Electricity
A Tidal Wave of Local Clean Energy in California
Menlo Spark is an independent nonprofit working to help Menlo Park, California, become climate neutral by 2025. It is working with Peninsula Clean Energy to provide clean energy to San Mateo County. RMI worked as a strategic advisor to Menlo Spark in the early stages of its effort. A clean…
The Corporate Renewables Market Is Ready for Smaller Buyers
This blog post is part of a series from RMI’s Business Renewables Center (BRC), which streamlines and accelerates corporate purchasing of off-site, large-scale renewable energy. “The era of expensive renewables is over,” declared the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol,…
The Importance of Distribution-Scale Solar for Grid Resilience
When Hurricanes Harvey and Irma blew through the southern United States, they left millions without power. During such natural disasters, access to electricity is more critical than ever, allowing hospitals to run medical equipment, letting people charge phones and computers to communicate with the outside world, and powering lifesaving…
Blockchain Is Reimagining the Rules of the Game in the Energy Sector
Through the Energy Web Foundation, RMI is supporting the commercial implementation of blockchain applications that promote investments in clean, secure, and reliable electricity systems worldwide. Blockchain technology—the technology underpinning the Bitcoin virtual currency— has the potential to accelerate the transition to the clean energy future that Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has…
Changes in the Power Sector Are an Opportunity, Not a Threat
On August 23, the U.S. Department of Energy released the findings and recommendations of its highly anticipated study on grid resilience and reliability. Secretary Perry commissioned the study in April, in a memo leading with the thoroughly debunked proposition that “baseload power is necessary to a well-functioning…