Reinventing Fire Electricity Sector Methodology

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

 

Keeping the Lights on While Transforming Electric Utilities

This article discusses the new electricity paradigm required of electric utilities in the face of climate change, energy security concerns, and disruptive technologies. The new paradigm for utilities is based on energy efficiency, demand response, renewables, energy storage, and distributed generation.

 

Industrial Electric Productivity: Myths, Barriers & Solutions

There is an enormous gap in the electric productivity of the nation. Increasing industrial electric productivity is a significant near-term opportunity that can reduce electricity costs, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of output, and increase profits. RMI believes that increasing industrial electric productivity is an untapped source of value, and is important to the longevity of industry in the United States.

 

Resilience in Energy Strategy

In this editorial, Amory Lovins argues that modern society is entirely dependent on the uninterrupted supply of electricity. Due to the over-centralization of our power supply, however, we find ourselves vulnerable to even minor perturbations in the electrical grid. Lovins argues that incorporating resiliency into the design of our power system is critical to success, and can be best accomplished by reducing the scale and complexity of electrical generation. A truly resilient energy strategy would use fossil fuels far more efficiently to tide us over while we rapidly deploy diverse, relatively simple, renewable sources of energy that are matched in scale and in energy quality to the tasks at hand.

 

eLab: Accelerating Innovation in the Electricity Sector

Strong forces—the growing need for major infrastructure investments, climate change, new demands for electricity services, rapid technological development and cost reduction—are aligning to drive transformative change in the U.S. electricity sector. Watch now and learn: • How diverse industry stakeholders are creatively collaborating to develop innovative, practical solutions • Why there's a special urgency now to fix the utility business model • Why accelerating the transformation to a new energy future requires multi- stakeholder dialogue Visit www.rmi.org/elab for more information

 

eLab: Setting the Course for a New Electricity Paradigm

What do you think it will take to change our electricity system to one that is cleaner, more reliable, and customer-friendly? Watch the second in RMI's eLab video series, and learn: - Why "business as usual" is the biggest threat to changing our balkanized electricity system - How collaboration on shared issues is key to shifting complex systems - How eLab is focused on action—not just talk

 

eLab: Transforming the Electricity System

Integration and dialogue are critical to transforming the electricity system. While this multi-year project is just beginning, e-Lab has already engaged a diverse and influential group of stakeholders from the U.S. electricity sector to learn and work together. Watch the third in RMI's eLab video series, and learn: - How eLab is incubating new ideas generated by diverse stakeholders - Why a unified energy vision is a pressing need - What it means to take a bold new move

 

eLab: Accelerating Innovation at the Distribution Edge

When we look forward to a transformed electricity system, the most important changes are happening now at the point of use in buildings and in communities. The distribution edge—the interface between the electricity system's macrogrid and therapidly growing portfolios of energy assets, control systems, and end-use technologies—is where the fundamental forces changing the economy at large are having their greatestimpact in the electricity sector. That's where RMI's Electricity Innovation Lab (eLab) is focused.

 

FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff Applauds eLab

eLab will provide participating regulators with information regarding the factors that influence the value of different resource solutions. The e-Lab project will prove to be an extremely valuable product to FERC as we move towards shaping policy for consumers to take advantage of efficient wholesale market designs.