Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity

This paper explores how effectively the United States has used electricity and compares energy efficiency implementation by state. This paper analyzes state-level electric productivity to determine which states are the most productive with their electricity.

Spatial and Temporal Interactions of Wind and Solar in the Next Generation Utility: Expanded Analysis

This paper, originally presented at WINDPOWER 2008, argues that the “next generation” electric utility must incorporate variable renewable resources, including wind and solar, in much larger quantities than conventionally thought possible. This analysis expands previous studies on reducing the variability of renewable resources through optimized geographic distribution.

Intermittent Renewables in the Next Generation Utility

This paper, presented at PowerGenRE2008, evaluates the potential reduction in variability of intermittent renewables due to the geographical dispersion of wind resources across large geographic areas.

Spatial and Temporal Interactions of Solar and Wind Resources in the Next Generation Utility

The “next generation” electric utility must incorporate variable renewable resources, including wind and solar, in much larger quantities than conventionally thought possible. While resource variability presents a challenge, it should be possible to reduce and manage that variability by geographically distributing renewables, combining them with different renewables, and having more dynamic control of electric loads. This study shows that interconnecting individual solar generation sites into geographically diverse arrays can reduce power output variability, and that including solar generation sites in arrays of geographically diverse wind sites can further reduce the total variability beyond what is possible for either resource type alone. Specifically, optimized portfolios offer an average decrease in variability of 55% below the average of all individual sites. Finally, it was observed that, in the modeled system, only a small subset of the potential sites in an interconnected array need to be included to achieve these variability reductions.

Accelerating Solar Power Adoption: Compounding Cost Savings Across the Value Chain

This paper discusses common barriers to solar power adoption and techniques for getting around those barriers. The authors explain how to overcome the barriers by saving money at multiple points in the solar value chain.

RMI's Top Federal Energy Policy Goals

This 19-page memo to the Obama administration outlines 17 goals that can reduce U.S. oil use and greenhouse gas emissions each by 50% in 10 years. These policies would also create over three million jobs in the next four years, and earning a profit for the nation in under 25 years.

Nuclear Power: Climate Fix or Folly?

This semi-technical article, summarizing a detailed and documented technical paper (see "The Nuclear Illusion" (2008)), compares the cost, climate protection potential, reliability, financial risk, market success, deployment speed, and energy contribution of new nuclear power with those of its low- or no-carbon competitors.

Getting Off Oil

In this short article, Amory Lovins explains how investing in energy efficiency is good for business.

Energy End-Use Efficiency

This paper, which was commissioned by the InterAcademy Council, discusses the importance and benefits of considering energy end-use efficiency when making energy economic decisions. Energy end-use efficiency is the concept of providing more desired services per unit of energy consumed.

Oil: Our Fatal Dependence

This article is a slightly expanded version of Lovins' 2004 article, "How America Can Free Itself of Oil--Profitably." In it, Lovins points out that saving oil is cheaper than buying it, and that the United States can eliminate its oil dependence and revitalize its economy by adopting smart business strategies.