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Incisive commentary from RAP experts
RAP experts keep their finger on the pulse of the energy sector and provide timely analysis of topics impacting stakeholders TODAY.
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February 29, 2024
Addressing the Problem: Controlling Your Water Heater for Consumer Savings and Load Flexibility
In early January, I sat in my apartment as the winter’s first true cold snap ripped through Montana. It was negative 10 degrees out, with wind chills pushing temperatures even lower. I shivered at the idea of getting my next… View Summary +
December 13, 2023
RGGI’s 2023 Program Review: An Opportunity for Frontline Communities (Part 2)
Part 1 of this blog highlighted the foresight of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative founders. These air and energy regulators acknowledged their uncertainty as to all the effects this new program might have on electricity ratepayers, and developed an… View Summary +
December 12, 2023
RGGI’s 2023 Program Review: An Opportunity for Frontline Communities (Part 1)
When the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s program review comes around, many of us at RAP think of it as a cause for celebration. Now, that may be because we are environmental protection and administrative law nerds. View Summary +
November 30, 2023
Getting the Job Done: Insights on Developing the Heat Pump Workforce
In the coming years, states will need to expand their skilled workforce in order to meet the increasing demand for heat pumps and other electrification measures, especially as new federal funds become available. To help state decision-makers determine which approaches… View Summary +
November 14, 2023
Introducing RAP’s new look and improved website
At the Regulatory Assistance Project, we have always been guided by a vision where clean, sustainable energy is a reality in our world. In many ways, this is a vision of a changing world. As RAP helps governments improve and… View Summary +
August 16, 2023
The IRA Includes a Big Push for Heat Pumps, But States Can Do Even More
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) became law one year ago, on August 16, 2022. Its billions in investment for the clean energy transition includes considerable resources to spur heat pump adoption across the country. But how much of an… View Summary +
June 23, 2023
From the Ground Up: Rural Electric Co-ops Can Lead on Decarbonization
- Megan Anderson ,
- Ken Colburn ,
- Camille Kadoch
With the Biden-Harris administration’s recent announcement of $11 billion for rural energy providers to electrify and decarbonize, rural electric cooperatives now have the boost they need to apply their nimble capabilities and lead the energy transition. Although energy… View Summary +
May 22, 2023
Navigating the Workforce Bottleneck
- Mary MacPherson ,
- Camille Kadoch
The workforce is the driving engine of the economy. This adage is equally true even when the engine is efficient and electric. Clean energy jobs in the fields of energy efficiency and electrification are increasing. While the U.S. workforce grew… View Summary +
May 15, 2023
Prudent Gas System Planning Can Minimize Risk
- Elaine Prause
According to the American Gas Association, from 2018 to 2020, natural gas utilities added an average of 753,619 customers and 20,724 miles of pipeline each year. This equates to adding more than one customer per minute and more than… View Summary +
May 8, 2023
In the Electrification Push, Familiar Tools Get Repurposed
- Jessica Shipley ,
- Camille Kadoch
Stephen King wrote, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.” Many “new” regulatory approaches to encourage building electrification are actually just new applications of tried-and-true methods policymakers have been using for years. Take, for example, clean heat standards, which… View Summary +