RMI

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RMI RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

RMI, formerly Rocky Mountain Institute, transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to secure a prosperous, resilient, clean energy future for all. RMI is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030.

Gas utilities pay for infrastructure like pipes and equipment up front, then recover those costs from customers over dec...
10/14/2026

Gas utilities pay for infrastructure like pipes and equipment up front, then recover those costs from customers over decades through a process called “depreciation.” But with greater uncertainty on the gas system today, changes to the depreciation process could help align future customer trends with cost recovery, while reducing long-term customer impacts.

Our new report gives regulators, advocates, and utilities a practical roadmap to address gas utility depreciation in the face of growing uncertainty.

Learn more 👉
https://ow.ly/rKlv50ZXnWc

For millions of US households, residential gas prices are about 19% higher than they were five years ago. And the price ...
10/13/2026

For millions of US households, residential gas prices are about 19% higher than they were five years ago. And the price of gas itself is only part of what customers pay — bills also reflect the cost of the vast network of pipelines and other infrastructure that delivers gas to homes.

But the future of natural gas is uncertain, and understanding where those costs are headed isn’t simple. How much are utilities spending on the gas system? How old is the infrastructure? Are more homes moving toward electric heating? And how is gas use changing across the country?

RMI built a US natural gas data tracker to help answer these questions. Bringing together public data on gas prices, infrastructure spending and age, customers, consumption, and home heating trends all in one place, the tracker helps connect the dots between what’s happening across the gas system and what it could mean for customers.

Explore the data and see how your state is changing👇
https://ow.ly/IeyL50ZXnNe

Successful large-scale clean energy projects in the US offer host communities financial value that is structured in ways...
10/12/2026

Successful large-scale clean energy projects in the US offer host communities financial value that is structured in ways that are more direct, visible, and responsive to local priorities than failed projects, even when the monetary value is roughly the same.

Almost two-thirds of failed projects in RMI’s analysis relied mainly on traditional property tax revenue to deliver value, typically with payments to landowners too. On the other hand, 60% of projects that secured local permitting used a combination of financial structures beyond only traditional taxes, including payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), host community agreements, and community benefit agreements.

These structures can give landowners and neighbors, local governments, and the broader community a clearer connection to project benefits, greater visibility into their value, and more say in how they are used.

RMI compiled and analyzed over 200 utility-scale clean energy projects in the US to establish benchmarks for how developers’ benefit offers to host communities correspond with local permitting approval or denial, especially with respect to benefit structure and magnitude: https://ow.ly/4Kg450ZWVsi

Nearly 50 years ago, RMI cofounder Amory Lovins challenged conventional thinking about how we produce and use energy. To...
10/09/2026

Nearly 50 years ago, RMI cofounder Amory Lovins challenged conventional thinking about how we produce and use energy. Today, he argues there is still an enormous opportunity hiding in plain sight: better design.

Amory recently joined the Supercool podcast to discuss integrative design, an approach that looks at entire systems rather than trying to improve each component in isolation. He explains how rethinking something as basic as the layout of pipes, pumps, and motors can dramatically lower electricity use while also cutting costs for equipment and capital.

The conversation covers why these opportunities are still often overlooked, what engineers and businesses can gain from whole-system design, and even how Amory’s home high up in the Colorado Rockies stays warm enough to grow bananas in the winter without a mechanical heating system.

Listen to the full conversation with RMI’s cofounder and longtime champion of energy efficiency: https://ow.ly/fbCs50ZWweL

Carbon dioxide removal has changed dramatically in just 10 years. Across the field, new approaches have moved from ideas...
10/08/2026

Carbon dioxide removal has changed dramatically in just 10 years.

Across the field, new approaches have moved from ideas to pilots, first removals, and commercial deployments. Almost every CDR pathway assessed by RMI has advanced in technical and adoption readiness over the past decade.

That progress has also brought lessons — from projects that scaled successfully and those that didn’t.

RMI’s New Frontiers Report for CDR looks at that history and aims to answer the question of what comes next. Across 14 CDR approaches, we examine where the field stands today, what’s driving costs, and where technological and process innovation could unlock the next wave of progress.

Because the next decade of carbon removal innovation doesn’t have to start from scratch. It can start from what we’ve already learned.

🔗 https://ow.ly/F9Pj50ZVx9v

For carbon markets to truly deliver high-quality climate outcomes, projects need to demonstrate that they both reduce, r...
10/02/2026

For carbon markets to truly deliver high-quality climate outcomes, projects need to demonstrate that they both reduce, remove, or avoid emissions and meaningfully engage, protect, and benefit the communities they affect.

