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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.

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
Report
Evaluation of Energy Systems Network's Moving Forward Initiative in Indiana: Initial Program Outcomes and Potential Impacts
Moving Forward takes a novel approach to developing affordable, energy-efficient housing and transportation. The authors recommend ways to strengthen the program and increase the likelihood of achieving and verifying outcomes as the program matures.
Sep 21, 2021
Commentary
Achieving Decarbonization and Energy Equity Through Reconciliation
The past two years have witnessed increasingly vocal calls for rapid decarbonization of the global economy through a clean energy transition. How can Congress ensure that new costs associated with a clean energy transition do not fall disproportionately on lower-income ratepayers?
Sep 9, 2021
Report
Developing the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: An Opportunity to Reduce Risk and Impacts of Future Spills in Freshwater
In 2016, Congress directed the U.S. Coast Guard to establish the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response. This report makes recommendations for the center, its staffing, potential partnerships, and location.
Aug 31, 2021
Essay
Costa Rica Leads the Way in Cutting Carbon Emissions
Almost every country has pledged to slash carbon emissions to slow the gears of global warming. Costa Rica's plan provides a glimpse of what a carbon-neutral future will look like. It shows how nations can take action and make investments that hold up, regardless of what future comes to pass.
Aug 30, 2021
Journal Article
Decarbonising UK Transport: Final Report and Technology Roadmaps
The report sets out a series of 7 technological roadmaps to reduce and remove direct emissions from the UK's domestic transport by 2050.
Jul 15, 2021
Report
Incentivizing Solar: Catalyzing Solar Energy Technology Adoption to Address the Challenge of Climate Change
The authors provide an overview of the U.S. solar energy market and identify federal incentives that can help decarbonize the U.S. economy. They also explore solar reliability, job benefits, and availability to disadvantaged communities.
Jul 14, 2021
Commentary
Depoliticizing Russian Gas in Europe
At their June 16 Summit in Geneva, Presidents Biden and Putin might consider how to reduce the sharp tensions over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. Cooperation among governments and companies may offer potential.
Jun 11, 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
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

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