Publications

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative regularly develops case studies, handbooks, action plans, and other publications.

Case Study: Thermal Energy Storage at Purchase College, State University of New York

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) collaborated with Renewable Thermal Collaborative Solutions Provider Brenmiller Energy to implement thermal energy storage (TES) at Purchase College’s physical education building. Completed in 2023, this $2.5 million project features a Brenmiller bGen™ TES unit paired with a combined heat […]

February 27, 2025
Case Studies, Publications

Community Benefits Handbook

In the rapidly evolving landscape of renewable thermal projects, community engagement has become a critical component for successful development, yet many organizations struggle to effectively partner with local stakeholders and deliver meaningful benefits. The RTC Community Benefits Handbook provides a comprehensive, practical guide to help […]

January 24, 2025
News, Publications

Case Study: Solar Thermal at Birra Peroni Brewery

Birra Peroni, part of the Asahi Group, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Absolicon to deploy an innovative solar thermal system at its Bari, Italy brewery. Commissioned in June 2023, the 460 kW ground-mounted field of parabolic trough collectors generates renewable hot water and steam at […]

January 8, 2025
Case Studies, News, Publications

Utility Engagement Playbook for Industrial Customers

While industrial electrification must play a critical role in decarbonizing the U.S., utilities often lack clear pathways to support industrial customers’ electrification efforts. Electricity costs frequently make such transitions financially unfavorable compared to natural gas. The Utility Engagement Playbook for Industrial Customers: Addressing Power Sector […]

December 11, 2024
News, Publications

Case Study: Microgrid at Amond World Cold Storage Facility

Scale Microgrids partnered with Origo Cold Storage to implement an off-grid microgrid solution at Amond World, a 500,000 square-foot cold storage facility in California’s Central Valley. Commissioned in 2023, the microgrid includes a 1,200 kW solar photovoltaic array, a 1,200 kW battery storage unit, and […]

October 23, 2024
Case Studies, News, Publications

2024 Congressional Policy Priorities to Enhance American Manufacturing Competitiveness

Published in September 2024, this fact sheet outline’s the RTC’s strategy to strengthen American energy security, create high-quality jobs, advance technology innovation, and modernize manufacturing facilities. It details three main priorities: Creating or expanding cross-cutting, technology-inclusive tax incentives and grants, Extending or expanding incentives and […]

September 26, 2024
Fact Sheets, News, Publications, Recent RTC Policy Activity

Case Study: Solar Thermal at Boortmalt Malting Plant

Discover how Boortmalt, a global malting company and Axereal subsidiary, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Kyotherm to finance a solar thermal plant at its Issoudun, France malting facility. Generating 8.5 GWh of renewable heat annually, the system meets 10% of the plant’s thermal energy demand, […]

August 28, 2024
Case Studies, News, Publications

Case Study: Solar Thermal at the Indianapolis International Airport

Learn how the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Solar UV Solutions to install a solar thermal system at the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). This case study details how the IAA installed 70 SunQuest 250 solar thermal collectors on the roof of […]

July 29, 2024
Case Studies, News, Publications

Solar Thermal Action Plan

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative’s Solar Thermal Action Plan outlines a comprehensive strategy to accelerate the adoption of solar thermal technology for industrial process heating. This plan highlights the significant potential of solar thermal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the RTC’s overall goal […]

June 27, 2024
Action Plans, News, Publications

Chemical Sector Assessment

The Chemical Sector Assessment provides a comprehensive analysis of decarbonization opportunities within the U.S. chemical industry, which accounts for approximately 20% of the country’s overall industrial emissions. This report outlines effective strategies to reduce thermal emissions. If implemented, these approaches could deliver over 60% decarbonization […]

June 25, 2024
News, Publications

Case Study: Thermal Energy Storage at Herkkumaa Food Manufacturing Facility

Herkkumaa Oy, a Finnish food manufacturer, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Elstor Oy to deploy a 10 MWh thermal energy storage (TES) system to decarbonize its steam production. Implemented in 2023, this system converts electricity into thermal energy and stores it for on-demand use, replacing […]

June 13, 2024
Case Studies, News, Publications

Case Study: MVR Heat Pumps & Thermal Efficiency at Chivas Brothers Distillery

Explore how Chivas Brothers implemented innovative heat pump technology from RTC Solutions Provider Piller Blowers & Compressors at its distillery in Scotland to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. The project uses mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) technology to recover thermal energy from the whisky distillation process, […]

