Listed below are all documents and RMI.org site pages related to this topic.
12 Items
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-US_capacaity_elecricity_generation_by_energy
The U.S. electricity sector has seen tremendous growth in the past 60 years. From 1949 to 2009, U.S. electricity consumption increased by a factor of 13. To meet this rising demand, the U.S has built vast amounts of new electricity generating infrastructure. The total U.S. installed capacity in 2009 was 998 GW, compared with just 65 GW in 1949.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-biofeedstock_supply_curve
The 16 quadrillion BTU of biomass used in 2050 in Reinventing Fire is supplied by agricultural residue, mill residue, dedicated energy crops, municipal solid waste and forestry residue. No cropland or edible feedstock is required.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-technology_capital_cost_projections
In evaluating the future U.S. electricity system, Rocky Mountain Institute created capital cost projections for fossil and renewable generation technologies through 2050. Many newer technologies, such as concentrated solar power, solar photovoltaics, and battery storage, are projected to have rapidly declining capital costs in the next 40 years.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-US_buildings_energy_saving_potential
With significant investments in efficient technologies and smart controls—probably requiring a transformation of the real-estate industry—the U.S. can achieve building energy savings of 38%. With the widespread adoption of integrative design, those savings could potentially rise to 69%. Both figures assume a 70% increase in floorspace by 2050.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-energy_inefficiency_in_concentional_data_center
Starting the savings downstream at a typical data center can achieve leverage of 10- or even 100-fold in saved fuel back at the power plant.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-solarthermal_competitiveness_US_industrial_natural_gas
Solar thermal heating can deliver some of the process heating requirements for industry.
Given the high volatility of natural gas prices, pricing for solar thermal projects on a lifecycle cost of heat basis can be competitive with natural gas.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-Traffic_fatalities_vehicle_weight_changes_vehicle_size
Crash-safety risk with lightweight materials in automotive applications is only perceived, not supported by evidence. Lighter autos are actually safer than heavier ones the same size.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-variable_renewable_output
The dynamic nature of variable renewable resources presents challenges to conventional electricity system operations. Production from wind and solar resources, in particular, is both variable (fluctuating throughout the day according to availability of the “fuel”) and uncertain (weather forecasting is required and by definition is not always accurate).
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-hourly_high_penetration_renewables
Production from wind and solar resources, in particular, is both variable and uncertain. However, with good resource and demand forecasting and high availability of flexible demand and supply side resources, it is possible to operate an electricity system reliably with a high percentage of variable renewable energy.
http://www.rmi.org/RFGraph-load_duration_curve
A load-duration curve is a useful tool for comparing the impacts of different renewable portfolios on the grid. In this Rocky Mountain Institute analysis of renewable adoption on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid, a generation mix of 25% solar and 15% wind yields the flattest load-duration curve over the year.