Natural Resource Economics Commons^™

A Decision Support Tool For Building Integrated Renewable Energy Microgrids Connected To A Smart Grid, Damilola A. Asaleye, Michael D. Murphy, Michael Breen

Publications

The objective of this study was to create a tool that will enable renewable energy microgrid (REμG) facility users to make informed decisions on the utilization of electrical power output from a building integrated REμG connected to a smart grid. A decision support tool for renewable energy microgrids (DSTREM) capable of predicting photovoltaic array and wind turbine power outputs was developed. The tool simulated users’ daily electricity consumption costs, avoided CO₂ emissions and incurred monetary income relative to the usage of the building integrated REμG connected to the national electricity smart grid. DSTREM forecasted climate variables, which were used …

Russia's Northern Rook: Nord Stream 2 On The European Energy Chessboard, David E. Wilson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline proposes to connect Germany to the world’s largest natural gas reserves in Russia, allowing the state-owned Russian energy behemoth Gazprom to double its export capacity through the ‘Northern Corridor’ transit route to Europe. This project has been the subject of sharp disapproval from Central and Eastern European countries, as well as the United States, which fear the prospect of increasing dependence on gas imports from a Russia perceived as politically aggressive and unreliable. This paper will identify the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2 by adopting a geostrategic worldview …

The Impact Weather Has On Nyc Citi Bike Share Company Activity, Mark Martinez

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper seeks to figure out the effect weather has on individuals’ behavior. A more focused approach to determining this effect is seeing how different weather conditions ranging from the temperature, the precipitation, the amount of inches of snowfall and the wind speed effect the ridership of Citi Bikes throughout all four seasons. The approach of this research paper is using data from the National Climatic Data Center that focuses in on the weather found in Manhattan, New York and correlates each of the weather conditions to the total number of trips per day that is provided by the Citi …

Electricity Demand Due To Policy Change In The U.K., Kevin W. Doherty

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper examines United Kingdom Electricity Demand with regards to the Climate Change Act, which was enacted in November of 2008. Through actual demand data obtained from Nationalgrid, a U.K. based gas and electric utility company, this paper seeks to find out if the Climate Change Act has started to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions by looking at trends of electricity demand. Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity is a major contributor to global warming in the U.K. and policies enacted do not always live up to their ultimate goals. This paper tests how on track the Climate …

The Demographic Drivers Of California’S Environmental Voting, Lukas Yasuda

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This study examines the demographics of California’s 53 congressional districts and the relationship with the voting patterns on three environmentally focused propositions in the 2008 and 2010 elections. Previous literature on the topic is mixed as some studies suggest that select attributes are found among environmental voting centers, yet other research describes the relationship as more complex than simple characteristics. Previous literature on the topic is mixed, with some studies suggesting that select attributes are found among environmental vote support hubs, whereas alternative research suggests the problem is more complex than simple characteristics. I collected data on income, education, age, …

The Effects From Public Transportation On Property Values: A Closer Look At Scituate, Hanover, And Norwell, Massachusetts, Alexandra Taylor Perticone, Christine S. Coveney

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

Prior studies have expressed the value of location in real estate, but more recent studies have explored the influence that public transportation has had on housing prices. Access to public transportation is understood to increase the value of homes. Easier access to public transportation allows for shorter and more convenient commutes into or within cities. However, other studies have found that proximity to public transportation can also have adverse effects on property values. This paper investigates whether the implementation of the Greenbush Commuter line in Massachusetts in October 2007 increased the housing prices in Scituate, Ma--the furthest town from the …

When Trash Costs Money: Analyzing The Impact Of Pay-As-You-Throw Programs In Massachusetts, Thomas W. Barry Iv

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

This paper evaluates whether municipalities with Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs dispose of less trash per household than municipalities without them. Given how much trash U.S. residents produce, the negative environmental effects associated with trash disposal, as well as how much the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advocates for PAYT, it is important to closely analyze whether these programs actually do their job. This paper formally analyzes the effects of PAYT programs using the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s trash disposal data from 2011-2015. After controlling for municipality and time heterogeneity, my analysis shows that PAYT programs reduce trash per household by a …

Invited Introduction To Jerec, Matthew Kahn

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Welcome By The Editor, Nathan W. Chan

Journal of Environmental and Resource Economics at Colby

No abstract provided.

