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Energy

Energy plays a vital role in the global economy: fossil fuel dependency, the stability of the supply chain, and the prospects for harnessing previously untapped resources affect a range of policy concerns, from national security and international affairs to economic development and climate change. RAND's energy research covers the spectrum from energy conservation and security to emerging technologies and energy use by the U.S. armed forces.

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The Industrial Base for Carbon Dioxide Storage: Status and Prospects

If policies aimed at large reductions of carbon dioxide emissions are enacted, more carbon capture and storage will be needed. RAND researchers explored the ability of the industrial base to support the expansion of carbon storage.

Mar 18, 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
Report

Capabilities-Based Planning Can Enhance Energy Security at DoD Installations

Energy security strategies are needed because DoD installations rely on the U.S. commercial electricity grid which is vulnerable to disruption from natural hazards and actor-induced outages, such as physical or cyber attacks.

Feb 20, 2013
Commentary

The Environmental Costs of Emissions from Shale Gas Extraction

Further study, including primary data collection in regions where extraction is occurring, will be important to track the magnitude of emissions and to ensure that Pennsylvania's permit requirements are adequate to protect human health and the environment, writes Aimee Curtright.

Feb 14, 2013
Blog

The State of the Union 2013

The 2013 SOTU address will be remembered for its impassioned call for greater gun control just two months after Sandy Hook. But President Obama's second-term agenda can be characterized by its sheer breadth, reflecting the broad range of policy challenges facing the U.S. today.

Feb 13, 2013
Commentary

Global Methane Initiative: Converting Harmful Emissions to Usable Energy

Carbon dioxide has garnered the most attention in the climate change debate because it accounts for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. But there is good reason to worry about methane, say Nicholas Burger and Noreen Clancy.

Feb 6, 2013
Multimedia

Estimating Regional Air-Quality Damages from Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction in Pennsylvania

RAND physical scientist Aimee Curtright describes RAND research that provides a first-order estimate of air emissions, and the monetary value of the associated damages, from the extraction of shale gas in Pennsylvania.

Jan 31, 2013
Commentary

The Motivations Behind the Amenas Terrorist Attack

An attack of this complexity would have required months of reconnaissance, planning, recruiting of inside confederates, and training of participants. France's intervention in Mali was used to “justify” an attack that would likely have taken place anyway, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.

Jan 29, 2013
Report

Examining Different Forms of Organizations for Managing and Disposing of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste

A federal government corporation and an independent government agency are the two most promising models for a new organization to manage and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.

Jan 11, 2013
Research Brief

Options for an Organization to Manage and Dispose of Radioactive Materials

RAND researchers describe the attributes of potential organizational models and the steps needed to choose the form of a new organization charged with managing and disposing of commercial and defense high-level radioactive materials.

Jan 11, 2013
News Release

Examining Different Forms of Organizations for Managing and Disposing of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive ...

A federal government corporation and an independent government agency are the two most promising models for a new organization to manage and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States.

Jan 11, 2013
Commentary

The Mirage of the Arab Spring

Like it or not, the United States counts among its allies a number of authoritarian Arab countries, and they are essential partners in protecting its interests, writes Seth G. Jones. The normative hope that liberal democracy may flourish in the future must be balanced by the need to work with governments and societies as they exist today.

Jan 3, 2013
Journal Article

Estimating Regional Air-Quality Damages from Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction in Pennsylvania

Producing natural gas from shale generates air pollutant emissions. RAND researchers provided a first-order estimate of air emissions, and the monetary value of the associated damages, from the extraction of shale gas in Pennsylvania.

Jan 1, 2013
Report

Modernizing the Mobility Air Force for Tomorrow's Air Traffic Management System

Building on RAND work examining the cost-effectiveness of modernizing the U.S. Air Force's KC-10 aerial refueling tanker to comply with airspace modernization mandates, this study extended the analysis to the C-5, C-17, C-130, and KC-135 fleets.

Dec 6, 2012
Report

Can More Be Done to Improve Energy Security in the Gulf of Guinea?

Improving the security of the Gulf of Guinea's oil infrastructure would increase output and promote additional investment, to the benefit of oil importing nations. The U.S. Air Force has expertise that could help build local security capabilities.

Nov 21, 2012
Commentary

Chinese-Iranian Ties in the Face of the Nuclear Crisis

The U.S. effort to isolate and pressure Iran in order to extract concessions on the nuclear program faces a significant vulnerability: the ties between Iran and the People’s Republic of China, writes Alireza Nader.

Nov 12, 2012
Commentary

Two Unspoken Issues in the Presidential Energy Debate

Both candidates glossed over two issues: the myth that independence from imported oil will reduce gasoline prices and the policies that will be needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and temper climate change, writes Keith Crane.

Nov 6, 2012
Journal Article

What Works in Changing Energy-Using Behaviours in the Home? A Rapid Evidence Assessment: Final Report

In November 2012, the Department of Energy and Climate Change unveiled the UK's national Energy Efficiency Strategy, setting out the direction of their policy for the coming decades. RAND Europe's research on

Nov 1, 2012
Commentary

Will Iran Close the Strait of Hormuz?

Just by threatening to close the Strait, Iran increases pressure on the U.S. to restrain Israel from attacking Iran. Other key players—including major oil importers such as China, Japan, and India—would be reluctant to support military action because of heavy dependence on Persian Gulf oil, writes Alireza Nader.

Oct 2, 2012
Blog

Farsighted Leadership in a Shortsighted World: 9 Issues That Deserve Attention During the 2012 U.S. Presidential Debates and Beyond

For nearly 65 years, RAND has cultivated the farsighted perspectives required to address the big, long-term public policy issues. In an effort to look beyond the 2012 U.S. election and promote “farsighted leadership in a shortsighted world,” the latest edition of the RAND Corporation’s magazine offers commentaries that transcend partisan rhetoric and foster policies that both presidential candidates could well accept.

Sep 24, 2012

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