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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.

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

Micromobility: How Will We Know When It's Working?

Micromobility was positioned as a solution for every urban problem from traffic congestion to air pollution to transit deserts and inequality. Is there a way to know if micromobility can fulfill these ambitious goals?

May 18, 2021
Multimedia

Successes in the Fight Against Climate Change

RAND senior policy researcher Benjamin Preston presents several climate change successes from recent years.

Apr 22, 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

Navigating Speed Bumps to a Possible Federal Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee

It's been clear for years that the gas tax has been losing its ability to pay for America's existing roads and bridges, let alone improvements and new construction. A vehicle miles traveled fee could provide a potential option for a 21st-century transportation funding system.

Mar 26, 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
Journal Article

The Measurement of Disaster Recovery Efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis: An Application to Electric Power Restoration

This paper considers disaster severity to assess efficiency for electric utilities. We provide an application to recent post-hurricane restoration activities across different electric power companies in the states and territories of the United States.

Dec 15, 2020
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
Journal Article

Fossil Fuel–Fired Power Plant Operations Under a Changing Climate

In this analysis, we used a power plant modeling tool to study how a variety of power plant configurations respond to varying meteorological conditions.

Oct 13, 2020
Report

Public Buildings in Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria: Prestorm Challenges, Hurricane Damage, and Suggested Courses of Action for Recovery

HSOAC presents a summary of hurricane damage to public buildings in Puerto Rico and 12 courses of action to repair damage and modernize public building infrastructure for increased resilience, improved energy efficiency, and improved user experience.

Sep 30, 2020
Journal Article

Maintaining Critical Infrastructure Resilience to Natural Hazards During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Hurricane Preparations by US Energy Companies

This article describes the ways that an energy organization, the regional transmission operator PJM, is preparing for hurricanes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article has implications for policy makers working to maintain infrastructure resilience to natural hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aug 11, 2020
Report

Alternatives for Reducing Army Installation Utility Bills While Enhancing Installation Readiness

Researchers identified options for reducing installation utility costs in three areas: reducing commodity payments; finding alternative funding sources for energy and water system investments; and leveraging nontraditional partnerships.

Jun 18, 2020
Report

The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Education, Workforce Development, and Catalyzing the Community: Reflections from 2014 Through 2019

RAND researchers trace the impact of the Appalachia Partnership Initiative investments on science, technology, engineering, and math education for grades K-12 and energy and advanced manufacturing workforce development from 2014 through 2019.

May 6, 2020
Report

Education, Employment, and Wages in the Appalachia Region: Final Report (2020)

The authors of this report examine indicators of the health of education and labor markets in the Appalachia Partnership Initiative region, with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and on the extraction industry.

Apr 9, 2020
Report

The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Workforce Development and Catalyzing the Community: Reflections from 2014 Through 2018

This report is the third assessment of the Appalachia Partnership Initiative's (API's) progress in meeting its goals and vision. The authors consider the API's strategic alignment, beneficiaries, effectiveness, community catalyst, and sustainability.

Apr 7, 2020
Periodical

RAND Review: March-April 2020

Feature stories spotlight how technology can better serve the world's displaced people, the promise of supportive housing for people with mental illness, and a RAND climate scientist's personal brush with wildfire.

Mar 9, 2020
Q&A

Thinking Outside the Grid: Q&A with Anu Narayanan

Anu Narayanan, an engineer at RAND, is a specialist in what-ifs. Her research focuses on critical infrastructure and national security. In this interview, she discusses her latest work that explores what would happen if a cyberattacker tried to take down the power grid.

Mar 5, 2020

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