Lori Bird
Director, US Energy Program

Lori Bird is Director of WRI’s U.S. Energy Program. In this role, she leads a team of more than 20 specialists who work with utilities, cities and other large energy users to decarbonize the electric sector and accelerate transportation electrification. The team works to advance equitable access to clean energy, accelerate renewable energy and electric vehicle deployment, identify policy pathways to deep decarbonization, ensure wholesale power markets enable the transition to clean energy and facilitate innovative customer and utility clean energy solutions.
Prior to joining WRI, she served as a principal analyst in the Markets and Policy Group of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where she worked on clean energy policy, renewable energy grid integration, solar programs for low-income customers and green power markets. At NREL, she helped launch the Solar Energy Innovation Network, an $11 million, multi-year program designed to advance cutting-edge solutions to expand solar adoption. She led or co-authored studies on the benefits and costs of renewable electricity standards and approaches to addressing the variability of renewables. She has also provided testimony and technical assistance to state agencies and international clients on clean energy policy and deployment.
Over her career, she has co-authored nearly 150 publications on clean energy, including articles in academic and trade journals, such as Energy Policy, the Electricity Journal, Climate Policy, Energy & Environment and Public Utilities Fortnightly. She was also a contributing author to the IPCC Special Report on Renewables. She has been quoted or had her work cited in major media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, the New York Times, USA Today, and Business Week. In 2020, she was the recipient of the American Solar Energy Society’s award for Leadership in Solar Policy and Market Transformation and, earlier, received the NREL Chairman’s award and two President’s awards for her sustained contributions on clean energy markets.
Earlier in her career, she worked for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and for Hagler Bailly Consulting. She holds a master's degree in environmental studies from Yale University’s School of the Environment and a B.A. in economics and environmental studies from Indiana University. She lives in a home featuring solar panels and passive solar design with her husband and two children in Boulder, CO and has owned an electric vehicle since 2015.
Insights
Research
External Publications
Projects
Clean Energy Supply
Visit ProjectWRI is committed to supporting the global goal of tripling renewable energy generation capacity by 2030.
Part of EnergyClean Power Council
Visit ProjectDriving a transition to clean energy resources by bringing U.S. electric utilities and large energy customers together.
Part of Clean EnergyElectric School Bus Initiative
Launch PlatformLaunch Platform Visit ProjectCollaborating to equitably electrify the U.S. school bus fleet.
Part of CitiesElectric Mobility
Visit ProjectIncreasing access to electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and optimizing to reduce emissions.
Part of Cities24/7 Carbon-Free Energy
Visit ProjectThis project aims to help large energy buyers explore 24/7 carbon-free energy —commitments, demand shifting approaches, procurement strategies, and tracking.
Part of EnergyUtility Clean Energy Solutions
Visit ProjectWorking with utilities, cities and relevant stakeholders to explore how they can implement shared clean energy goals.
Part of EnergyPower System Reform
Visit ProjectEngaging with wholesale market operators, utilities, developers, electricity customers and other key actors to strengthen and modernize the U.S. power system
Part of EnergyEquitable Clean Energy for Communities
Visit ProjectWorking to expand clean energy access to all communities, especially those who are climate-vulnerable and have historically had the least access to the benefits of clean energy due to systemic inequities.
Part of EnergyU.S. Climate Policy Resource Center
Visit ProjectBreaking down climate policy and investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to facilitate implementation at the federal, state and local levels and support uptake by both the public and private sectors.
Part of ClimateLocal and State Clean Energy Programs
Visit ProjectWRI provides technical assistance and support at the state, local and tribal level to help public agencies and communities in the U.S. advance their clean energy and equity goals.
Part of EnergyElectric Vehicles in the U.S.
Visit ProjectAssessing the climate, environmental, social and economic impact of the shift to electric vehicles and ensuring an equitable transition to clean transportation in the U.S.
Part of Clean EnergyElectric Mobility
Visit ProjectIncreasing access to electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and optimizing to reduce emissions.
Part of Cities