Report 2026 published by the Oregon Department of Energy presents an overview of the state’s energy infrastructure, quantifies the threats and hazards that could cause energy insecurity, and proposes measures that the state and its partners can implement to reduce risk. The energy sector — including electricity, liquid fuels, and natural gas — is vital to the health, well-being, safety, economy, and way of life for Oregonians. Nearly all commerce and critical activities in the state rely on power and liquid fuels to operate and function.

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Success Factors for Renewable Island Mini-Grids: Report

Success Factors for Renewable Island Mini-Grids: Report

Sep 18, 2026 | ,

Small islands continue to face profound energy-related vulnerabilities. Their electricity systems are typically isolated, diesel-dependent, and exposed to highly volatile international fuel markets. This dependency results in elevated electricity costs, recurring supply risks, and significant carbon emissions. At the same time, islands are disproportionately affected by climate impacts such as storms, sea-level rise, and saltwater intrusion, making the transition to resilient renewable electricity systems both an economic and environmental imperative.

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Energy Subsidies in the EU: Report

Energy Subsidies in the EU: Report

Sep 18, 2026 | , ,

Total energy subsidies in the EU in 2024 were worth EUR 340 billion, a slight decrease (-5%) compared to 2023 (EUR 360 billion) and significantly lower (-25%) than 2022, at the height of the crisis (EUR 457 billion). However, they remained considerably above the historical average (EUR 190 billion in 2015-2019). The share of non-targeted energy subsidies, benefiting the use of all energy carriers across all end-users in a cross-sectoral way, remained high at almost half of all energy subsidies (48%) and more than twice the historic average (21% in 2015-2019). 

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Employment Implications of Clean Energy in EU: Report

Employment Implications of Clean Energy in EU: Report

Sep 11, 2026 | , ,

EU is rapidly transforming its economy to achieve climate neutrality, guided by legally binding emissions targets. At the same time, it faces ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, including recent tensions in the Middle East. As such, it is necessary to accelerate the EU′s clean transition and further reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels and vulnerability to energy price shocks. Europe′s transition to climate neutrality is reshaping its industrial and employment landscape, although clean energy technologies in the EU face structural challenges such as relatively high energy and labour costs, permitting and planning bottlenecks, and some limitations in access to critical raw materials.

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Building the US Electro-Industrial Economy: Report

Building the US Electro-Industrial Economy: Report

Sep 11, 2026 | , ,

States across the United States are competing to attract and retain the infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy assets required to support growing demand for electricity, advanced industry, and digital infrastructure. The global shift to an economy built on electricity and computerization represents a new economic development undertaking both for the United States as a whole and for individual states. These high-value industrial and infrastructure projects bring jobs, investment, and additional businesses, making them a worthwhile prize. But whereas most of these projects are commercially viable in the long term, some struggle to obtain private financing because they face permitting, market, infrastructure, or first-of-a-kind deployment risks.

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World Green Hydrogen Outlook: Report

World Green Hydrogen Outlook: Report

Sep 11, 2026 | ,

The report aims to provide a strategic blueprint for advancing green hydrogen deployment by closing the gap between ambition and implementation. It offers insights on market creation, cost competitiveness, and infrastructure, while examining challenges such as high capital costs, fragmented demand, and technology constraints. It guides policymakers, investors, and industry leaders in building resilient ecosystems through integrated hubs, innovative financing, and manufacturing localisation. It also highlights the importance of digital enablers such as artificial Intelligence and advanced materials in improving efficiency and reducing costs. 

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Great British Energy for UK’s Energy Security: Brief

Great British Energy for UK’s Energy Security: Brief

Sep 4, 2026 | ,

The brief suggests that to deliver the government’s mission for greater control over energy markets and industry, GBE must meet three conditions: build institutional capacity aligned with its ambition to establish a world-leading energy company by 2026, focus its resources on areas of highest impact in the first two years and demonstrate delivery in key areas to ensure its projects reduce energy bills for communities, build strong supply chains and support local jobs by 2028 and establish financial credibility to be in a strong position to scale its impact by 2030.

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US Electricity Demand Growth: ICF Report

US Electricity Demand Growth: ICF Report

Sep 4, 2026 | ,

Total U.S. electricity demand will increase 21% by 2030 and 39% by 2035 from 2026 levels. But the real story is regional. Electricity demand is rising in every region of the U.S., but not at the same pace. Regions with the strongest data center activity, industrial expansion, and electrification are expected to see the greatest increases in both total electricity demand and peak demand through 2035.

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Impact of India’s Battery Demand on Imports: Paper

Impact of India’s Battery Demand on Imports: Paper

Sep 4, 2026 | ,

India’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales have grown rapidly, with a compound annual growth rate of 62.5% from fiscal year (FY) 2019–20 to FY 2024–25. Yet this growth has not been matched by growth in domestic battery manufacturing and India’s battery cell demand is currently met almost entirely through imports. As BEV adoption accelerates further, battery imports may continue to grow if local battery manufacturing supply chains remain inadequate, even as reliance on imported petrol and diesel declines.

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Georgia’s Climate and Energy Planning: IRENA Report

Georgia’s Climate and Energy Planning: IRENA Report

Aug 27, 2026 | ,

Georgia, like many other countries, is increasingly recognising the importance of aligning its national climate and energy planning instruments to ensure effective implementation, avoid duplication of efforts and provide clear signals to investors and stakeholders. As governments simultaneously develop or update multiple plans, the challenge of ensuring consistency across different timelines, institutional mandates and modelling approaches has become more prominent.

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São Paulo’s Transport Decarbonization Updates: Policy Update

São Paulo’s Transport Decarbonization Updates: Policy Update

Aug 27, 2026 | ,

PlanClima SP is the climate action plan for the city of São Paulo and the main instrument for coordinating mitigation and adaptation actions across several policy areas, including transport, land use, energy, waste, and climate risk management. Its first version was released in 2021 and established a regular review cycle, with updates expected at least once per new municipal administration.

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