Research areas
- Offshore wind energy
- Off-grid energy access
- Microgrids
- Transportation
- Biomass studies
- Other research
Our latest reports
- North Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Infrastructure Ratepayer Cost Impact Analysis (2026)
- Power Behind the Redwood Curtain: A History of Electric Transmission and Natural Gas Infrastructure in Humboldt County (first published Sept 2025 – revised Dec 2025)
- Risks of crediting carbon offsets in low carbon fuel standards: lessons learned from dairy biomethane (2025) — published in Energy Policy
Offshore wind energy
2021 to present
- California Floating Offshore Wind: Evaluating Workforce Analyses and Assessing Professional Labor Needs (2025)
- California North Coast Offshore Wind Study: Wind Speed Resource and Power Generation Profile Augmentation Report (2022)
- Competitive Offshore Wind Leases on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf: A Review of the Use of Multiple-Factor Auctions and Nonmonetary Credits (2023)
- North Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Infrastructure Ratepayer Cost Impact Analysis (2026)
- Northern California and Southern Oregon Offshore Wind Transmission Study Volume 1: Executive Summary and Main Report and Volume 2: Appendices (first published 2023 – revised Jan 2024)
- Permitting for Port Infrastructure to Support Offshore Wind in California — Main report, Appendices, and Summary report (2025)
- Power Behind the Redwood Curtain: A History of Electric Transmission and Natural Gas Infrastructure in Humboldt County (first published Sept 2025 – revised Dec 2025)
- Seabirds in 3D: A Framework to Evaluate Collision Vulnerability with Future Offshore Wind Developments (final report, 2025); Estimating Collision Vulnerability of the Seabird Community Across a Segment of the California Current System (interim project report 1, 2024); and Assessing Tradeoffs between Seabird Density at Collision Risk Height and Wind Facility Performance (interim project report 2, 2025)
- Transmission Alternatives for California North Coast Offshore Wind Volume 1: Executive Summary, Volume 2: Description and Preliminary Analysis of Transmission Alternative, Volume 3: Transmission Analysis, and Volume 4: Cost-Benefit Analysis Report (2022)
California North Coast Offshore Wind Studies (2020 series)
- 1. Description of Study Assumptions (2020)
- 2. Wind Speed Resource and Power Generation Profile Report (2020)
- 3. Offshore Wind and Regional Load Compatibility Report (2020)
- 4. Interconnection Feasibility Study Report (2020)
- 5. Subsea Transmission Cable Conceptual Assessment (2020)
- 6. Electricity Market Options for Offshore Wind (2020)
- 7. Electricity Market Revenue Study (2020)
- 8. Interconnection Constraints and Pathways (2020)
- 9. Economic Viability of Offshore Wind in Northern California (2020)
- 10. Economic Development and Impacts (2020)
- 11. Coastal Infrastructure Co-Benefits Linked to Offshore Wind Development (2020)
- 12. Electricity transmission policy analysis (2021)
- 13. Existing Conditions and Potential Environmental Effects (2020)
- 14. Feasibility of Potential Subsea Cable Corridor Scenarios (2020)
- 15. Environmental permitting policy analysis (2021)
- 16. Overview of geological hazards (2020)
- 17. Anchoring technology risk assessment (2020)
- 18. Export cable landfall (2020)
- 19. Port infrastructure assessment report – and report appendixes (2020)
- 20. Social impacts to other communities that experienced offshore wind: a literature review (2020)
- 21. Stakeholder benefits and concerns (2020)
- 22. Subsea transmission cable stakeholder identification (2020)
- 23. Military mission compatibility (2020)
- 24. Summary report of the webinar series (2020)
Offgrid-energy access
- Decentralized energy systems for clean energy access (2015)
- The Dirty Footprint of the Broken Grid (2019) — Learn more
- Energy Requirements of the Screening Sites in a COVID-19 Hub and Spoke Testing Approach (2020) — Learn more
- LED Advances Accelerate Universal Access to Electric Lighting (2018)
