RMI Outlet
Electricity
Powering Rural Economic Development with Renewables
Despite serving only 13 percent of US electricity load, electric cooperatives loom large in conversations about the US energy system’s past, present, and future. The initial vision for nonprofit electric co-ops dates back to the New Deal, when the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 authorized the creation of co-ops…
Clean Energy Is Not a Zero-Sum Game
Both science and our everyday reality are now screaming an inconvenient truth: Our climate is changing and forcing us to urgently respond. To meet this challenge, we must both build resilient infrastructure capable of adapting to extreme, unprecedented weather and quickly transition our energy system away from the fossil fuels…
Ridehailing Drivers Will Go Electric—If We Build the Charging Stations
Michelle Pierce, a retired electrical engineer living in Southern California, is a passionate EV advocate. She started driving an electric vehicle for Lyft because she wanted to expose more people to electric vehicles and demonstrate the benefits of EVs. In 2017, Pierce rented a Chevy Bolt through the former Maven…
The Untapped Potential of Public Utility Commissions
The United States is at a defining moment in its response to the climate crisis. At the national level, President Biden has recommitted to the Paris Agreement, announcing that the United States will play its part as a climate leader in the coming decade. Sub-nationally, states and cities…
Utilities, Analysts, and Customers Agree: Transitioning from Coal Saves Money
Coal economics have eroded dramatically in recent years, so much so that the continued use of existing coal-fired power often imposes a cost burden on electricity customers that exceeds the cost of newer and cleaner sources of power. Resource planning analyses performed by utilities across the country—including PacifiCorp in…