Analyzing California’s framework for estimating greenhouse gas emissions associated with retail electricity sales

Accurately attributing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the electric power sector is critical to measuring progress towards climate policy goals. We evaluate a new methodology adopted by the California Energy Commission to calculate the GHG emissions intensity of retail electricity providers. In the long run, the new regulations better align with the physical nature of grid operation than did past practices, but policymakers should monitor a set of potential challenges as market structures evolve.     

Colorado clean energy policy landscape: A case study

For decades, countries, states, and municipalities have established energy policies to address local air pollution and global climate change goals. The thousands of policies and measures enacted globally take various forms but are aimed at different sectors of the economy. These policies are the result of a complicated process of analysis, budgeting, management, and politics. Still, greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise globally. Good models remain rare that bridge the gap between high level aspirations and implementation. The U.S. state of Colorado offers an example over the last two years for bridging the aspiration and implementation gap. This paper provides an overview of the recent legislative sessions, and how the policies enacted support the Colorado Climate Change Roadmap.     

燃煤电力企业温室气体排放量化方法对比分析

电力生产消耗的化石燃料是中国温室气体排放的主要来源,是温室气体管理工作的重点内容。确保温审气体量化的准确性是电力企业温室气体排放管理工作的基础。通过对某燃煤电厂实测数据的分析对比,研究了燃煤电厂典型温室气体排放源的量化方法的差异和差异来源,并结合中国电厂的普遍情况,提出了符合国际惯例及中国现状的碳排放量化方法。     

美国和欧盟温室气体管理机制对我国电力行业碳排放管理的启示

温室气体（GHG）排放的测量、报告和核查（MRV）是各国温室气体管理工作的基础。电力生产是温室气体排放的主要来源,是温室气体管理工作的重点内容。重点介绍了美国联邦政府强制性温室气体报告制度和欧盟排放交易体系对电力企业温室气体排放的核查方法。通过分析2个机制在管制对象、温室气体种类、温室气体监测、报告和核查等方面存在的差异,探讨了美国和欧盟温室气体管理机制对我国电力行业碳排放管理的启示。     

The impact of advanced metering infrastructure on energy conservation: A case study of two utilities

An analysis of the potential of energy management tools enabled by advanced metering infrastructure to induce energy conservation behavior among customers of two utilities suggests that EMTs empower individual residential customers to have a more thorough understanding of their electricity consumption. This is encouraging news at a time that many U.S. states are developing climate action plans with aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.     

Implications of energy storage and climate change for pollution control under the Clean Air Act

Increased renewable energy, climate change impacts, and energy storage will affect power system dynamics and thermal plant behavior and emissions. This research explores the effects of these factors on natural gas plant start cycles and consequent emissions. Energy storage can be deployed to mitigate the emissions from increased power plant starting and stopping. Thus, a multi-pollutant, sector-wide approach to protecting air quality will be most appropriate and effective for managing future power system emissions.     

温室气体排放权交易对发电公司最优报价策略的影响

CO_2排放权交易是温室气体减排的主要机制之一.一些发达国家和地区已经或即将实施CO_2排放权交易.在此背景下,根据排放权交易市场CO_2排放配额价格变化的特点,采用了类似于随机生产模拟的方法进行估计.在假设所研究的发电公司能够估计其竞争对手报价策略的概率分布的前提下,构造了发电公司最优报价策略的机会约束规划模型并给出了求解方法.以一个有6个发电公司参与的电力市场为例对所提出的模型和方法进行了验证,并与无CO_2排放权交易情况下的结果进行了对比.     

Wind energy's promise, offshore

In November 2001, Cape Wind Associates, a Boston-based energy development firm, began the permitting application process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build the first offshore wind farm in the United States. The historical context and significance of the application, and of its continuing review process, is profound. On a global level looms ever-increasing evidence and recognition of the impacts of fossil fuel use and of resulting climate change. There is, correspondingly, increased urgency to develop renewable energy sources. And the world's demand for energy, especially in developing countries, continues to soar. Unlike the United States, Europe's response to the threat of global climate change has been to ratify the international Kyoto treaty on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To achieve its targets under Kyoto, Europe has turned primarily to wind energy.     

Pathways to eliminate carbon emissions via renewable energy investments at higher education institutions

Higher education institutions are among the many public and private sector entities that have committed to long-term sustainability goals in response to the threat of climate change. A key challenge for these institutions is establishing a commitment to make targeted investments in renewable energy technologies in support of emissions reduction goals. Such strategies require a vision to simultaneously coordinate strategic investments in renewable energy technologies with tactical operational decisions to achieve the desired benefits. In this paper, we formulate and solve a least-cost renewable energy capacity investment planning model to determine pathways to achieve emissions reduction strategies. Specifically, we apply our model to Rutgers University to evaluate its target of 100 % carbon neutrality. Using these insights, we share recommendations on how these strategies can be executed. This research serves as a springboard for administrators to assess and deploy their emissions reduction strategies, while ensuring system and financial constraints are satisfied.     

Assessing the impact of nuclear retirements on the U.S. power sector

This work utilizes the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model to analyze the impacts of four nuclear retirement scenarios of the U.S. electricity sector, from nuclear plant lifetimes of 50 to 80 years. The analysis finds that longer nuclear lifetimes decrease the amount of renewable and natural gas capacity. Longer nuclear lifetimes also resulted in lower cumulative and annual carbon emissions, lower transmission builds, and higher energy curtailment and water usage.     

