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Alternative and Renewable Energy

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High oil prices and growing worries about climate change have heightened interest in alternative and renewable energy sources, but these frequently cost more than fossil fuels. RAND has explored the feasibility of using renewable resources such as wind power and ethanol to reduce CO₂ emissions and enhance energy security, and analyzed the likely effects of such technologies on consumer energy costs.

Report

Near-Term Opportunities for Integrating Biomass into the U.S. Electricity Supply

Aug 2, 2011

Biomass is an increasingly important source of electricity, heat, and liquid fuel. One near-term option for using it to generate electricity is to cofire biomass in coal-fired electricity plants. Factors to consider are plant-site modifications, changes in operations, costs, and logistical issues with delivering biomass to the plant.
Commentary

In South Africa, Bold Investments Turn Trash into Treasure

Dec 3, 2014

In South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, investments made over the past 20 years have created a dump with a difference. Rather than being a blight on the neighborhood of Mariannhill, the state-of-the-art Mariannhill Landfill Conservancy is an asset.

Explore Alternative and Renewable Energy

Journal Article

Journal Article

Green Industrial Policy in Emerging Markets

In this article, we review the evidence on the design and implementation of green industrial policies. We focus on emerging markets, and emphasize five lessons for the use of green industrial policy.

Aug 8, 2017
Commentary

Getting (Solar) Electricity Pricing Right

Demand for rooftop solar panels is soaring among U.S. homeowners. Meanwhile, states are struggling to adapt a 20th-century electrical grid—and the corresponding cost structure for electricity rates—to this 21st-century reality. This is causing confusion and uncertainty.

Jul 24, 2017
Dissertation

Dissertation

Let There Be Light: Green Industrial Policy and Energy Access in India

Explores the competitiveness of India's domestic manufacturing across the supply chain; barriers and enablers to developing a domestic industry; and the cost of industrial policy support.

Feb 27, 2017
Commentary

Uncertainty and Complexity: Biomass Can Help on the Path to Deep Decarbonization

While biomass will almost certainly never become the dominant fuel for the electricity sector in the United States, it is still worth including as part of a menu of greenhouse gas mitigation strategies.

Feb 24, 2017
Commentary

Investing in Infrastructure? Don't Forget the Electric Grid

Leaving the future of America's electricity grid to chance should not be an option. To maximize the potential benefits of a multibillion-dollar smart grid investment, a closer examination of technology and policy is needed.

Dec 7, 2016
Commentary

States Could Step Up on Climate Change

The new administration has expressed skepticism about climate change. But states may choose to pursue their own climate change initiatives.

Nov 26, 2016
Report

Report

Scenario Development for the 2015 Quadrennial Energy Review: Assessing Stresses, Opportunities, and Resilience in the Transmission, Storage, and Distribution Systems for Oil and Refined-Oil Products, Electricity, and Natural Gas

RAND researchers developed a framework and metrics for examining vulnerabilities, opportunities, and risks to U.S. energy transmission, storage, and distribution systems through 2030 under a range of uncertainties.

Sep 27, 2016
Dissertation

Dissertation

Improving Energy Security for Air Force Installations

Develops a methodology and tool that will allow installation commanders and energy managers the ability to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of various energy investment options.

Nov 23, 2015
Commentary

China Can Fix Its Severe Pollution Problem

China's economic transformation over the last three decades has produced potentially deadly air pollution its people inhale every day. But an investment of $215 billion annually could substantially reduce pollution, lessen its drag on productivity, spare the lungs of countless people, and save lives.

Jan 19, 2015
Report

How Can China Reduce Its Air Pollution, and How Much Will It Cost?

Air pollution has been one of the most harmful consequences of China's last three decades of economic transformation and growth. China must address its air-pollution problem soon, but approaches to improve air quality come at a cost.

Jan 12, 2015
Commentary

New Coal Plant Rules Need Sustained Support to Succeed

Stopping climate change will require the U.S. and the rest of the world to virtually eliminate emissions over the course of the 21st century. Getting anywhere close to zero emissions demands sustained political and public support, driven by an energy production sector given enough incentives.

Jun 30, 2014
Dissertation

Policy Impacts on Wind and Solar Innovation

Predicting the effects of climate policies on energy use and the economy requires understanding how they will affect innovation. This study helps fill research gaps by using the number of relevant academic journal articles published per month as a proxy for innovation in wind and solar energy.

Oct 16, 2013
Journal Article

Journal Article

Identifying Key Drivers of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Biomass Feedstocks for Energy Production

Many policies in the United States, at both the federal and state levels, encourage the adoption of renewable energy from biomass.

Jun 20, 2013
Commentary

Why China’s Suntech Might Not Be Alone in Heading Toward Bankruptcy

As solar power remains more expensive than conventional sources of electricity in most parts of the world, demand for photovoltaic solar panels still primarily depends on government subsidies, says Keith Crane.

Mar 29, 2013
Multimedia

An Energy-Independent United States

Energy expert Keith Crane discusses shifts in U.S. energy markets, their economic implications and effects on gasoline and electricity prices, and how these developments might affect climate change.

Mar 20, 2013
Commentary

Transitioning to a Carbon Tax Credit

Instead of setting an arbitrary Production Tax Credit value for producers of renewable energy, we could provide a tax credit based on the social value of clean electricity generation, writes Constantine Samaras.

Feb 20, 2013
Periodical

Periodical

Research Offers Viable Options for U.S. Energy Policy

Obama has championed an "all-of-the-above strategy" to develop every available source of American energy "while making sure we never have to choose between protecting our environment and strengthening our economy." Romney would not provide support for ventures in new energy technologies. RAND's research on renewable fuels, oil shale development, and fuel taxes provides options.

Sep 21, 2012
Commentary

Commentary

DoD Renewable Fuels Investment Premature

Technological development challenges suggest that it is highly unlikely that advanced approaches for producing hydrotreated renewable oils suitable for military applications will constitute an important fraction of the commercial fuel market until well beyond the next decade, writes Keith Crane.

May 24, 2012
Blog

Blog

Earth Day and RAND

As people around the world prepare for the 42nd annual Earth Day this Sunday, we look back at some of the recent research from RAND's Environment, Energy, and Economic Development program.

Apr 20, 2012

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