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Energy Security

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Because most of the world's oil and natural gas resources are concentrated in a small number of countries, many nations have economic, social, and geopolitical concerns about energy dependence. RAND research explores options for improving energy security—e.g., the use of domestically available alternative or renewable energy sources.

Commentary
Puerto Rico's Food Security Must Factor in Planning Energy Security
The tragedy of disaster recovery has unlocked substantial capital for Puerto Rico to rewrite its interdependent security in energy and food. Considering food security in this context could help to ensure the population has access to both power and food.
Feb 24, 2023
Project
AI for Energy Security
RAND Europe examines AI applications that may help in current and future energy crises, and evaluates the potential security risks associated with AI in energy systems.
Feb 9, 2023

Explore Energy Security

Commentary
An Affordable Energy Transition Will Require Supportive and Sensible Regulation
The transition to decarbonize the grid and to electrify end uses to reduce emissions will be challenging, and customer bills may increase in the short term. Regulators can help to keep utilities financially healthy and make a smoother energy transition possible.
Nov 13, 2023
Commentary
Do Generals Dream of Electric Tanks?
Members of the House Armed Services Committee have expressed concerns over the electrification of Army combat vehicles. Though such concerns have some merit, there is also a larger issue motivating research and development efforts—the growing demand for energy on the battlefield.
Aug 8, 2023
Commentary
Can China's Green Energy Acceleration Put at Risk the West's Hydrogen Plans?
Hydrogen (H2) plays a key role in the decarbonization plans of the European Union and the United States. Both have launched aggressive hydrogen strategies to increase the generation of H2 and deployment of related technologies. But these bold ambitions may face headwinds due to the acceleration of China's energy transition.
Apr 3, 2023
Journal Article
Reflecting on One Year of War: The Role of Non-Military Levers
One year after Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this article examines the role of non-military levers (e.g., diplomatic, information, economic) in the conflict so far.
Mar 28, 2023
Commentary
Consequences of the War in Ukraine: The Economic Fallout
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, projections estimated global economic growth in 2022 would be around 5 percent. But the war in Ukraine contributed to slowed economic growth in 2022 and a slowed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. What are the broader consequences for the global economy?
Mar 7, 2023
Commentary
Is Seabed Mining an Opportunity to Break China's Stranglehold on Critical Minerals Supply Chains?
China dominates global supply chains for nearly all critical mineral resources, including the rare earths that power decarbonization technologies. Seabed mining may be a way to diversify critical minerals supply chains and break China's stranglehold on supplies of some of the world's most important natural resources.
Nov 21, 2022
Dissertation
Ovens and Tinderboxes in the Golden State: A Mixed-Methods Exploratory Analysis of Joint Heatwave Power Outage Events
Examines associations between hazards, outages, and health outcomes for California cities from 2008–2020.
Jul 21, 2022
Commentary
Rebuilding Ukraine for a Changing Climate
When the war in Ukraine ends, the country will in all likelihood undergo a massive reconstruction. Ukraine could rebuild in a way that would both lower its carbon footprint and construct infrastructure resilient to the effects of climate change.
Jul 8, 2022
Report
Developing a Community-Led Certification Process for Facility Power Outage Resilience: Findings from a Massachusetts Pilot Study
A research team articulated power outage resilience metrics via stakeholder interviews and a literature review, piloted a certification program, and used focus groups to assess the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Resiliency program's effectiveness.
Jun 8, 2022
Periodical
RAND Review: March-April 2022
The cover story describes a yearlong study of a group of military veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Other features examine the global digital skills gap and the magnitude and sources of disagreement among gun policy experts.
Mar 10, 2022
Report
Equity Metrics for Climate Adaptation in the Electricity Sector
Social equity has become a key concern among public agencies. The authors developed an illustrative set of context-specific equity metrics that Southern California Edison could build on and incorporate into its ongoing work toward climate adaptation.
Feb 17, 2022
Journal Article
Disaster Risk Creation and Cascading Disasters Within Large Technological Systems: COVID-19 and the 2021 Texas Blackouts
Here we describe the 2021 Texas blackouts during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of disaster risk creation and cascading disaster, showing how risk emerges and propagates across large technological systems.
Oct 15, 2021
Commentary
Is DarkSide Really Sorry? Is It Even DarkSide?
The U.S. military relies heavily on commercial energy assets, making the implications of events like the Colonial Pipeline outage more serious than just higher prices at the gas pump. The origins and severity of an attack dictate what the United States might do in response.
May 19, 2021
Commentary
China Does Not Have to Be America's Enemy in the Middle East
China and Iran made a deal in which China promised to boost its investment in Iranian infrastructure in exchange for a steady supply of oil. This uptick in Chinese influence does not necessarily erode U.S. power in the region. The United States may even find overlapping interests with China since both have a stake in containing conflicts and instability.
Apr 19, 2021
Commentary
Now Is (Finally) the Time to Future-Proof Our Infrastructure
The world is barreling toward a more volatile climate with infrastructure designed for the past. With infrastructure widely expected to be prioritized in Congress soon, every infrastructure bill is also a climate bill. It is critical that we make our infrastructure climate-safe.
Apr 1, 2021
Commentary
The Pentagon Could Help Improve Resilience of the U.S. Electric Grid
The resilience and robustness of the U.S. electric grid needs to be improved, especially given the likely increased occurrence and magnitude of natural disasters due to climate change. This is where government entities that operate large facilities in the United States, such as the Department of Defense, can potentially play a role.
Mar 25, 2021
Journal Article
Infrastructure Resilience to Navigate Increasingly Uncertain and Complex Conditions in the Anthropocene
Resilience theory can help infrastructure managers navigate increasing complexity of the systems and environments in which they operate.
Mar 4, 2021
Blog
Russian Propaganda, Domestic Terrorism, America's Electric Grid: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how Americans react to Russian memes on Facebook, the possibility of domestic terrorism during election season, protecting the U.S. electric grid, and more.
Oct 16, 2020
Commentary
The Downside of a Lean Electric Grid
The electric grid is central to U.S. national security. Recent disasters provide an example of the downsides of leanness. It's more costly to be less lean, but given our dependence on the electric grid and the increasing prevalence of disasters, safety and resilience may be greater priorities.
Oct 13, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Energy Security

Topic Synonyms:
Energy Access

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

James D. Powers

Quality Assurance Manager, RAND National Security Research Division

James D. Powers is a RAND senior engineer and the Quality Assurance Manager for the National Security Research Division. Since joining RAND, Powers has led or co-led projects on F-35 cost reduction, cybersecurity in Air Force acquisition, Air Force energy assurance, and advanced manufacturing…
Tim Wu

Ph.D. Student, Pardee RAND Graduate School, and Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Tim Wu is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. student in the Research, Analysis, and Design stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Prior to joining Pardee RAND, he was the executive officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power), serving as…

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