Category: Knowledge Center America

US Electrification for Net Zero: Report

US Electrification for Net Zero: Report

February 23, 2024 | , , , ,

The report explores the degrees of electrification in the United States that might be needed to achieve net-zero pathways as well as where and how electrification could occur under model assumptions. It examines the relative roles of variable generation resources (e.g., wind and solar), energy storage, and firm low-carbon power in the energy transition to meet increasing levels of clean electricity demand. It also examines the barriers that could hinder both increased electrification and decarbonization of the pivotal power sector.

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Zero Emission Steel Production in Great Lakes: Memos

Zero Emission Steel Production in Great Lakes: Memos

February 16, 2024 | , ,

The Great Lakes region, spanning from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, is a steel manufacturing powerhouse, accounting for 60% of all steel production capacity in the United States and 100% of coal-based steel production. It is also a highly energy and emissions intensive region: per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the Great Lakes are 20% higher than the United States average. The Great Lakes region could emerge as a leader in near-zero-emissions steel production. US federal policy support for industrial decarbonization has already arrived in the form of the IRA, CHIPS, and IIJA.

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Onshore Wind Policies in the UK: Briefing

Onshore Wind Policies in the UK: Briefing

February 16, 2024 | , , ,

This research briefing “Planning for onshore wind” by the House of Commons provides insights on planning policies and rules for offshore wind in the UK. The government updated planning policies for onshore wind in England in September 2023. Planning rules for onshore wind still differ from those for other renewable energy developments and major infrastructure projects.

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Transportation Electrification Roadmap for Washington: Report

Transportation Electrification Roadmap for Washington: Report

February 9, 2024 | , , , ,

The “Washington Transportation Electrification Strategy” developed by the Interagency Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council is the state’s implementation roadmap for how to get there in 2030 by maximising transportation electrification in a way that supports other clean transportation strategies, setting Washington up for the most equitable and cost effective zero-emissions future possible.

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Clean Energy Future in the Americas

Clean Energy Future in the Americas

February 2, 2024 | , ,

The main challenges that Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries are facing include infrastructure issues, and limited uptake of new solar photovoltaic and wind technologies. Despite these challenges, LAC is on track to capitalise on emerging clean energy technologies, including production and export of green hydrogen, as well as play a role in supplying the global energy system with critical minerals needed for the energy transition, such as lithium and copper. 

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Decarbonizing Brazil’s Steel, Aluminium and Aviation Sector: Paper

Decarbonizing Brazil’s Steel, Aluminium and Aviation Sector: Paper

January 19, 2024 | , ,

Brazil has the potential and capacity to become a world leader in the near-zero carbon products of the future. Brazil’s energy mix is among the cleanest in the world, where renewables are responsible for 85% of electric power generation. The volume of clean power – combined with the country’s potential to produce green hydrogen – will prove critical to decarbonizing Brazil’s heavy industries.

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Wind Projects in Colombia’s La Guajira: Report

Wind Projects in Colombia’s La Guajira: Report

January 12, 2024 | , , ,

This report “Enabling factors of social acceptance of wind energy projects in La Guajira” by the Stockholm Environment Institute aims to identify enabling factors of social acceptance and, more broadly, of a just energy transition in La Guajira. Actors such as community advisers, national and regional public officials, and the environmental authority also play a crucial role in these processes.

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Clean Energy Investments In Latin America: Report

Clean Energy Investments In Latin America: Report

December 22, 2023 | , , ,

Latin America is highly vulnerable to various natural hazards, affecting the region’s living conditions, resulting in the current people displacement and massive economic losses. Driven by the increasing needs for climate change mitigation and adaptation measures and investments, the region has been actively advocating for climate change investments.

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California’s Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act 

California’s Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act 

December 15, 2023 | , ,

California recently passed the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (AB 1305) (VCMDA). The new “anti-greenwashing” law is one of the first laws in the U.S. to not only regulate the voluntary carbon market, but also require entities – both public and private – to provide publicly available disclosures aimed at increasing transparency and accountability around certain climate-related claims and the use of voluntary carbon offsets (VCOs) .

