RAP's recent work in the US includes:

• WCI's Complementary Policies Paper: As a technical advisor to the Complementary Policies Committee of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), RAP assisted in the preparation of this white paper, which examines how complementary policies can address market barriers that would otherwise limit the use of low-cost greenhouse gas emission-reduction options and reduce emissions from sources excluded from the cap-and-trade program.


• Preserving Affordable Housing Through Conservation: RAP Senior Associate David Farnsworth articulated the connections between preserving affordable housing, energy conservation and RGGI's cap-and-trade design for CO2 in this presentation at the MacArthur Foundation's "Partners in Innovation: Preserving Affordable Rental Housing through Energy Conservation" forum, held Apr. 14, 2010 in Boston, Mass.
  
  
• NARUC's Task Force on Climate Policy: RAP’s Richard Cowart, David Farnsworth and Edith Pike-Biegunska are providing technical and policy support to NARUC's Task Force on Climate Policy. Recent work included helping to organize the conference, "Utilities of the Future: Implications of a Carbon Constrained World," which took place December 2-4, 2009 in Dallas, Tex. The conference explored a utility sector affected by carbon imperatives. RAP provided several presentations at the conference, including Rick Weston's discussion, "Climate Change Initiatives in the Chinese Power Sector," and Richard Cowart's synthesis of the conference, "Climate Realities and Utility Policies: What Have We Heard Here?" RAP also assisted NARUC's Task Force plan for the continuing education of its membership during 2010.
  


• Utility Business Models - Incentives for Energy Savings: RAP provides assistance to state commissions on utility business models that remove the disincentive to acquire energy efficiency (and other demand-side resources) and provide shareholder incentives for aggressive energy and demand savings. RAP recently participated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on this study of various combinations of decoupling and incentive mechanisms and facilitated a collaborative process in Minnesota to establish decoupling standards and criteria, documented in this report for the Public Utilities Commission.
  
  
• Issuesletter: Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the Midwest: RAP's recently published Issuesletter reviews activity in six Midwestern states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The report provides examples of the efforts that these states have undertaken to confront the challenge of climate change and to formulate policies that will develop cleaner and more sustainable energy sectors. The discussion is organized by state and focuses primarily on legislation, climate action plans, and administrative activity related to the deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
  
  
• FERC-NARUC Demand Response and Smart Grid Collaborative: RAP and LBNL are assisting FERC and NARUC in ongoing discussion of policy and implementation issues pertaining to demand response and smart grid. The collaborative is scheduled to meet in February, July and November 2010. For more information on the collaborative, visit NARUC's website
  
  
• State Energy Efficiency Action Network: RAP is an advisor to this project, co-sponsored by the US DOE and US EPA, which will assist states in achieving maximum cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in homes, offices, buildings and industry by 2020. Expanding on the work of the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, SEE Action will provide targeted technical assistance to states, advancing consistent approaches and best practices to help meet the project goals. RAP is now finalizing a report that will summarize state energy efficiency policies in 2009. State policy summaries through 2008, based on categories in the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, can be found at:
  Southeastern States Policy Grids Through 2008; New England States Policy Grids Through 2008; Western States Policy Grids Through 2008; Mid-Western States Policy Grids Through 2008; Mid-Atlantic States Policy Grids Through 2008.
  
  
  Search RAP's library on the home page for more of RAP's work in the US.