Fossil Fuel Asset Risk Analysis: Clark University Endowment, Travis A. Dodge, B. Maiwand Akbari

Student Works

The environmental and social risks of climate change are well known and perhaps inevitable. The economic and financial risks are less so. The many financial risks associated with climate change embedded in endowment portfolio fossil fuel holdings are leading many institutional stakeholders to enter into dialogue and take action. Divestment is emerging as an effective strategy for limiting portfolio exposure and tackling climate change itself.

Our team’s goals were to assess whether the Clark University endowment portfolio faces any of these risks and evaluate the impacts on asset values. Our findings show that the Clark endowment does face these same …

Economic Evaluation Of Coastal Land Loss In Louisiana, Stephen R. Barnes, Craig Bond, Nicholas Burger, Kate Anania, Aaron Strong, Sarah Weilant, Stephanie Virgets

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Louisiana has lost approximately 1,880 square miles of land over the past eighty years. Projections suggest that in a future without action, the next fifty years could result in the loss of 1,750 additional square miles of land area. As land loss continues, a large portion of the natural and man-made capital stocks of coastal Louisiana will be at greater risk of damage, either from land loss or from the associated increase in storm damage. We estimate the replacement cost of capital stock directly at risk from land loss ranges from approximately $2.1 billion to $3.5 billion with economic activity …

The Death Of Opec? The Displacement Of Saudi Arabia As The World's Swing Producer And The Futility Of An Output Freeze, Christopher Hanewald

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

On November 27, 2014, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries met in Vienna and adopted a bold stance against increasing supply from beyond the reach of the cartel. Rather than reduce their own production, the cartel decided to allow market forces to dictate the price of a barrel of oil. By doing this, Saudi Arabia-the de-facto leader of the cartel-made a bet that the burgeoning shale gas industry within the United States would be unable to cope with a sharp fall in the price of oil. Over the course of the following two years, the U.S. energy sector-aided by further …

Murray Energy Corporation V. Mccarthy, Sarah M. Danno

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Holding that the widespread effects of environmental regulation on the coal industry constituted sufficient importance, the Northern District of West Virginia ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct analysis on employment loss and plant reduction resulting from regulatory effects. In admonishing the EPA’s inaction, the court ruled that the Agency had a non-discretionary duty to evaluate employment and plant reduction. Furthermore, the court held that the EPA’s attempt to put forth general reports in place of required evaluations was an invalid attempt to circumvent its statutory duty.

A Marine Cadastre To Manage Conflict Use And Facilitate Marine Renewable Energy, Séverine Michalak

MARENER 2017

No abstract provided.

Smart Ships - Paradigm Shift Withdata Analytics, Dimitrios Konovessis, Sew Kait Thong

MARENER 2017

No abstract provided.

The Irreversible Momentum Of Clean Energy, Barack Obama

US Department of Energy Publications

The release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activity is increasing global average surface air temperatures, disrupting weather patterns, and acidifying the ocean. Left unchecked, the continued growth of GHG emissions could cause global average temperatures to increase by another 4°C or more by 2100 and by 1.5 to 2 times as much in many midcontinent and far northern locations. Although our understanding of the impacts of climate change is increasingly and disturbingly clear, there is still debate about the proper course for U.S. policy—a debate that is very much on display …

C.V. - Wojciech Budzianowski, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

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Renewable Energy And Sustainable Development (Resd) Group, Wojciech M. Budzianowski

Wojciech Budzianowski

No abstract provided.

Forward Osmosis For Wastewater Treatment And Energy Recovery: A Techno-Economic Analysis, Patrick William Buckwalter

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

A novel wastewater treatment system was investigated using forward osmosis membranes to treat municipal wastewater. Treatment by forward osmosis was determined to cost $10 million per million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater capacity over a 20-year lifetime, with an energy consumption of 870 kWh per million gallons. A case study at the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Plant was conducted to investigate a treatment system that combines energy recovery from algae biomass with forward osmosis membrane treatment using local seawater as a draw solution. Total system cost was calculated to be $29.7 million over a 20-year lifetime with a 2.3 MGD …

Agenda: Flpma Turns 40, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

FLPMA Turns 40 (October 21)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers approximately 245 million acres of our public lands and yet, for most of our nation's history, these lands seemed largely destined to end up in private hands. Even when the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 ushered in an important era of better managing public grazing districts and "promoting the highest use of the public lands," such use of our public lands still was plainly considered temporary, "pending its final disposal." It was not until 1976 with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) that congress adopted a policy that …

Slides: Flpma In Its Historical Context, John D. Leshy

FLPMA Turns 40 (October 21)

Presenter: John D. Leshy, Sunderland Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, U.C. Hastings College of the Law

36 slides

This session traces the history of FLPMA including, among other things, its legislative, administrative, and historical antecedents, including for example, the Public Land Law Review Commission’s 1970 report, One Third of Our Nation’s Lands. It then considers FLPMA’s unique public lands policies and requirements and how they are reflected in the BLM’s management of public lands today.

