The Program on Energy and Sustainable Development is part of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
Energy
Energy
FSI researchers examine the role of energy sources from regulatory, economic and societal angles. The Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) investigates how the production and consumption of energy affect human welfare and environmental quality. Professors assess natural gas and coal markets, as well as the smart energy grid and how to create effective climate policy in an imperfect world. This includes how state-owned enterprises – like oil companies – affect energy markets around the world. Regulatory barriers are examined for understanding obstacles to lowering carbon in energy services. Realistic cap and trade policies in California are studied, as is the creation of a giant coal market in China.
Recent Scholarly Publications
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Market Design in a Zero Marginal Cost Intermittent Renewable Future
June 2020
The basic features of an efficient short-term wholesale market design do not need to change to accommodate a significantly larger share of zero marginal cost intermittent renewable energy from wind...
An Experimental Comparison of Carbon Pricing Under Uncertainty in Electricity Markets
May 2020
We report on an economic experiment that compares outcomes in electricity markets subject to carbon-tax and cap-and-trade policies.
Retail Pricing in Colombia to Support the Efficient Deployment of Distributed Generation and Electric Vehicles
April 2020
Electricity tariff reforms will be an essential part of the clean energy transition. Existing tariffs rely on average cost pricing and often set a price per unit that exceeds marginal cost.
Locational Marginal Network Tariffs for Intermittent Renewable Generation
November 2019
The variability of solar and wind generation increases transmission network operating costs associated with maintaining system stability.
Measuring the Impact of Own and Others' Experience on Project Costs in the U.S. Wind Generation Industry
July 2019
We investigate the relationship between accumulated experience completing wind power projects and the cost of installing wind projects in the U.S. from 2001-2015.
Coal
March 2019
By making available the almost unlimited energy stored in prehistoric plant matter, coal enabled the industrial age – and it still does.
The strategic effects of lack of transparency and forward contracting by generators with market power
April 2018
The ability of an electricity-generating firm with market power to influence the market price depends strongly on the volume the firm has pre-sold in the forward, or hedge, markets.
Electricity Market Design and Renewables Integration in Developing Countries
February 2017
This paper identifies the key features of successful electricity market designs that are particularly relevant to the experience of low-income countries.
Assessing the Impact of the Diffusion of Shale Oil and Gas Technology on the Global Coal Market
September 2016
A spatial equilibrium model of the world coal market is developed that accounts for coal to natural gas switching in the electricity sector in the United States and Europe, the potential for China...
Simulating the interaction of a renewable portfolio standard with electricity and carbon markets
May 2015
The authors ran a game-based simulation of an electricity market with both an RPS and a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gas emissions allowances.
‘Oorja’ in India: Assessing a large-scale commercial distribution of advanced biomass stoves to households
April 2014
Replacing traditional stoves with advanced alternatives that burn more cleanly has the potential to ameliorate major health problems associated with indoor air pollution in developing countries....
The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Integrating International Coal and Natural Gas Markets
October 2013
Unconventional natural gas and the technologies developed to extract it in the U.S.
To Promote Adoption of Household Health Technologies, Think Beyond Health
October 2013
Health risks from poor malaria control, unsafe water, and indoor air pollution are responsible for an important share of the global disease burden—and they can be addressed by efficacious household...
Carbon in the classroom: Lessons from a simulation of California’s electricity market under a stringent cap and trade system
August 2013
This paper summarizes the lessons learned from implementing a realistic, game-based simulation of California’s electricity market with a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and...
Wind, Coal, and the Cost of Environmental Externalities
April 2013
AbstractWe compare the cost of generating electricity with coal and wind in Chile’s Central Interconnected System (SIC).
Oil Scarcity Ideology in US National Security Policy, 1909‐1980
February 2013
AbstractOver the past century peak oil forecasts have had a profound influence on US national security policy. Unquestioned acceptance of a variety of oil scarcity forecasts, all of which proved...
Oil and Governance: State-owned Enterprises and the World Energy Supply
January 2012
National oil companies (NOCs) produce most of the world’s oil and natural gas and bankroll governments across the globe.
Rural Electrification: Strategies for Distributed Generation
December 2011
An estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity. An untold number of others live with electricity that is erratic and of poor quality.
Industrial Organization of the Chinese Coal Industry
December 2011
China’s annual coal production, at 3.24 billion tonnes (Gt) in 2010, accounted for nearly half of the global total. In this comprehensive analysis of China’s coal value chain, Jianjun Tu examines...
Strategic Alliances Between National and International Oil Companies
October 2011
AbstractOil companies owned by national governments (“NOCs”) and oil companies with extensive international operations owned by diverse private investors (“IOCs”) constitute some of the largest and...
Improved stoves in India: A study of sustainable business models
August 2011
Abstract:Burning of biomass for cooking is associated with health problems and climate change impacts.
Exporting the 'Norwegian Model': The effect of administrative design on oil sector performance
June 2011
AbstractNorway has administered its petroleum resources using three distinct government bodies: a national oil company engaged in commercial hydrocarbon operations; a government ministry to direct...
Bigger is Better: Avoided Deforestation Offsets in the Face of Adverse Selection
March 2011
Voluntary opt-in programs to reduce emissions in unregulated sectors or countries have spurred considerable discussion.
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