Electrifying Communities, Empowering Livelihoods
How RMI is touching lives using clean energy through solar minigrids in Nigeria.
Stories of Hope, Applied
Since starting out as a tiny team in a small town high up in the Colorado Rockies, RMI has succeeded by blending a unique mix of optimism for solutions with a rigor around how to deploy them.
This approach, which Amory Lovins calls “Applied Hope,” has for decades delivered progress on countless fronts, from improving markets and advancing policy, to scaling projects that have lifted the well-being of real people around the world.
As climate change accelerates, even greater challenges remain. With our staff, partners, and communities, RMI is racing ahead to scale solutions. Here, we document some of our most hope-inspiring stories and successes from around the world.
Powering a Brighter Future for Nigeria
Interconnected solar minigrids are powering homes and businesses with reliable, affordable, clean energy in Africa’s largest country.
Clean Energy Jobs Are Changing Lives. These Programs Are Providing Liftoff.
Jobs supporting the energy transition are in demand, and programs supported by cities, states — and now a bipartisan coalition of governors — are helping train the future workforce.
Saint Lucia: The Land, the People, the Light
This small Caribbean Island is taking on climate change and inspiring others to follow.
Caribbean Women Are Making Waves in Clean Energy
Meet three women who are leading the clean energy transition through education, mentorship, and community.
Delhi’s Drive Towards Zero-Emissions Deliveries
Vehicles are the leading cause of air pollution in Delhi, and final-mile delivery vehicles disproportionally contribute to high particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution levels.
Changemakers of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow
Investing in the people on the ground and the institutional talent to do the work is critical to a successful energy transition in the Caribbean and beyond.
Bringing Reliable, Renewable Energy to the People
The Puerto Rico Community Energy Resilience Initiative shows that a community-driven process combined with flexible capital and technical assistance is the most effective way to serve the underserved.
Shoonya Will Electrify Urban Deliveries in India—Is the World Next?
Delivery vehicles contribute to the NOX, PM2.5, ozone, and other hazardous pollutants that take years off the lives of city dwellers in India and elsewhere.
Growing a Zero-Emissions Transportation Ecosystem in Cincinnati
Servall is one of the thirteen companies participating in Run on Less – Electric (RoL-e), a real-world demonstration of zero-emissions delivery.
Organic Valley Goes 100% Renewable through Community Solar
Almost 30 years ago, seven organic farmers from the U.S. Midwest, unhappy with the state of American agriculture, decided to band together and form a cooperative to continue farming sustainably.
A Small Country Goes Big with Renewables: Denmark’s goal to be fossil fuel free
Denmark is making a big commitment to renewables. In the early 1970s imported oil supplied 92 percent of Denmark’s energy.
Renewables at the South Pole
Mawson Station is the oldest surviving, continuously operated research station south of the Antarctic Circle.
Driving the Rain: Electrifying Transportation in Juneau, Alaska
As Juneau moves further in its path of vehicle electrification, the hope is tourists will be able to experience Juneau without any carbon emissions.
A Small Iowa Town Embraces Energy Independence
Tiny Bloomfield, Iowa, with the help of RMI’s eLab Accelerator, is a surprising one with big implications for small towns across America.
An Alaskan Island Goes 100% Renewable
Kodiak Island's grid combines hydro, wind, batteries, and microgrid technologies.
Cuba Going Green: The Solarization of Granma Province
Cuban province of Granma may soon be making headlines for another reason: its embrace of renewable energy.
How and Why I Married My EV
When I last wrote about electric vehicles, I focused on range anxiety and why it's a non-issue. However, a commenter argued that such a statistic would likely be skewed because EV drivers would be inclined to report satisfaction based on their purchase choice. Is that really the case?
From A Decaying Industrial Area to an Eco-Friendly City: Malmö, Sweden, is Leading the Way
Various neighborhoods throughout Malmö, Sweden are transforming from brownfield industrial sites into eco-friendly enclaves through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building, and alternative transportation.
A High-Renewables Tomorrow, Today: El Hierro, Canary Islands
Many islands are blessed with large amounts of sun, wind, and water, making renewable energy a promising solution. One small island off the coast of Africa has embraced these resources, most notably through an innovative hybrid hydro-wind system.
A High-Renewables Tomorrow, Today: Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas is known for its festivals and eclectic music scene, but it is also a leader in clean energy, boasting more wind power per capita than any other city in the nation.
A High-Renewables Tomorrow, Today: Varese Ligure, Italy
Varese Ligure, Italy, a charming town of pastel-colored houses which reinvented itself into a sustainable tourist destination with renewable energy and organic farming.
A High-Renewables Tomorrow, Today: Gaviotas, Colombia
The plains of eastern Colombia are a tough land—the haunt of drug trafficking, guerilla warfare, and paramilitary groups; a place where the soil is so poor everyone said nothing could grow. Paolo Lugari, the founder of the 200-person community of Gaviotas, believed otherwise. In the face of adversity, he built a thriving, self-sustaining community.
A High-Renewables Tomorrow, Today: Samsø, Denmark
On a small island off the coast of Denmark, a group of potato farmers have turned into power brokers, owning the wind turbines that have made their island a net energy producer.
A High-Renewables Tomorrow, Today: Güssing, Austria
A small town in Austria that had no significant industry or trade business is now thriving thanks to local renewable resources.
