If you are looking for recent reports and projects since 2001, please refer to the REPP homepage, Policy section or technology section in addition to the above search function.

Under each title below you will find an abstract, a link to a PDF version of the publication, and links to HTML versions and Word versions (when applicable). To view the PDF versions, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 or higher. We used WinZip to compress the Word Perfect and Word files for faster downloading. If you find any problems reading or downloading our publications, please contact Damian Kostiuk, and we will solve the problem as quickly as possible.

 

• Blending Wind and Solar into the Diesel Generator Market
  by Virinder Singh
  Research Report No. 12, Winter 2001
  Diesel generators are a significant source of air pollution in the United States. This is the first and most comprehensive look at diesel's environmental impacts and recommended renewable energy solutions.
  Report: PDF
  Press Release: PDF
  

 

• Resolution on Sustainable Energy and Low-Income and Minority Communities
  with Fact Sheet by Virinder Singh
  Special Report, Fall 2000
  Over 50 diverse groups from across the United States have come together to express common concerns and solutions for our energy system. The accompanying fact sheet provides background material and context for the Resolution.
  Report: HTML PDF
  Press Release

 

• Federal Energy Subsidies: Not All Technologies Are Created Equal
  by Marshall Goldberg
  Wind, solar and nuclear power received approximately $150 billion in cumulative Federal subsidies over roughly 50 years, some 95% of which supported nuclear power.
  Report: PDF
  Press Release:PDF
  Supporting Tables in PDF:
  • Table A1: Technology Subsidy Data
    
  • Table A2: Hydropower Subsidy Data
  • Table A3: Department of Energy and Energy Research and Development Administration Direct Program Outlays
  • Table A4: Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Atomic Energy Commission Outlays
  • Table A5: Price-Anderson Nuclear Subsidy
  • Table A6: Renewable Energy Tax Credits and Incentive Payments
  • Table A7: Electric Industry Net Generation
  
   
  
• Build It Right: Cleaner Energy for Better Buildings
  by Ed Cohen-Rosenthal, Mary Schlarb, and Jennifer Thorne
  with Adam Serchuk and Don Bradley
  Research Report No. 10, May, 2000
  Buildings leave an enormous environmental footprint, and they determine our comfort and productivity. Growing the market for clean, affordable buildings will require numerous steps on the part of many actors, but it will have a tremendous payoff. A REPP and ACEEE report.
  Report:PDF
  Press Release: PDF
  
   
  
• The Environmental Imperative for Renewable Energy: An Update
  by Adam Serchuk
  Special Earth Day Report, April 2000
  Every option for generating electricity affects the environment. As this survey makes clear, conventional generating options can damage our air, climate, water, land and wildlife, as well as raising levels of harmful radiation. Renewable technologies are substantially safer. The environmental imperative remains clear: the future must be renewable.
  Executive Summary: PDF
  Report: HTML PDF
  Press Release: HTML
   
  
• A Guide to the Clean Air Act for the Renewable Energy Community
  by David R. Wooley
  February, 2000
  Renewable energy is a clean energy source. However, air regulations have furnished limited benefits to renewable energy markets. Fortunately the opportunity to integrate renewables into the Clean Air Act is arriving now. By understanding how air regulation works, the renewable energy community can help shape effective policy, assure that renewables cut air pollution, and secure financial benefits.
  HTML   PDF (159k)   Press Release
   
  
• A Sustainable Energy Industry Cluster for Mesa Del Sol
  by Adam Serchuk and Virinder Singh
  January, 2000
  Working Paper funded by the State Land Office of the State of New Mexico
  A sustainable energy industry cluster such as the one here investigated for Mesa Del Sol will provide two benefits: an expanded opportunity for citizens to choose clean energy at home; and jobs from manufacturing sustainable energy products for out-of-state and foreign sale.
  HTML
   
