The commercial and industrial solar power sector has not yet taken flight in the same way that residential and utility-scale solar has in recent years. But to many in the solar industry, that just screams opportunity.

The time has come to optimize the grid. And the need is particularly acute at the edge of system – on the distribution side of the grid. But grid operators have yet to capitalize on the value of optimization because regulations and power markets have fallen behind the technology.

Policymakers rely heavily on quantitative analysis to understand how to manage rapid changes in the power sector, and quantitative analysis (particularly forward-looking projections) relies heavily on underlying assumptions. The quality and breadth of these assumptions are crucial to good decisions.

In the past, consistent load growth meant steady capital expenditures and stable returns on equity for utility shareholders. But today, the trends traditionally driving consistent load growth are being disrupted by rooftop solar, energy efficiency, and changing consumer preferences.

Energy Innovation reviewed the scientific literature on low-carbon cities and sustainable urban development. Our conclusion: compact, walkable, and transit-oriented development creates sustainable, healthy, and economically vibrant cities that deliver a high quality of life to residents.

California has adopted a new climate target that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, partly by expanding the use of renewables. But the expansion of clean energy in California isn’t meaningful without an emphasis on the energy efficiency of buildings, electrifying vehicles across the transportation system, and optimizing the power grid to handle renewables.

China’s low-carbon future depends on green buildings. With nearly 2 billion square meters of new floor space added each year, China’s building sector offers tremendous opportunities for the country to move toward a cleaner economy.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s new target for curbing California’s greenhouse gas emissions is the most aggressive mandate in the country. But achieving that standard will be difficult unless other states also ramp up their efforts regarding renewable energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency.

Last week, representatives from China’s national Energy Research Institute, the State Grid Energy Research Institute, and others released a new study envisioning a nation powered by 57% renewables in 2030, growing to 86% renewables by 2050, all at the same time as China’s economy grows sevenfold.

California Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order to reduce California GHGs by 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The state’s two-year-old cap-and-trade program and other climate-friendly policies have already set California GHG emissions on a downward course.

Several market operators have instituted capacity markets to bridge the gap between revenue available from energy markets and the all-in cost of desired capacity. But will they deliver the outcomes needed for the energy system transition?

The United States is overtaking the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as the vital global swing producer that determines prices. That remarkable change has been building since 2008, as American shale fields accounted for roughly half of the world’s oil production growth while American petroleum output nearly doubled. And shale production methods have proven highly adaptable to market conditions.

In 2014, for the first time in history, annual energy-related CO₂ emissions stayed flat while the global economy experienced positive growth. So is this the start of a serious movement to decarbonize the economy? And can we thereby halt runaway climate change and avoid almost unimaginable damage to this country—and indeed the whole Earth?

California is America’s climate policy leader, home to both the country’s biggest clean energy industry and an internationally-linked carbon market being modeled across the world. To build on this momentum, California must go even further.

Electricity is crucial to our modern lifestyle, but gets very little of our attention. Soon enough, though, big players in the electricity space are expecting residential and commercial customers to sit up and take notice of new technologies and businesses coming to an electric meter or plug near them.

As more and more of China’s population moves into urban areas, it is imperative that cities are built with the right design practices, known as The 8 Principles, in mind so they benefit people, the environment and the economy.

With record drought and snowfall across the country, WaterSmart Software Inc. has raised $7 million in Series B funding, with a $21 million pre-money valuation, to help water utilities manage every last drop.

Comparing how electricity contracts, markets, and grid operations are evolving in California and the Midwest sheds light on changes that will be necessary as renewable sources like wind and solar begin to form the core of our electricity mix.

Energy Innovation’s Chris Busch spoke with Voice of America about how pollution sources differ between modern day Beijing and 1960’s Los Angeles. He points out that Beijing’s pollution mostly comes from coal production around Beijing, whereas Los Angeles’ pollution came from vehicle emissions due to the lack of exhaust emissions standards at the time.