Rocky Mountain Institute

RMI logo

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is an organization in the United States dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the general field of sustainability, with a special focus on profitable innovations for energy and resource efficiency. RMI was established in 1982 and has grown into a broad-based institution with 150+ staff and an annual budget of some $30 million.^[1] RMI's work is independent and non-adversarial, with a strong emphasis on market-based solutions. The institute, including recently merged Carbon War Room, operates across 9 different initiative areas: Shipping Efficiency, Sunshine for Mines, Smart Island Economies, Reinventing Fire China, Mobility Transformation, Trucking Efficiency, Sustainable Aviation, Buildings, Electricity Platform and Renewable Solutions.^[2] The work of RMI has benefited more than 80 Fortune 500 companies in a diverse range of sectors.^[3] RMI is headquartered in Basalt, Colorado, and also maintains offices in Boulder, Colorado, New York City, Washington D.C. and Beijing, China.

History

In 1978, experimental physicist Amory Lovins had published many books, consulted widely, and was active in energy affairs in some fifteen countries as synthesist and lobbyist. Lovins is a main theorist of the soft energy path.

Later in 1979, Lovins married L. Hunter Sheldon, a lawyer, forester, and social scientist. Hunter received her undergraduate degree in sociology and political studies from Pitzer College, and her J.D. from Loyola Marymount's School of Law. In 1982, Amory and Hunter founded Rocky Mountain Institute, based in Colorado. Together with a group of colleagues, the Lovinses fostered efficient resource use and policy development that they believed would promote global security. RMI ultimately grew into an organization with a staff of around fifty. By the mid 1980s, the Lovinses were being featured on major network TV programs, such as 60 Minutes.

At RMI's headquarters the south-facing building complex is so energy-efficient that, even with local -40 °F (-40 °C) winter temperatures, the building interiors can maintain a comfortable temperature solely from the sunlight admitted plus the body heat of the people who work there. The environment can actually nurture semi-tropical and tropical indoor plants.

The Lovinses described the "hard energy path" as involving inefficient liquid-fuel automotive transport, as well as giant centralized electricity-generating facilities, often burning fossil fuels such as coal or petroleum, or harnessing a fission reaction, greatly complicated by electricity wastage and loss. The "soft energy path" which they wholly preferred involves efficient use of energy, diversity of energy production methods (and matched in scale and quality to end uses), and special reliance on "soft technologies" (alternative technology) such as solar, wind, biofuels, and geothermal. According to the Institute, large-scale electricity production facilities had an important place, but it was a place that they were already filling in the middle 1970s; in general, more would not be needed. In a 1989 speech, Amory Lovins introduced the related concept of Negawatt power, in which the creation of a market for trading increased efficiency could supply additional electrical energy to consumers without increasing generation capacity—such as building more power plants.

In recent years, RMI has convened a team of designers and engineers to develop a super-efficient prototype automobile, which they've dubbed the Hypercar.

In December 2014, RMI merged with Carbon War Room, an organization with similar goals but a different approach^[4]

Electric vehicles

In January 2008, led by John E. Waters, Bright Automotive launched from RMI with the goal of building on the work of a consortium of organizations, including Alcoa, Google.org, Johnson Controls and the Turner Foundation.^[5]^[6]

The Bright IDEA is a brand new, 100 miles per US gallon (2.4 L/100 km; 120 mpg_-imp) plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) fleet vehicle.^[7] It has launched Bright eSolutions^[8] to consult on engineering, design, powertrain, battery technology and plug-in hybrid conversion technology services. Bright Automotive has announced its first conversion contract: the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) to convert military non-combat vehicles into a parallel PHEV for evaluation, including V2G testing.^[9]

Advanced Energy, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Institute, has announced a Request for Information (RFI) for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) specific to charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles (EV).^[10]

Books

Awards

RMI co-founder Amory Lovins has received nine honorary doctorates, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Heinz, Lindbergh, Right Livelihood Award, World Technology, and Time Hero for the Planet awards, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, the Nissan, Shingo, Mitchell, and Onassis Prizes, and honorary membership of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).^[11]

References

External links

Rocky Mountain Institute

Amory Lovins

Select
bibliography

Energy policy	Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era (2011) Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profit, Jobs and Security (2005) Small is Profitable: The Hidden Economic Benefits of Making Electrical Resources the Right Size (2003) Brittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security (1982 re-released in 2001) Non-Nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy (1980) Soft Energy Paths: Towards a Durable Peace (1977)

Environment	Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (2000)

Filmography

Lovins on the Soft Path: An Energy Future with a Future (1982)

Coordinates: 39°18′29.39″N 106°58′55.63″W / 39.3081639°N 106.9821194°W / 39.3081639; -106.9821194

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