计及温室气体排放限制政策不确定性的发电投资决策

温室气体,尤其是CO_2的排放对气候变化的影响,乃至全球气温变暖已成为很多国家,尤其是发达国家所关注的重要问题.在国际上,限制CO_2等温室气体排放的具体措施仍处于发展之中,这会导致未来CO_2排放成本具有不确定性.在此背景下,研究了电力市场环境下计及温室气体排放限制政策不确定性的发电投资决策问题.根据发电公司在投资过程中面临的各种不确定性因素的变化特征,分别建立了燃料价格、市场电价和CO_2排放价格的随机变化模型.基于实物期权理论,发展了能够处理多种不确定性因素的发电投资决策的方法框架和求解方法.用仿真算例对所提出的模型和方法进行了说明,并分析比较了不同场景下的投资决策结果.     

商场常用光源能耗及全寿命周期环境影响研究

建立了两个典型专卖店一般照明模型,在满足同等照明数量及质量要求的条件下,对使用八种常用卤钨灯、节能灯及小功率陶瓷金卤灯灯具的照明方案进行了功率密度比较；并采用能源服务研究模式,对相应光源在全寿命周期内所产生的汞污染、温室气体数量进行了对比研究；对推广小功率陶瓷金卤灯所遇到的问题进行了探讨。     

Proposed guidelines for U.S. Scope 2 GHG reduction claims with renewable energy certificates

In the United States and Canada, individual states and provinces control their consumer energy markets. Under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) definitions the “market” for market-based GHG reporting is typically defined as the state or province that maintains regulatory control or the interconnected grid where consumption occurs. Under current guidance, many systems suggest the U.S. may be considered a single grid since it is a single country. However, consumers in different regions are physically unable to consume energy generated in some other regions. This paper argues that in the U.S. and Canada, the interconnected grid where consumption occurs could initially be considered the FERC grid, and optimally the localized eGRID defined by the U.S. EPA in the U.S. These definitions are important given the requirement in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed climate rule to disclose Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) impact on carbon reporting. This paper outlines the justification for the proposed interpretation and serves as a public reference for market-based GHG market boundary definitions.     

Natural gas use in electricity generation in the United States: Outlooks to 2030

The authors investigate uncertainties that could affect the usage of natural gas for electricity generation in the United States, including the pace of installing renewable generation resources, natural gas prices, and retirement of nuclear plants. The long-term modeling suggests natural gas usage for power generation in year 2030 could range from 8.7 to 15.1 trillion cubic feet, with the price of natural gas appearing to be the most important factor.     

The sweetest solution [biofuel vehicles]

This paper examines whether switching from fossil fuels to biofuels is the best solution to the burgeoning global transport carbon emissions problem. While advocates are able to address many of the concerns expressed by critics, biofuels remain a short-term option in the UK and its status beyond 2010 remains uncertain. Based on a recent Dutch study which concludes that the use of biomass for power generation is more cost-effective than biofuels in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there are those who believe that UK biomass is a limited resource and should be best used in power generation.     

Consumption effects of electricity decarbonization: Evidence from California and the Pacific Northwest

This paper estimates the price-induced impacts of decarbonization policy on CO₂ emissions in California and the Pacific Northwest. We document that retail demands for electricity and natural gas by customer class are highly price-inelastic. Based on the heat rates of natural-gas-fired generation, we find that a 10% electricity rate increase due to electricity decarbonization may not have the consumption effects of further reducing the region’s CO₂ emissions.     

An assessment of decarbonization in the strategic Indian electricity generation sector

With an eye to addressing climate change concerns while also meeting the demands of continued economic growth, the Indian electricity generation sector can achieve a cumulative reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 24 GtCo₂ and hydrocarbon imports by US$730 billion during the period 2015–2047. This transformation will require a capital outlay of US$1.16 trillion and a total land requirement of 22,200 km².     

Emissions reduction potential from electric heat pumps in California homes

Electric heat pumps offer a promising opportunity to help achieve deep decarbonization of the building sector. However, since electric generators serve load in real time with varying emissions, comparing the emissions impact of heat pumps to their natural gas heating alternatives requires considering time of use. We analyze the temporal load shapes of heat pump water heaters and air-source heat pumps in the context of temporal grid-level emissions data. We find that switching from natural gas to electricity could reduce the annual emissions of a California household by 50–70% and 46–54% for water and space heating, respectively. These findings support the adoption of electric heat pumps as a strategy for deep decarbonization.     

The role of electric vehicles in a decarbonized economy: Supporting a reliable,affordable and efficient electric system

Reductions in the carbon intensity of electricity generation, coupled with technological improvements in the end uses that it can power, have created opportunities for the electrification of large segments of the economy. As the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our economy — 29% of total 2017 U.S. energy-related emissions — electrifying transportation is a key opportunity. Although the technology needed to decarbonize ground transportation exists today, an affordable and reliable transition will require a focus on policy and regulatory changes. Accommodating and correctly managing this growth in electric transportation will be critical to the development of a low-carbon future. If not properly planned for through direct and indirect charging controls, this new load could produce major impacts on the power system and its operations. However, managed correctly, EVs can serve as a useful tool and asset for grid managers and can be accommodated even under aggressive EV adoption models.     

Essay on climate apocalypse and a carbon tax

This paper discusses different policies for combating climate change, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to warming global temperatures. Climate change presents the classical problem of risk management in an environment of massive uncertainty. The paper focuses on carbon taxes, although appealing to economists, has problems in dealing with real-world issues, such as politics and measurement of the social cost of carbon.