Blog

The USAID-NREL Partnership developed a suite of resources within the Grid Integration Toolkit that provides information about the role that battery energy storage systems (BESS) play in integrating variable renewable energy, such as wind and solar, into large-scale power systems.

• 10/17/2019
• Isabel McCan

Hanzel Cubangbang first learned about the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in college. It became his dream to one day see the campus and conduct the types of research he was studying firsthand.

• 10/11/2019
• Isabel McCan

Understanding the economic impacts of renewable energy development is critical to reaching scale in the clean energy transition.

• 10/02/2019
• Sadie Cox, Isabel McCan

In March 2019, the Government of Haiti released an official request for proposals as part of a broader plan to support the development of minigrids. Minigrids generally involve small-scale electricity generation and can advance energy transitions in rural areas by enabling a power supply for communities lacking reliable electricity.

• 09/26/2019
• Alexis Powers, Sadie Cox

Because of the wide array of threats faced by modern energy systems, power sector resilience is increasingly important. It is critical for policymakers, planners, and system operators to safeguard their power systems from these threats by proactively planning for future needs and investing in resilient power systems.

• 09/03/2019
• Sadie Cox, Isabel McCan

Increasingly, cities are taking control of assessing local risks associated with climate change and implementing adaptation activities to build the resilience of their residents, economy, and infrastructure.

• 08/29/2019
• Owen Scott

Urban microgrids are high on the global development agenda. They are attractive for many reasons, most recently for their relevance to climate change adaptation and mitigation. They have proven resilient to extreme weather events, and, because they create commercial opportunities for low-carbon generation technology, they can reduce greenhouse gases from the urban sector in the long term.

• 08/23/2019
• Michael Ashford, Lisa Pagkalinawan

Climate change impacts, such as sea level rise, flooding, and drought, threaten renewable energy generation, particularly hydropower due to the necessary proximity of power stations to water sources. As a result, energy security and the ability of countries to meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets may be compromised.

• 08/14/2019
• Molly Hellmuth

Using firewood more efficiently and promoting alternative energy in Nepal improves women’s health, changes their lives, and reduces climate vulnerability. Building on a foundation of work at the intersection between environment and health in Nepal, the second phase of the USAID’s Hariyo Ban (Green Forests) Program is scaling up approaches to reduce climate change vulnerability and increase community resilience.

• 07/26/2019
• Judy Oglethorpe, Shant Raj Jnawali

Countries in Asia are steadily addressing the need to reduce emissions through the deployment of market-based mechanisms (MBMs), such as carbon taxes, cap and trade programs, baseline and credit programs, and the development of renewable electricity and energy efficiency standards.

• 07/08/2019
• Emily Kent, Megha Kedia, Deborah Harris

Transparencia y claridad en la medición, reporte y verificación (MRV) de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) es esencial para vigilar y controlar el progreso global en la lucha contra el cambio climático.

• 05/09/2019
• Marian Van Pelt

Every day, Indonesian palm oil mills emit nearly 2,000 metric tons of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the waste treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME), which cannot be discharged in its raw form. Though POME is waste byproduct of palm kernel milling, it can become an energy source when its biogas byproduct is harnessed for electricity production.

• 04/25/2019
• Joshua Forgotson

The implementation of climate resilient low-emission development (LED) strategies is essential for ensuring the integrity and performance of LED programs and projects in the face of evolving climate impacts.

• 04/11/2019
• Molly Hellmuth, Joanne Potter

Transparent greenhouse gas emissions accounting is essential for monitoring global progress in the fight against climate change. While many countries are implementing ambitious mitigation actions, measuring and reporting of the greenhouse gas impacts of those actions within national inventories remains a persistent challenge.

• 04/02/2019
• Marian Van Pelt

Renewable energy technologies — including hydro, solar, wind and geothermal — account for the energy market’s fastest growing sector. Global renewable energy employs 9.8 million people, an 11 percent increase from 2015.

• 03/07/2019
• Climatelinks