By FREE Staff As the U.S. shifts to the electrification of its transport and other systems, one of the biggest and most difficult challenges the country faces is how to ensure the electric grid can handle the added stress. The country’s network of hundreds of thousands of miles of powerlines is taking center stage in […]
Read More »‘Low-Carbon Planning for All’: How to Create an Equitable Energy Transition
By FREE Staff The U.S. is in the midst of a historic energy transition. With the passage of massive federal legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, states and local communities are making tangible progress in the transition to a clean energy-fueled economy. Such a shift is set to improve the lives of millions of Americans, […]
Read More »How the U.S. can create widespread job opportunities in the era of the IRA
By FREE Staff With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the United States entered a new age in its clean energy transition. The law, passed last August 2022, is the single largest federal investment in a clean energy economy in the country’s history. The IRA not only created financial incentives, loans and programs to […]
Read More »A New Climate Chapter: The 2022 US Inflation Reduction Act Spurs Action to Address Climate Change
By FREE Staff Attempts by the federal government to enact meaningful climate policy have often been stifled due to political intransigence and infighting. A recent phenomenon documented by the Foundation for Renewable Energy & Environment (FREE) research team is the growing hostility by the national Republican party towards climate science and action, with Democratic party […]
Read More »Acceleration of Community-Wide Clean Energy Investments in the Green Bond Market
By FREE Staff In June of 2023, a local community initiative in California announced the launch of its second pre-paid ‘green bond’ of $1 billion to procure 685.5 megawatt (MW) of renewable energy to serve its one million community members. The green bond will be applied to operate four power purchase agreements, three for solar […]
Read More »California’s Bold Solar Energy Vision
By Joseph Nyangon How California’s New Rooftop Solar Mandate Will Build Additional Value for Its Customers The boldest new plan yet to increase electricity generation from noncarbon-producing sources has been announced by California. Highly regarded as a trendsetter and vanguard of progressive energy policies, California became the first state to require solar power installed on all […]
Read More »The Scale of the Energy Access Gap
By Benjamin M. Attia Access to electricity is a key catalyst correlated with economic development. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently estimated that over 1.5 billion people do not have access to affordable electricity, representing one quarter of the world’s population [1]. In the absence of aggressive new policies and significant financing, it is estimated that […]
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