June 6, 2024
Case Studies, News, Publications

Case Study: Decarbonizing Process Heat at California Dairies, Inc. with Skyven Technologies

Explore how California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), the largest member-owned dairy cooperative in California, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Skyven Technologies to decarbonize industrial process heat across two major facilities. This case study details the project’s integrated approach to deploying solar thermal technology, smart steam traps, […]

April 18, 2024
Case Studies, News, Publications

Case Study: AstraZeneca and Vanguard Renewables U.S. RNG Agreement

This case study details the groundbreaking renewable natural gas (RNG) agreement between RTC Member AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, and RTC Solutions Provider Vanguard Renewables. It provides an in-depth look at one of the largest business-to-business RNG purchases in the North American voluntary market, which […]

February 28, 2024
Case Studies, News, Publications

Electrification Action Plan

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative’s Electrification Action Plan lays out an ambitious, multi-year strategy to address barriers to electrification. It provides a vision for the priority market, policy, and community actions that will drive the RTC towards its goal of a 30% reduction in U.S. industrial […]

January 23, 2024
Action Plans, News, Publications

RTC Justice40 Opportunity Assessment

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative’s (RTC) membership includes industrial manufacturing companies, non-profits, institutions, and governments with footprints and thermal energy needs throughout the United States. Strategies to decarbonize industrial heat vary greatly from location to location, depending in part on the availability of policy support and […]

October 18, 2023
Fact Sheets, News, Publications

Thermal Batteries: Opportunities to Accelerate Decarbonization of Industrial Heat

Thermal batteries present the opportunity to reduce nearly all greenhouse gas emissions from industrial heat, a sizable portion of overall U.S. emissions, by drawing from increasingly abundant renewable electricity sources. Thermal batteries use simple components and storage materials to take clean electricity from grid and […]

October 5, 2023
Action Plans, News, Publications

2023 Congressional Policy Priorities to Decarbonize U.S. Industry and Enhance Competitiveness

This document was published in 2023. The RTC published updated policy priorities in September 2024. Click here to read the updated fact sheet. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) made some significant investments in industrial decarbonization, particularly for […]

September 12, 2023
Fact Sheets, Publications, Recent RTC Policy Activity

Playbook for Decarbonizing Process Heat in the Food & Beverage Sector

In the U.S., food & beverage processing produces more emissions from industrial heat use than any other sector outside of refineries, chemicals, or iron & steel. 97% of the heat in this sector falls in the low-temperature range, making electrification with heat pumps and electric […]

August 8, 2023
News, Publications

Electrification Road Map

This roadmap is designed to help thermal energy users identify, analyze, and execute electrification projects. It categorizes what companies need to consider and the questions they need to ask while exploring electrification options.

July 21, 2023
Fact Sheets, News, Publications

Case Study: Solar Thermal at Colgate-Palmolive Factory

To advance their decarbonization goals, RTC Member Colgate-Palmolive installed a solar thermal system, built by RTC Solutions Provider Absolicon, on the roof of a home goods manufacturing facility in Athens, Greece. After considering other renewable options, Colgate chose solar thermal because it integrates with their […]

June 12, 2023
Case Studies, Publications

Green Hydrogen Technology Assessment

Green hydrogen, produced using electrolysis and renewable electricity, can play a unique and critical role in decarbonizing high-heat industrial processes, such as manufacturing steel, chemicals, and cement. According to the Renewable Thermal Vision Report published by the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, blue and green hydrogen can […]

April 25, 2023
Action Plans, Publications

Industrial Electrification in U.S. States – Factsheets

Meeting the United States’ goals of reducing carbon emissions 50-52% by 2035 requires a concentrated effort to develop and deploy clean technologies across sectors. The country’s industrial sector poses a serious challenge: while the share of renewable energy used to generate electricity continues to grow, […]

February 24, 2023
Fact Sheets, Publications

Industrial Electrification in U.S. States

February 23, 2023
Publications

Many analyses, including the Renewable Thermal Vision Report, identify electric heat pumps as a critical opportunity to decarbonize low-temperature industrial heat generation, which accounts for 29% of total U.S. industrial thermal emissions. Heat pumps have garnered attention for their ability to utilize heat from ambient […]

February 14, 2023
News, Publications

The Renewable Thermal Vision for U.S. Industrial Decarbonization

The US industrial sector produces 24% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, over half of which come from thermal energy use to create the products we use and the food we eat. Until recently, this was the forgotten wedge of US climate […]