  
• Rural Electrification with Solar Energy as a Climate Protection Strategy
  by Steven Kaufman with contributions by Richard Duke, Richard Hansen, John Rogers, Richard Schwartz, and Mark Trexler
  Research Report No.9, January 2000
  As the world struggles to control energy-related greenhouse gases, electricity-starved rural families in the developing world toil to build decent lives. Photovoltaic systems provide a unified solution, bringing power to those that need it, while making a moderate but important contribution to climate protection.
  HTML   PDF   Press Release
   
  
• Renewable Energy Policy Outside the United States
  by Curtis Moore and Jack Ihle
  Issue Brief No.14, October 1999
  Many industrialized nations have enacted a variety of policies to commercialize renewable energy—some are appropriate for the U.S. to pursue, others not. The U.S. can learn from all of them to expand its own domestic renewable energy market. But if the U.S. does not commit to a multi-year, diverse mix of commercialization strategies soon, it will continue to lose its share of a growing global market.
  HTML     PDF
  
  
   
  
• Power Switch: Will the Restructured Electric Utility Help the Environment?
  by Richard F. Hirsh and Adam H. Serchuk
  from Environment Magazine, September 1999
  copyright © 1999 Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation
  Consumers across the United States are discovering that changes are underway in the electric power industry. What do these changes mean for the environment? Some fear that reduced regulatory oversight will lead to environmental abuses and a market dominated by the cheapest, dirtiest sources of electric power. Others, noting that traditional regulation has produced only grudging, token actions by electric utilities to protect the environment, hope that new technology will prove both cleaner and cheaper and that people will voluntarily buy "green" power generated from renewable resources. Which vision is valid? Read this paper and decide for yourself.
  HTML
   
  
• Electrofinance
  by Joel Gordes and Jeremy Leggett
  Issue Brief No.13, August 1999
  The American insurance industry could lose billions of dollars from weather disasters related to climate change. "Electrofinance" represents an innovative consumer product that profit-minded insurers could offer; it would bundle electricity, a retirement annuity, energy efficiency and renewable energy. By selling electrofinance, insurers can take modest, but important, initial steps in helping to control carbon emissions, and thereby prevent climate change.
  HTML     PDF (134k)
  
   
  
• Financing Solar Energy in the U.S.
  by Michael T. Eckhart
  July 1999
  This scoping paper establishes a framework for a potential future project on the "financeability" of solar energy. It considers solar energy from the point of view of potential lenders, who assess the likelihood of repayment, first from the borrower's cash flow and good character; second from the solar system's collateral value; and finally from third-party guarantees. Policy and programs must address those factors to have an impact on market-based lending decisions. This paper proposes a project to develop such policies and also contains a lengthy appendix of financing programs and resources currently available.
  Executive Summary     Word 7/97 document (360k)     PDF (156k)
  NOTE: The downloadable Word 7/97 version is best read by Office 97 users. All others are encouraged to download the PDF file. Word 7/97 users, please use page layout view for best results.
   
  
• The Grassroots Are Greener: A Community-Based Approach to Marketing Green Power
  by Rudd Mayer, Eric Blank, and Blair Swezey
  Research Report No.8, June 1999
  One of the most successful green pricing programs in the country resulted from an innovative partnership between the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies and Public Service Company of Colorado, in which the environmental group helps market the electric utility's green power product. This approach to renewable energy development presents both risks and potential benefits, but may offer a model for other organizations in other states.
  HTML     PDF (234k)
   
  
• Clean Government: Options for Governments to Buy Renewable Energy
  by Virinder Singh
  Issue Brief No. 12, May 1999
  For many reasons, governments should purchase renewable energy technologies and green power for their own needs. At its best, government procurement can prepare renewable energy firms for the consumer markets on which they ultimately will have to depend, but only as long as governments follow certain policies that will not permanently distract firms into a unique government market.
  HTML PDF Download (131 kb)
   
  
• Evaluation of a Proposal for Green Power Price Insurance
  by Robert C. Means, LL.B., S.J.D.
  Special Report, May 1999
  The nascent green power market faces a constraint: customers will sign only short-term purchase contracts, yet renewable energy project developers require long-term purchase commitments to obtain financing. This paper concludes that green power price "insurance" can address this asymmetry, offering great potential to stimulate a market at an acceptable level of financial risk.
  HTML PDF Download (98 kb)
   