- Powering a Home with Just 25 Watts of Solar PV: Super-Efficient Appliances Can Enable Expanded Off-Grid Energy Service Using Small Solar Power Systems (2015)
- Requirements and Guidelines for Installation of Off-Grid Solar Systems for Public Facilities (2021)
- Use Cases and Cost Breakdown of Off-Grid Refrigeration Systems (2020)
VeraSol / Lighting Global notes
- Eco Design Notes
- Lighting Global Market Analysis Reports
- VeraSol Market Analysis Reports
- Technical Notes
- Lighting Africa reports
Microgrids
- Blue Lake Rancheria Low-Carbon Microgrid: final project report (2019)
- Community Microgrid Technical Best Practices for PG&E’s Community Microgrid Enablement Program (2020) — Learn more
- Redwood Coast Airport Renewable Energy Microgrid: fact sheet (2020)
- Resilient buildings for fire-adapted landscapes: EE and flexible loads integrated with solar and storage microgrids – ACEEE Summer Study conference paper (2020)
- Solar+ Microgrid Design: initial project fact sheet (2017)
- Solar+ Optimizer: A Model Predictive Control Optimization Platform for Grid Responsive Building Microgrids – Energies journal (2020)
Transportation
- California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard: Modeling financial least-cost pathways to compliance in Northern California (2018)
- How the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard could use garbage to pay for electric vehicles (2022) — published in Energy Policy
- Northwest California Alternative Fuel Readiness Plan (2016)
- Performance Report for Humboldt Transit Authority’s Pilot Extended Range New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ Fuel Cell Electric Bus (2025)
- Risks of crediting carbon offsets in low carbon fuel standards: lessons learned from dairy biomethane (2025) — published in Energy Policy
- Upstate Plug-in Electric Vehicle Readiness Project (2014)
Biomass studies
- Biochar Testing Report: Waste to Wisdom (2016)
- California Biopower Impacts: project brief (2019)
- Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential of Composting and Soil Amendments on California’s Rangelands (2018)
- C-BREC Model Framework (2021) — Learn more
- Climate and Air Pollution Impacts of Generating Biopower from Forest Residues in California — final report (2021)
- Climate Impacts of Biopower Generation from Forest Residues in California — interim report (2021)
- Climate and air pollution impacts of generating biopower from forest management residues in California – published in Environmental Research Letters (2023)
- Criteria Air Pollutant Emissions of Biopower Generation from Forest Residues in California — interim report (2021)
- Delivering Climate and Air Quality Benefits from the Use of Forest Residues in California (2022)
- Demonstration of a Pilot-Scale Plant for Biomass Torrefaction and Briquetting (2018)
- Fading Out Coal (2017)
- Life cycle climate impacts of producing biochar from forest residues via the Takachar reactor (2024)
- Measuring Residence Time Distributions of Wood Chips in a Screw Conveyor Reactor (2018)
- Networking Our Science to Characterize the State, Vulnerabilities, and Management Opportunities of Soil Organic Matter (2017)
- Opportunities and Risks for Sustainable Biomass Export from the Southeastern United States to Europe (2017)
- Overlooked emissions: influence of environmental variables on greenhouse gas generation from woody biomass storage (2022)
- Performance Analysis of a Biomass Gasifier Genset at Varying Operating Conditions (2018)
- Performance and Emissions Control of Commercial-Scale Biochar Production Unit (2018)
- Remote Power Generation Part 1: Technology Selection (2016)
- Risks of crediting carbon offsets in low carbon fuel standards: lessons learned from dairy biomethane (2025) — published in Energy Policy
- Utilization of Wet Forest Biomass as Both the Feedstock and Electricity Source for an Integrated Biochar Production System (2018)
- Waste to Wisdom: Utilizing Forest Residues for the Production of Bioenergy and Biobased Products (2018)
