Publications

    Bushnell, James, Scott Harvey, Benjamin Hobbs, and Steven Soft. “Opinion on Economic Issues Raised by FERC Order 745, “Demand Response Compensation in Organized Wholesale Energy Markets” ” (2011).Abstract

    EXCERPT FROM THE INTRODUCTION:

    On March 15, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released Order 745. The pur- pose of the Order was to require that demand response (DR) resources participating in RTO or ISO markets are paid at the locational marginal price when such resources contribute to the supply-demand balance as a substitute for generation and when the demand response resources pass a net benefits test defined in the order.

    Salovaara, Jackson. “Coal to Natural Gas: Fuel Switching and CO2 Emissions Reduction.” Applied Mathematics, 2011.Abstract

    US natural gas prices fell in 2009 on account of weak demand and increased supply from shale gas production. The fall in prices led to a reduction in coal- fired electricity generation and a concomitant increase in natural gas-fired electricity generation. Low natural gas prices conjoined with static coal prices and underutilized natural gas power plant capacity to create an environment primed for switching from natural gas to coal. Due to differences in chemical make-ups and plant efficiencies between the two fuels, this switching led to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. This thesis models how the fuel switching effect occurred and how it translated to an emissions reduction. It also analyzes several hypothetical policies aimed at augmenting the effect to achieve further reductions in emissions. Throughout the analysis, it considers the other impacts— environmental, human health, and economic—of a large-scale shift from a fuel

    system based on coal to one based on natural gas.

    Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act 1990-2020. Report Documents and Graphics. EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

    In March 2011, EPA issued the Second Prospective Report which looked at the results of the Clean Air Act from 1990 to 2020. According to this study, the central benefits estimate exceeds costs by a factor of more than 30 to one. The report was updated in April 2011.

    The report includes an Executive Summary which describes the study and its findings in more detail and nine technical appendices which provide in-depth documentation for each of the analytical components.

    Herold, Johanness, Sophia Ruester, and Christian von Hirschhausen. “Carbon Capture; Transport and Storage in Europe: A Problematic Energy Bridge to Nowhere? ” (2011). Publisher's VersionAbstract
    This paper is a follow up of the SECURE-project, financed by the European Commission to study “Security of Energy Considering its Uncertainties, Risks and Economic Implications”. It addresses the perspectives of, and the obstacles to a CCTS-roll out, as stipulated in some of the scenarios. Our main hypothesis is that given the substantial technical and institutional uncertainties, the lack of a clear political commitment, and the available alternatives of low-carbon technologies, CCTS is unlikely to play an important role in the future energy mix; it is even less likely to be an “energy bridge” into a low-carbon energy future.
    Edenhofer, Ottmar, Ramon Pichs Madruga, and Youba Sokona. Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. IPCC. Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change, 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

    Climate change is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. Its most severe impacts may still be avoided if efforts are made to transform current energy systems. Renewable energy sources have a large potential to displace emissions of greenhouse gases from the combustion of fossil fuels and thereby to mitigate climate change. If implemented properly, renewable energy sources can contribute to social and economic development, to energy access, to a secure and sustainable energy supply, and to a reduction of negative impacts of energy provision on the environment and human health.

    This Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN) impartially assesses the scientific literature on the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, academic researchers and civil society. It covers six renewable energy sources – bioenergy, direct solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy and wind energy – as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. The authors also compare the levelized cost of energy from renewable energy sources to recent non-renewable energy costs.

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge on climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.

    on Change, Committee Climate. “Renewable Energy Review.” In, 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

    This report sets the Committee’s advice on the potential for renewable energy development in the UK, and advice on whether existing targets should be reviewed.

    The Committee was asked to provide this advice as part of the Coalition Agreement in May 2010.

    The report contains new analysis of technical feasibility and economic viability of renewable and other low-carbon energy technologies and scenarios for renewable energy deployment to 2030.

    Brown, Ashley, and Raya Slater. “Can Smart Grid Technology Fix the Disconnect Between Wholesale and Retail Pricing?The Electricity Journal 24, no. 1 (2011): 7-13.Abstract
    While the past 20 years have seen the rapid development of wholesale electricity markets, sophisticated wholesale pricing has largely failed to be replicated in state retail markets. The emergence of Smart Grid technology, including metering and use of the Internet, has the very real potential to reduce, if not entirely remove, the disconnect between wholesale and retail markets, and enhance overall economic and energy efficiency.
    Hogan, William W.Transmission Benefits and Cost Allocation.” In, 2011.Abstract
    “The cost of transmission facilities must be allocated to those within the transmission planning region that benefit from those facilities in a manner that is at least roughly commensurate with estimated benefits.” (FERC 2010, p. 91) Benefits include reliability, economic and public policy related impacts. Turning the principle into a workable policy is important as a support for restructured electricity markets. A challenge is to make the different measure of benefits commensurable, and to find approximations that honor the principle without imposing a standard of perfection. A framework for such cost allocation uses examples from existing models and transmission investment studies to describe how the cost allocation principle could apply within the limits of available analytical capabilities.

Pages