  
• Winner, Loser or Innocent Victim: Has Renewable Energy Performed as Expected?
  by James McVeigh, Dallas Burtraw, Joel Darmstadter, and Karen Palmer
  Research Report No. 7, April 1999
  Go to the Article
   
  
• Calculating, Monitoring, and Evaluating Greenhouse Gas Benefits
  by Steven L. Kaufman
  April 1999
  This paper reviews approaches to GHG benefit Q,M,&E used to date in GEF and AIJ projects involving SHS dissemination. It also briefly reviews existing guidance regarding Q,M,&E for the AIJ and GEF programs and summarizes emerging trends that may affect these tasks for SHS projects intending to participate in the CDM. Based on the review of experience and trends, the paper presents some suggestions regarding what might constitute good practices for Q,M,&E, particularly in the context of the CDM. ... a working draft.
  PDF     Word 97
   
  
• Expanding Markets for Photovoltaics: What To Do Next
  Research Coordinated by Adam Serchuk and Virinder Singh of the Renewable Energy Policy Project
  Special Report, December 1998
  Notwithstanding economic progress, markets for photovoltaics (PV) remain small and scattered. Based on extensive research and professional review, we endorse the product path to expand PV markets, as described in our ten-point package of recommendations.
  HTML PDF Download (111 kb)
  
   
  
  • Government Buydowns for the Residential Market
    by Thomas J. Starrs and Vincent Schwent, December 1998
    Download the Article in Word6 Format - zipped (66 kb)
     
    
  • Industry Development Strategy for the PV Sector
    by Eric Ingersoll, Daniel C. Gallagher, and Romana A. Vysatova, December 1998
    Download the Article in Word6 Format - zipped (50 kb)
     
    
  • Policies to Support a Distributed Energy System
    by Thomas J. Starrs and Howard J. Wenger, December 1998
    Download the Article in Word6 Format - zipped (64 kb)
     
    
  • Government Procurement to Expand PV Markets
    by Joel Stronberg and Virinder Singh, December 1998
    Download the Article in Word6 Format - zipped (48 kb)
     
    
  • Financing Large-Scale Increases in PV Production Capacity Through Innovative Risk-Management Structures and Contracts
    by Eric Ingersoll, Robert DiMatteo, and Romana A. Vysatova, December 1998
    Download the Article in Word6 Format - zipped (95 kb)
     
    
  • Public Education and Professional Training
    by Larry Shirley, Shawn Fitzpatrick, and Chris Larsen, December 1998
    Download the Article in Word6 Format - zipped (70 kb)
     
    
  • Accelerating PV Markets in Developing Countries
    by Michael Philips and Brooks H. Browne, December 1998
    Download the Article in Word6 Format - zipped (39 kb)
  
   
  
• Expanding Wind Power: Can Americans Afford It?
  by principal authors: Jamie Chapman, OEM Development Corp. and Steven Wiese, Planergy, Inc. with contributing authors: Edgar DeMeo, Electric Power Research Institute and Adam Serchuk, Renewable Energy Policy Project
  Research Report No. 6, October 1998
  This paper examines the potential impacts of large-scale wind commercialization on the electricity supply network and on electric rates.
  HTML PDF Download (131 kb)
   
  
• Putting It Together: Whole Buildings and a Whole Building Policy
  by the Passive Solar Industries Council and Donald Aitken
  Research Report No. 5, September 1998
  This paper explains why energy-conscious builders and architects need to consider "whole buildings" that use energy efficiently and cleanly. The paper suggests that whole buildings ought to form the basis of federal buildings poicy.
  HTML PDF Download (99 kb)
   
  
• Transforming the Market for Solar Water Heaters: A New Model to Build a Permanent Sales Force
  by John S. Hoffman and John Bruce Wells, with William T. Guiney
  Research Report No. 4, August 1998
  This paper explores the application of the market transformation techniques developed for energy-efficiency technologies to solar water heaters, and proposes new market mechanisms to build a market chain for this renewable technology.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (27 kb) PDF Download (94 kb)
   
