Research
Energy & Industrial Systems
Planning, coordination, and public and community ownership are critical tools to embed justice in—and accelerate—the green transition. Our energy and industrial systems work covers critical areas of intervention to end carbon emissions, including: managing the decline of fossil fuels, planning for clean energy infrastructure and proposing new utility models, and coordinating green industrial systems to create a coherent transition.
Featured Research
Neighborhood-Scale Building Decarbonization: A Toolkit for Advocates and Implementers
The dominant approach to decarbonizing homes today is for individual building owners to switch to electric appliances and, in some cases, install solar. In reality, this …
Energy & Industrial Systems
End Point or Setback? A Retrospective of the Maine Public Power Ballot Initiative
In November 2023, Maine voted against a ballot initiative to establish a consumer-owned utility, Pine Tree Power, that would replace the two existing privately-owned utilities. Although …
Energy & Industrial Systems
A Federal Offshore Wind Authority: A Public Moon Shot for Offshore Wind
The offshore wind industry is under attack. The Trump administration has cancelled hundreds of millions in public support, halted leases for new projects, and even attempted …
Energy & Industrial Systems
Overcharged: The Rules Of The Electricity Affordability Crisis
Nearly a quarter of adults in the US—or over 52 million people—cannot pay their power bills. The need to decarbonize and build a climate-resilient grid are …
Energy & Industrial Systems
Community Benefits Agreements
In the face of energy transition projects, communities can deploy community benefits agreements (CBAs) to exert control over their futures. When communities get organized early, know …
Transportation & Mining
Getting off Gas: Improving Fossil Gas Regulation Now for a Post-fossil Fuel Future
The United States’ extensive fossil gas infrastructure is characterized by greenhouse gas emissions, methane leaks, and explosions that imperil lives, disproportionately affect the health and well-being …
Energy & Industrial Systems
Voters Support Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Extraction
Preventing catastrophic climate change impacts requires ending the extraction of fossil fuels, but the United States is on track to do the opposite. The US is …
Energy & Industrial Systems
The 2023 People Power for Public Power Summit:The State of the Movement
At this pivotal moment—of climate crisis, utility failures, and climbing prices—people from all walks of life in the United States are once more looking toward public …
Energy & Industrial Systems
Planning to Build Faster: A Solar Energy Case Study
Energy analysts suggest that the United States will need to build millions of acres of solar capacity—totaling an area potentially as large as West Virginia—to reach …
Energy & Industrial Systems
