New rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce mercury and other toxic air emissions will affect dozens of antiquated power plants currently operating without pollution controls. These
rules have stirred debate in some circles as to whether retrofitting or retiring outdated plants will cause shortfalls in electricity capacity. How will EPA mercury rules influence the electricity system? This fact sheet updates earlier assessments by taking a close look at recent studies on the reliability of the electricity grid to answer that question.
The story of the Chinese wind power industry is remarkable. From a
small number of demonstration projects at the beginning of the century,
the Chinese wind power market has grown to become the world’s largest.
At the end of 2010, it overtook the United States to become the leader in terms of cumulative installed capacity. Even though China used to import 80% of its wind energy equipment, domestic manufacturing has exploded since 2006 and now supplies more than 70% of the domestic market. In 2010, China’s wind power market attracted investments of RMB 89 billion (US$14 billion) and employed over 150,000 people.
The World Resources Institute, with CDKN, has developed a series of policy briefs that highlight how climate compatible development can be achieved in a range of developing countries.
When decision makers in government, business and civil society speak to us about their aims and needs, they often ask about best practice in other countries or, indeed, mistakes to avoid. Key questions usually include:
What are the leading innovations in integrating climate change planning with economic growth strategies and poverty reduction?
What are the biggest challenges faced along the way: institutional, financial, political, technical?
This series of policy briefs aim to answer these questions by exploring the Inside Stories on Climate Compatible Development.
This brief describes a number of policy tools that can be employed to drive investment in renewable energy technologies and discusses which policy options may be the best fit based on the commercial maturity of a targeted technology.
By Davida Wood, with Shantanu Dixit (Prayas, India), Chuenchom Sangarasri Greacen (Palang Thai, Thailand), Asclepias Indriyanto (Indonesian Institute for Energy Economics, Indonesia), Bharath Jairaj, Antonio La Vina (Ateneo School of Government, Philippines), and Fabby Tumiwa (Institute for Essential Services Reform, Indonesia) on June 21, 2011
As feed-in tariffs gain traction as a policy mechanism of choice, we must keep in mind the bigger picture of the financial health of developing country electricity sectors.
WRI works with businesses, governments, and researchers of all kinds to ensure that technologies to provide low-carbon energy effectively, efficiently, and inexpensively are available and deployed around the world.
WRI works with business, policymakers, and researchers to move the world toward cleaner, less expensive forms of power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make low-carbon energy available everywhere.
This working paper identifies key components of smart renewable
energy policy in developing countries, focusing on
the power sector. It also provides recommendations
for maximizing the effectiveness of international
support for deployment of renewable energies,
drawn from these on-the-ground experiences in
developing countries.
In two legal challenges filed in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, a number of states and non-governmental organizations sought to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate new and existing power plants under section 111 of the Clean Air Act.