  
• Climate of Opportunity: Renewable Energy after Kyoto
  by Christopher Flavin and Seth Dunn
  Issue Brief No. 11, July 1998
  This paper discusses the business opportunities for renewable energy opened by ongoing international climate negotiations, and considers who has to accomplish what to take advantage of those opportunities.
  HTML PDF Download (137 kb)
   
  
• Renewable Energy in Indian Country: Options for Tribal Governments
  by Dean B. Suagee
  Issue Brief No. 10, May 1998
  This paper proposes concrete means by which Native Americans can use renewable energy projects to develop local economies, produce "green power" and export product and preserve local environments.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (34 kb)
   
  
• Cooperative Wind: How Co-ops and Advocates Expanded Wind Power in Minnesota
  by Michael W. Tennis, Paul Jefferiss, and Steve Clemmer
  Research Report No. 3, April 1998
  The authors describe how a rural electric cooperative worked with a group of Minnesota clean energy advocates and the Union of Concerned Scientists to install wind turbines and offer green power to co-op members. The authors provide lessons learned for similar efforts in the future.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (26 kb)
   
  
• Action Recommendations for a project on Expanding Markets for Photovoltaics:
  facilitated by the Renewable Energy Policy Project
  April 1998
  This paper, a scoping document for a REPP research project, identifies seven major factors that can expand the market for photovoltaics. The paper is a result of extensive interviews with experts in and members of the PV field. The mission of the project is to answer the question "Who can do what to expand the U.S. PV industry?"
  HTML Word Perfect Download (27 kb)
   
  
• Electricity Sector Reform In Developing Countries: Implications for Renewable Energy
  by Dr. Keith Kozloff
  Research Report No. 2, March 1998
  This paper considers how different electricity sector reforms in the developing world will affect markets for bulk and distributed renewable energy, and recommends ways to ensure that electricity reform benefits renewables.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (41 kb)
   
  
• Power to the People: How Local Governments Can Build Green Electricity Markets
  by Peter Asmus
  Issue Brief No. 9, January 1998
  This paper discusses whether and how local governments can group citizens into a "buyers club" for power generated from renewable resources.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (24 kb)
   
  
• Green Power For Business: Good News from Traverse City
  by Edward A. Holt
  Research Report No. 1, July 1997
  HTML Word Perfect Download (59 kb)
   
  
• Natural Gas: Bridge to a Renewable Energy Future
  by Adam Serchuk and Robert Means
  Issue Brief No. 8, May 1997
  Today, inexpensive natural gas limits the market for renewable energy. Yet, substantial opportunities for renewables remain; the availability of gas is uneven across the world and accelerating climate change will require a conversion to carbon-free sources. Happily, competition between the two resources does not preclude cooperation since both technologies will benefit from similar policies and market structures. In the long term, natural gas can serve as a bridge to a renewable energy future if each community, acting in its own interest, supports the development of the other.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (46 kb) PDF Download (193 kb)
   
  
• Clean Hydrogen Transportation: A Market Opportunity For Renewable Energy
  by James S. Cannon
  Issue Brief No. 7, April 1997
  This paper examines an exciting market opportunity that will help achieve a sustainable energy economy: renewables-based hydrogen vehicles. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells used in place of conventional gasoline- and diesel-fueled internal combustion engines would reduce automotive pollution and bolster national energy security. The policy environment for this shift is favorable as public programs to promote alternative fuels are increasing. Further, much of the infrastructure is in place since technologies for natural gas vehicles are similar to the technologies that will be needed in a hydrogen-based transportation system. Overall, the economics of renewable transportation are improving steadily. Economically competitive hydrogen vehicles, once they reach the market, should find a receptive audience among green consumers.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (29 kb) PDF Download (117 kb)
   
