Generation

Find papers and presentations on generation generally, or specifically on the topics of coal, distributed energy resources, natural gas, nuclear power, renewable energy, and resource adquacy.

Coal

Hochstetter, Sandra. “The Changing Landscape for Retail Procurement: from Restructured to Re-Regulated, and from Regulated to Government-Controlled.” In, 2007.Abstract

The Year 2007 has brought new legislative and regulatory challenges for all states --- both regulated and restructured --- and some of these challenges are affecting resource evaluation processes, and corresponding resource decisions, for the ultimate load-serving entities. The 2 most challenging legislative and business issues today ---- layered on top of continuing discontent with competitive market design and competitive procurement --- are the looming debates over mandated Renewable Portfolio Standards and mandated CO2 emission reductions. These frenzied discussions have led some policymakers and activists to call for a moratorium on new coal plants and the retirement of existing ones, along with a dogmatic focus on renewables and energy efficiency as the primary sources for new power supply. So --- it’s not just the restructured states that are undergoing political upheaval and second-guessing with respect to how electricity is provided to customers.

 Whether you reside in a vertically integrated, rate-regulated, and cost-of-service ratemaking jurisdiction, OR a "retail competition" state that is undergoing some type of transformation back to a more regulated service obligation and pricing regime, you are facing changes in the way that federal and state legislators, and various activist groups, expect you to manage your electric generation portfolio.

The premise of my remarks today, which is a conclusion that I have reached during the past several months, is that I'm not sure how much of a "competitive market" or even a self-directed future I see for any retail service provider ---- no matter what state you're in or what type of regulatory framework you have.

This new, unilateral focus on environmental issues is obscuring the laws of physics --- with respect to how the electricity grid works and what it takes to keep the lights on --- and the laws of economics --- with respect to what electricity costs, based on the fuel source used. My overall prediction is, if our hands are tied by the passage of very specific government-mandated generation portfolio standards, and laws that impose penalties on the consumption of specific fuels, we will be dealing with reliability problems in all states, a deviation from “least cost purchasing” standards in traditional states, and a significant reduction in market-driven resource decisions in restructured states.

Rosenberg, William. “Workshop on Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle: Financing and Deploying IGCC Technology in this Decade,” 2004. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Concerns about high natural gas prices, environmental emissions, economic growth and future coal production have catalyzed a growing interest in developing and deploying advanced coal gasification technologies both in the United States and abroad. On February 11, 2004, two of the Kennedy School’s centers, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Center for Business and Government, sponsored a workshop on the political and financial challenges to the deployment and commercialization of these technologies. The purpose of the workshop was to identify issues that require additional scrutiny and to build a policy foundation for the commercialization of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technologies for power production. Additional sponsors included the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, the Center for Clean Air Policy, and the National Commission on Energy Policy.

Attendees included senior officials from the energy industries, state regulators, federal officials, senior members of the NGO community and several experts from academia. This report summarizes the major issues and arguments put forth in each of the three panel discussions, a keynote presentation, and a luncheon speech. Since all statements made at the workshop are off-the-record, none of the remarks are directly attributed to any participant. This report is a general summary and does not cover all the issues discussed, but rather focuses on those of the greatest significance or greatest controversy. The arguments and positions described in this report do not necessarily reflect those of the John F. Kennedy School, the workshop sponsors, or any individual participant at the workshop.

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RP - LOP - Category - Distributed Energy Resources

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Natural Gas

Weiss, Jurgen, Ryan Hledik, Roger Lueken, Tony Lee, and Will Gorman. “Estimating the Value of Electricity Storage in PJM: Arbitrage and Some Welfare Effects.” Energy Economics 31, no. 2 (2020): 269-277. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Significant increases in prices and price volatility of natural gas and electricity have raised interest in the potential economic opportunities for electricity storage. In this paper, we analyze the arbitrage value of a price-taking storage device in PJM during the six-year period from 2002 to 2007, to understand the impact of fuel prices, transmission constraints, efficiency, storage capacity, and fuel mix. The impact of load-shifting for larger amounts of storage, where reductions in arbitrage are offset by shifts in consumer and producer surplus as well as increases in social welfare from a variety of sources, is also considered

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.

World Shale Gas Resources.” In, 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract
World Shale Gas Resources: An Initial Assessment of 14 Regions Outside the United States. Introductory website and Report. Advanced Resources International, Inc., sponsored by the US Energy Information Administration. April 5, 2011.
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Nuclear Power

Bradford, Peter. “Testimony Before the United States Senate Subcommittee on Transportation,Infrastructure, and Nuclear Safety: Renewal of the Price Anderson Act.” U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety, 2002.Abstract
Bradford, Peter (Regulatory Assistance Project). Testimony Before the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety supporting Renewal of the Price Anderson Act. 23 January 2002. 4 pages.

Renewable Energy

Weiss, Jurgen. “Who's afraid of 100%?Utility Dive, 2020. Publisher's VersionAbstract
The articles describes 100% renewable/clean energy systems and argues that they may be less costly and easier to achieve than is often argued in the industry.
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Resource Adequacy

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