Through reflection and debate, key market actors are finally approaching consensus on what good social integrity looks like, with these principles increasingly reflected in project requirements, buyer due diligence, and the data used to assess credit quality. This approach rightfully considers how communities are engaged, how rights are protected, how risks and benefits are shared, and what happens when concerns arise.

Explore the emerging consensus on social integrity and the six questions that can help buyers and other market actors put it into practice 👉 https://ow.ly/8mUX50ZTZWG

The United States wants to build more of its critical mineral supply chain at home to ensure reliable access to material...
09/30/2026

The United States wants to build more of its critical mineral supply chain at home to ensure reliable access to materials needed for producing batteries, semiconductors, motors, and electric grid infrastructure.

Building that capacity requires substantial investment, and even a strong project can struggle to attract the needed capital. Mineral producers still need to compete on cost, find buyers willing to make long-term commitments, and manage risks such as changing commodity prices and construction cost overruns.

RMI’s new insight brief looks at what it will take to change that equation, using battery recycling as one example. We explore where new refining technologies can help lower costs, how buyers can provide more certainty, and how financing and public support can help share risks that new projects struggle to carry alone.

Ultimately, building more refining capacity goes beyond enabling individual projects. It’s about creating market conditions that allow competitive projects to get financed and built.

Read more: https://rmi.org/resources/making-us-critical-mineral-refining-projects-investable/

Steel is essential to our buildings, vehicles, and energy systems. It is also one of the world’s most carbon-intensive i...
09/24/2026

Steel is essential to our buildings, vehicles, and energy systems. It is also one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.

Cleaner ways to make iron and steel already exist. The challenge is scaling them.

Even companies willing to pay a premium for low-emissions steel can struggle to access it. Supply chains are complex, production is often concentrated in specific regions, and the buyers ready to invest in cleaner materials aren’t always located near the producers making them.

Book and claim could help bridge that gap.

Already used in markets like renewable energy and sustainable aviation fuel, book and claim allows buyers to support verified low-emissions production without requiring the physical product to reach them directly — helping direct demand and financing toward the producers investing in cleaner technologies.

Now, RMI has developed a Book & Claim Framework for the Iron and Steel Sector to help make that connection credible, consistent, and scalable. Developed through engagement with buyers, producers, technical experts, academics, and industry associations, the framework lays out guidance for emissions accounting, eligibility, traceability, governance, and more.

Learn how book and claim could help unlock investment in low-emissions iron and steel: https://ow.ly/PMXI50ZR5Lq

09/23/2026

The US grid faces a pivotal test — with electricity demand rising faster than the system can add generation and transmission.

As part of the Great American Grid coalition, RMI and JPMorganChase convened over 200 voices that surfaced five central themes to help mitigate rising electricity rates, maintain reliability, and bolster economic competitiveness to meet this moment:

1️⃣ Build more regional and interregional transmission, faster

2️⃣ Streamline permitting and interconnection processes for transmission, generation, and load

3️⃣ Advance demand-side and distributed energy solutions

4️⃣ Unlock more capacity from the existing grid with advanced transmission technologies

5️⃣ Leverage private capital to accelerate grid expansion and deliver broad public benefits

Reliable, affordable, and abundant electricity is vital for economic growth, national security, and technological leadership. Click the link in the comments to learn more about how we can build the Great American Grid.

Corporate supply chains are complex. Addressing their emissions shouldn’t have to be. RMI, the Center for Green Market A...
09/22/2026

Corporate supply chains are complex. Addressing their emissions shouldn’t have to be.

RMI, the Center for Green Market Activation, and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping are working together to develop a unified, not-for-profit book and claim registry that can track the issuance, transfer, and retirement of environmental attribute certificates across transport and heavy industry sectors.

The effort builds on years of RMI leadership developing the market infrastructure companies need to support credible emissions reductions in some of the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors and will make it easier than ever to turn corporate ambition into climate action.

As a first step, more than 150 companies currently using two leading registries — the SAFc Registry for aviation and Katalist for maritime shipping — can now access both platforms through a common entry point and switch between them, reducing friction for companies reporting on multimodal transportation supply chains.

More sectors will follow soon. With book and claim frameworks already developed for cement and concrete and steel, the partners have already laid the groundwork for robust registry infrastructure that spans the industries which commonly appear in corporate supply chains.

The goal is to spend less time navigating different systems, terminology, and processes, and more time driving real-world decarbonization.

Learn more about the initiative and what comes next:
https://ow.ly/epPR50ZPLBm

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2490 Junction Place, Suite 200
Boulder, CO
80301

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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(303) 245-1003

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