General
Port Innovation Workshop Final Report
RMI worked with the Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma, and Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) to develop integrative solutions to reduce the emissions and energy use throughout port operations. This included cargo arriving in port on ships, cargo handling at the terminal, and cargo leaving the port via…
New Frontiers in Utility Valuation of Renewable Resources
In this report, Rocky Mountain Institute explores the underlying theory and practical methodologies for the valuation of renewable resources. We present the theoretical basis first to acquaint thereader with the underlying rationale for the approach to valuing these resources. We then present the practical methodologies that can be used to…
Valuation of Renewable and Distributed Resources: Implications for the Integrated Resource Planning Process
Over the last two decades, traditional integrated resource planning (IRP) has proven to be avaluable tool for evaluating the tradeoffs between supply-side generation and demand-sideefficiency resources. However, there has been increasing focus on the incorporation ofrenewable, distributed, and demand-side resources into utility planning, which requires newmethodologies to assess the value…
For the Least Among Us: New Approaches to Refugee Care
Environmental degradation has created millions of refugees around the world. These refugees are disproportionately located in developing nations. Cameron Burns argues that continuing desertification of sub-Saharan regions, climate change and rising sea levels, ongoing resource shortages and the violence resulting from such shortages—not to mention natural disasters—will all be felt…
Nuclear Power: Economics and Climate-Protection Potential
This paper makes an economic argument against the use of nuclear power. Despite strong governmental support, nuclear power is unfinancible in the private capital market. Nuclear power worldwide has less installed capacity and generates less electricity than its decentralized no- and low-carbon competitors—one-third renewables (excluding big hydroelectric dams), two-thirds fossil-fueled…