See: https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/blm/history/contents.htm

Agenda: Winter, Wilderness & Climate: Threats & Solutions, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, The Wilderness Society, Protect Our Winters

Winter, Wilderness, and Climate--Threats and Solutions (October 12)

In partnership with the Getches-Wilkinson Center, join The Wilderness Society and Protect Our Winters for an interactive presentation about energy development and climate impacts on public lands.

This event was held on Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., in the University of Colorado Law School, Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom.

Slides: Winter, Wilderness & Climate: Threats & Solutions, Jim Ramey, Lindsay Bourgoine

Winter, Wilderness, and Climate--Threats and Solutions (October 12)

Presenters:

Jim Ramey, The Wilderness Society

Lindsay Bourgoine, Protect Our Winters

56 slides

A Consideration Of Hydraulic Fracturing In The United States, Sarah Wagner

Student Writing

No abstract provided.

Prioritizing Investment In Residential Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy: A Case Study For The U.S. Midwest, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock

J. Kissock

Residential building energy use is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and in the United States represents about 20% of total energy consumption. A number of previous macro-scale studies of residential energy consumption and energy-efficiency improvements are mainly concerned with national or international aggregate potential savings. In this paper we look into the details of how a collection of specific homes in one region might reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, with particular attention given to some practical limits to what can be achieved by upgrading the existing residential building stock. Using a simple model of residential, single-family home …

University Of New Mexico Model Data Sources, Social Natural Science Nexus (Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price-Hh Natural Gas Spot Price), Janie Chermak

Energize New Mexico (NSF EPSCoR Track 1 IV)

This spreadsheet contains the Henry Hub natural gas spot price from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This data will be used in model calibration and system of equations design for projected NG production.

Electricity Generation, Electricity Consumption, And Energy Efficiency In The United States: A Dual Climatic-Behavioral Approach, Christopher A. Craig

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the United States (US) has seen an increase in warm days, decrease in cool days, and increase in extreme weather events. These trends are projected to continue across much of the US and in turn increase the demand for electricity and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions. Ambitious energy efficiency (EE) programs are used across the US by energy utility organizations to reduce electricity demand and emissions. This study examined the impact of climatic variability on electricity consumption, as well as how pro-conservation interventions such as EE programs and experiential learning can be utilized to mitigate residential electricity consumption and …

Prioritizing Investment In Residential Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy: A Case Study For The U.S. Midwest, Robert J. Brecha, Austin Mitchell, Kevin P. Hallinan, J. Kelly Kissock

Kevin Hallinan

Residential building energy use is an important contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and in the United States represents about 20% of total energy consumption. A number of previous macro-scale studies of residential energy consumption and energy-efficiency improvements are mainly concerned with national or international aggregate potential savings. In this paper we look into the details of how a collection of specific homes in one region might reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, with particular attention given to some practical limits to what can be achieved by upgrading the existing residential building stock. Using a simple model of residential, single-family home …

Cost-Availability Curves For Hierarchical Implementation Of Residential Energy-Efficiency Measures, Roman Villoria-Siegert, Philip Brodrick, Kevin P. Hallinan, Robert J. Brecha

Kevin Hallinan

Historical residential electricity data and natural gas consumption data were collected for, respectively, 1,200 and 178 residences in a small town in the USA. These data were merged with local building and weather databases, and energy consumption models were developed for each residence, revealing substantial variation in heating and cooling intensity. After estimating approximate physical building characteristics, energy profiles for each residence were calculated, and savings from adoption of the most cost-effective energy-efficiency measures for each residence were estimated. Effectively, we wish to leverage commonly available data sets to infer characteristics of building envelopes and equipment, without the need for …

Northern San Francisco Bay Ecological Risk Assessment: Potential Crude By Rail Incident, Meagan Bowis

Master's Projects and Capstones

Oil spill models, ecological risks, response options, and costs were assessed for a discharge of Bakken crude oil into the Northern San Francisco Bay from a train derailment. This assessment was based on the risk of crude by rail derailments into the San Francisco Bay; in 2014, California oil refineries imported over 240 million gallons of Bakken crude oil by rail for processing. A hypothetical scenario was developed from a derailment on the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge and discharging 100,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil into the Northern San Francisco Bay. The oil trajectory impacted the Carquinez Strait, Suisun, San …