Teams and Faculty
e–Lab Accelerator is a boot-camp for multistakeholder project teams. Project teams from across the country are supported by RMI staff and members of the e–Lab Network with coaching and customized workshop sessions. We choose these teams to work with for their potential to speed the transition of the electricity system toward one that is decarbonized, reliable, affordable, and equitable. e–Lab helps teams navigate the complexities of achieving these outcomes, provides access to subject matter expertise and adept collaboration, and gets them moving quickly through challenging aspects of their project teamwork.
In 2020, during a truly emergent year, e–Lab hosted Accelerator virtually, supporting nine project teams over a period of six months. It was inspiring to work with these projects, witness the dedication of these teams, and help these important projects continue during the uncertainty of the first months of the COVID pandemic.
After Accelerator, the implementation work of the teams is typically just beginning. Learn more about each of this year’s nine teams and what they’ve accomplished below. Contact eLab@rmi.org to learn more about our support of these teams and future work in manifesting the clean energy transition.
Information on teams from previous Accelerators can be found here:
Further information on teams that attended Accelerator 2020 can be found below:
This team consisted of three cities and counties in Utah, regulators representing the Division of Public Utilities and Office of Consumer Services, and Rocky Mountain Power.
This project team came to Accelerator to explore how to electrify California's buildings and decommission the legacy natural gas infrastructure in a strategic and equitable manner.
This team addressed solutions to overcome the complex array of technical and market barriers that prevent integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) into wholesale markets.
The team was comprised of developers, regulators, planners, environmental advocates, and landowners.
This team wanted to investigate the regulatory reforms needed for Michigan’s electricity system to reliably serve customers given (1) aging grid infrastructure and (2) an increasing generation share of clean energy.
The team, championed by Elevate Energy, set out to design a pilot focused on electrifying multifamily affordable housing in Chicago.
Oregon Public Utility Commission staff and stakeholders came together to problem solve components in the docket to ensure that the distribution planning guidelines best serve all communities.
Pearl Street Station (PSS) Finance Lab is an initiative that was launched this year to provide the financial analysis tools and education that advocates, regulatory commissioners, and institutional investors need to improve the incentives for utilities to decarbonize and adopt a growing pool of new technologies.
New Jersey has committed to 100% clean energy by 2050. Thus far, in its efforts to achieve this ambitious goal, New Jersey has relied on a renewable portfolio standard and a variety of technology-specific incentives.
Each year, Accelerator teams also benefit from the coaching of industry experts that serve as e–Lab faculty. These members of the e–Lab Network meet with teams one-on-one and offer project guidance. This year, many also generously shared personal insights during our mini-conference conversations, provided content-rich learning sessions, and participated in multi-team coaching clinics. Access to these industry perspectives is one of the most valuable and unique aspects of Accelerator, and this year’s list of faculty coaches and speakers included:
