Fort Collins Fort Zed Final Report

Fort Collins Utilities has been working to meet its clean energy goals including a flagship effort, called FortZED, to build a net zero energy district in downtown Fort Collins. Fort Collins Utilities and its partners worked with the Electricity Innovation Lab (e-Lab) to design and carry-out a two-day charrette on November 7th and 8th, 2012. The charrette team identified innovative solutions to some of Fort Collins’ most difficult challenges around planning, investment, and execution of efficiency and renewable energy.

 

Electricity Distribution Grid Evaluator (EDGE) Model

This paper describes the Electricity Distribution Evaluator (EDGE) model, a MATLAB-based simulation tool developed by RMI and designed to comprehensively assess the DER value proposition in different regulatory and utility business model environments based on a detailed assessment of the technical and operational implications. Though designed to study an individual utility or region, the model maintains the flexibility to be adapted for use with many different utilities or regions. The ability to alter the model’s parameters allows RMI to identify conditions that optimize value, and to test the effects of new, innovative business models and rate structures. The EDGE model provides an analytical basis for assessment of the costs and values created by all resources, including DERs.

 

Reinventing Fire General Methodology

This document describes the analytic methodologies used in Reinventing Fire, as well as the scope, limitations, and intended audience of the book.

 

Net Energy Metering, Zero Net Energy, and the Distributed Energy Resource Future

On behalf of PG&E, Rocky Mountain Institute organized and facilitated a roundtable of experts to evaluate the potential implications for the utility and its customers of a future business environment characterized by high levels of customer energy efficiency, growing numbers of Zero Net Energy buildings, and increased adoption of distributed generation (largely solar PV) by utility customers. The political and policy environment surrounding distributed resources is highly charged, with strongly held beliefs and assumptions about distributed generation benefits and impediments to customer adoption. At the same time, there are myriad complexities in analyzing the costs and benefits to the utility system of installing these technologies. Costs and benefits will shift over time as markets evolve, penetration rates increase, and new technologies are deployed. The roundtable worked to build a shared understanding of the problems and challenges facing stakeholders in the electric system and to identify the essential characteristics of workable long-term solutions.

 

Currents Spotlight on Rocky Mountain Institute

In this interview in Currents, the Navy's energy and environmental magazine, Amory Lovins shares his ideas for an enduring and resilient Department of Defense.

 

Turbocharging Efficiency Programs: Going for Broader and Deeper Savings

It is a new era for utility efficiency programs. Policymakers and regulators have required many utilities to achieve more efficiency savings than ever before, and the amount utilities spend on efficiency continues to increase at a rapid pace. Momentum for utility efficiency programs has never been greater.

Utilities have been providing efficiency to their customers for more than 30 years. But just continuing on with a “business-as-usual” mindset will not be sufficient if utilities hope to sustain the momentum and meet (or exceed) their efficiency targets. Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) have set challenging energy savings targets, and to meet these targets, utilities will have to improve their performance in administering programs. If utilities don’t make significant progress, utility efficiency programs will fail to deliver on increasingly aggressive targets.

To improve their performance, utilities will need to turbocharge their efficiency programs by going for both broader and deeper savings. Going broader means acquiring more participants, while going deeper means helping each participant save more energy.

 

Reinventing Fire Transportation Sector Methodology

This document provides RMI's methodology for the analysis of the transportation sector in Reinventing Fire.

 

Reinventing Fire Industry Sector Methodology

This document provides RMI's methodology for the analysis of the industry sector in Reinventing Fire.

 

Reinventing Fire Electricity Sector Methodology

This document provides RMI's methodology for the analysis of the electricity sector in Reinventing Fire.

 

Reply to "The Efficiency Dilemma"

In this letter published in The New Yorker, Amory Lovins responds to David Owen's article about energy efficiency and Jevons Paradox.

 

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