  
• Dying Needlessly: Sickness and Death Due to Energy-related Air Pollution
  by Curtis Moore
  Issue Brief No. 6, February 1997
  Clean, renewable sources of energy can alleviate the air pollution that afflicts millions of Americans, and even greater numbers of people in the developing world. Author Curtis Moore describes six major air pollutants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), many of which result from the combustion of fossil fuels. He then summarizes emerging medical evidence indicating that currently legal levels of pollution cause sickness and even death. Finally, Mr. Moore discusses EPA's recent proposals for more rigorous air quality standards, and the potential of renewable energy technologies to help meet these standards.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (58 kb) PDF Download (100 kb)
   
  
• Disclosure and Certification: Truth and Labeling for Electric Power
  by Edward Holt
  Issue Brief No. 5, January 1997
  Consumers will soon be able to select their own power company. To ensure that this freedom lowers the total social cost of electricity, customers need to know how their power is generated, and they need assurance that power sold as "green" really is so. The author argues that comprehensible, accessible information is essential for a properly functioning retail power market. He then discusses how to define green, the roles of new and existing power projects, the distinction between regulated green marketing programs and unregulated green power products, and the institutional arrangements for certifying green power. The paper concludes with seven recommended actions and principles for green power standards.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (41 kb) PDF Download (140 kb)
   
  
• Wind Clusters: Expanding the Market Appeal of Wind Energy Systems
  by John Dunlop
  Issue Brief No. 4, November 1996
  Over the past two decades, Americans have harvested wind energy through windfarms - large arrays of turbines operating as a single powerplant. By contrast, European wind development has featured small clusters of one to five turbines owned and operated by local residents. In the gusty Great Plans, site of an emerging windpower boom, the European model has sparked enthusiasm among developers and residents alike. Wind clusters involve communities in their own energy development, bolster local economies, reduce problematic visual impacts, and create relatively little strain on transmission and distribution systems.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (20 kb) PDF Download (45 kb)
   
  
• Energy and the Environment: The Public View
  by Barbara Farhar
  Issue Brief No. 3, Ocrtober 1996
  In surveys over the past eighteen years, majorities of the public have chosen renewable energy and energy efficiency over other energy alternatives - a finding important to local, state and federal legislators; utility companies and regulators; environmental organizations; and the renewables and efficiency industries. In her synthesis of data from more than 700 polls, the author found evidence that the public wants policymakers to support a national agenda of sustainable development, and that it wants energy efficiency and renewable energies to comprise increasingly large portions of the nation's energy mix. The poll data point to opportunities for industry to develop products and services, and for government to create programs and policies, that appeal to the public.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (18 kb) PDF Download (35 kb)
   
  
• Net Metering: New Opportunities for Home Power
  by Thomas Starrs
  Issue Brief No. 2, September 1996
  Growing numbers of Americans seek to lower their monthly electricity bills and soften the environmental impact of their energy use by installing photovoltaic panels, solar water heaters, and small wind and water turbines. Net metering, a technique for calculating the household's resulting electric bill, can boost the financial appeal of renewable energy technologies. Although net metering may slightly reduce utility revenues, utilities and policymakers can cap the amount of net metering that utilities allow. A well-chosen cap will minimize the financial loss to the utility while stimulating substantial growth in renewable energy use. Net metering also can produce appreciable non-revenue advantages for utilities while protecting the environment and benefiting consumers.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (19 kb) PDF Download (34 kb)
   
  
• Renewable Energy in Competitive Electricity Markets
  by Alan Miller and Adam Serchuk
  External Publication No. 1, June 1996
  HTML Word Perfect Download (10 kb) PDF Download (21 kb)
   
  
• The Environmental Imperative: A Driving Force in the Development and Deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies
  by Irving Mintzer, Alan Miller, and Adam Serchuk
  Issue Brief No. 1, April 1996
  Energy technologies drawing on renewable energy avoid the severe environmental impacts of the fossil fuel cycle. An energy market that considers the total cost to society of our energy choices would greatly encourage the deployment of renewable energy technologies. This paper outlines the environmental imperative of accelerating the exploitation of renewable resources. In particular, the authors argue that well-designed energy policies, such as those promoting renewable energy, would help prevent serious environmental degradation.
  HTML Word Perfect Download (18 kb) PDF Download (38 kb)