October 28, 2022
Publications

Case Study: University of California, Davis ‘Big Shift’ Electrification Project

The University of California, Davis constructed a new hot water heating system powered by electricity to replace old, natural gas-powered steam equipment. The project, named the Big Shift, will reduce UC Davis’ overall carbon emissions by at least 40% and enable the University to achieve Scope 1 and Scope 2

October 3, 2022
Case Studies, Publications

Case Study: University of California Renewable Natural Gas/Biomethane Procurement

Together with direct electrification, energy efficiency, and renewable electricity projects, the University of California1 (the University or UC) is procuring biomethane to replace 40% of its natural gas needs. This biomethane procurement strategy is an integral part of the University of California’s plan to reach net zero Scope 1 and

September 7, 2022
Case Studies, Publications

Green Hydrogen Primer

To help energy users and policymakers better understand this rapidly evolving technology, this primer focuses on the application of green hydrogen for industrial process heat and provides a high-level analysis of both the potential and challenges of this technology. It is intended to enhance the knowledge of energy buyers, policymakers,

August 25, 2022
Publications

Case Study: Diageo Distillery

When constructing a new distillery in Kentucky, Diageo decided to use electric boilers powered by a mix of 100% renewable wind and solar energy sources rather than conventional thermal processes. This choice — in addition to several sustainability features — resulted in significant avoided emissions […]

June 7, 2022
Case Studies

Clean Industrial Heat: A Technology Inclusive Framework

This brief was prepared by C2ES with the generous support of Breakthrough Energy, LLC. for the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) and C2ES Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) to inform discussions on pathways for decarbonizing thermal heating loads for the industrial sector. This brief presents several […]

October 28, 2021
Publications

Solar Thermal Technology Assessment

Thermal energy is a key component of energy use in the United States and around the world, particularly in the industrial sector. Energy used for process heat and space heating accounts for 75 percent of global final industrial energy demand. In the U.S., fossil fuel […]

May 13, 2021
Publications

Low-Carbon Renewable Thermal Technology Solutions: Policies to Support Development and Deployment

While policy solutions have been implemented for decades to expand the development of and access to renewable electricity, low-carbon renewable thermal technologies in particular, and low-carbon technologies for industry in general, have not benefitted from such widespread policy support. In order to be effective, any […]

February 25, 2021
Publications

Electrifying U.S. Industry: A Technology- and Process-Based Approach to Decarbonization

On January 27, 2021, Global Efficiency Intelligence (GEI) and David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) released Electrifying U.S. Industry: A Technology and Process-Based Approach to Decarbonization, a new report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative. The report finds that there is a significant opportunity to decarbonize the industrial […]

January 20, 2021
Publications

A Primer: The Importance of Addressing Your Thermal Footprint

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and David Gardiner and Associates published a report that is intended to help commercial, industrial, and institutional (C&I) organizations set targets for renewable thermal energy usage. Drawing […]

March 14, 2019
Publications

What Renewable Electricity Markets Can Tell Us About the Future of Renewable Thermal Energy

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) published an issue brief and factsheet regarding the role of renewable thermal technologies in state renewable portfolio standards and thoughts on what renewable electricity markets can tell us about the […]

December 12, 2018
Publications

Sustainable Options for Reducing Emissions from Thermal Energy: Showcasing Successful Outcomes from Six Case Studies

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) published a series of six case studies illustrating renewable thermal technologies used by Members of the Renewable Thermal Collaborative. The set of case studies represents a range of […]

October 15, 2018
Case Studies, Publications

A Landscape Review of the Global Renewable Heating and Cooling Market

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) published a landscape review of existing literature that identifies the status of the existing and potential renewable thermal marketplace both globally and in the U.S. The report focuses on four […]

July 12, 2018
Publications

Renewable Heating and Cooling for Industrial Applications: Guidance for Carbon Accounting

Renewable Heating and Cooling for Industrial Applications: Guidance for Carbon Accounting, was developed by independent research from Ecofys, a Navigant company, and published in collaboration with the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) with support from Mars Incorporated. Part of the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, the RTC is harnessing corporate […]

June 18, 2018
Publications

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The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) is the global coalition for companies, institutions, and governments committed to scaling up renewable heating and cooling at their facilities, dramatically cutting carbon emissions.