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Energy Systems in Transition in EU and US: Report

Energy Systems in Transition in EU and US: Report

December 8, 2023 | , , ,

The key findings of this report indicate that Installations of wind and solar capacity are gathering speed in the EU and US. A record breaking 33 GW of solar PV will be built in the US in 2024. New wind projects in the EU are also breaking records, growing by about 18% in 2022. Renewables generate more electricity than either coal or nuclear power in both the US and EU. Wind and solar generated enough electricity in 2022 to power about 85% of all households in the EU.

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Carbon Emissions Reduction in US: Report

Carbon Emissions Reduction in US: Report

December 1, 2023 | , , , ,

The key findings of this report indicate that the Biden administration’s fossil fuel project approvals are significantly undermining U.S. climate progress. Despite its claims that it’s advancing climate goals, the Biden administration is actively erasing the projected emissions reductions of its flagship Inflation Reduction Act and other demand-side climate policies by expanding fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure projects.

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Latin America Energy Outlook 2023: IEA Report

Latin America Energy Outlook 2023: IEA Report

November 24, 2023 | , ,

The Latin America Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency’s first in-depth and comprehensive assessment of Latin America and the Caribbean, builds on decades of collaboration with partners. In support of the region’s energy goals, the report explores the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. It provides insights on the ways in which the outlook for the region and the biggest global energy trends are deeply intertwined.

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Accelerating US Clean Energy Ambition: Report

Accelerating US Clean Energy Ambition: Report

November 17, 2023 | , ,

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) undertook a modeling analysis of technical pathways for achieving sharp cuts in economy wide, energy-related, heat-trapping emissions in the United States. They optimized the analysis for the lowest energy-system costs to better understand both the challenges and the opportunities that would arise when taking an expansive, interconnected view of energy, the economy, and society. The analysis shows that the United States has viable pathways to get to net-zero heat-trapping emissions no later than 2050.

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Clean Energy Powers North Carolina: Report

Clean Energy Powers North Carolina: Report

August 31, 2023 | , , , ,

North Carolina is making significant strides in the clean energy sector, with wind and solar providing nearly 10% of the state’s electricity. The state’s clean energy capacity, currently at 6,433 MW, is set to grow significantly by 2030 and is powered in part by over $15 billion in investments. And the sector – which currently employs nearly 10,000 North Carolinians – is poised for further expansion.

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Firm capacity in Central America: IRENA Report

Firm capacity in Central America: IRENA Report

August 11, 2023 | , , , ,

The regulatory component of IRENA’s Clean Energy Corridor of Central America (CECCA) initiative focuses on assessing solar and wind PPAs to ensure a level playing field for renewables vis-à-vis conventional generation, given that current frameworks appear to offer limited investment incentives for variable renewable energy (VRE). To support this work, IRENA developed this report to provide an overview on the use of firm capacity across countries in the region and for contracting power generated by renewables.

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Making US Clean Energy Transition Affordable: RMI Report

Making US Clean Energy Transition Affordable: RMI Report

July 13, 2022 | , ,

To maintain affordability during this investment boom, US utility spending must be cost effective. Totex ratemaking is a regulatory innovation that could help keep utility rates affordable through the clean energy transition. By changing how regulators set the utility’s revenue allowance, it allows alternative solutions to compete with capital projects on a level playing field.

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Offshore Wind in Western United States: Briefing

Offshore Wind in Western United States: Briefing

July 12, 2022 | , , ,

The United States’ West Coast has vast, untapped offshore wind resources to help decarbonize the country’s energy system. Offshore wind would diversify generation resources while reducing land-use conflicts in the Western U.S., where 80 percent of customers are served by utilities with net-zero carbon emission mandates. Coastal states make up 57 percent of Western electricity demand.

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