Energy Policy Commons^™

Spatial Validation Of Agent-Based Models, Kristoffer Wikstrom, Hal T. Nelson

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper adapts an existing techno–social agent-based model (ABM) in order to develop a new framework for spatially validating ABMs. The ABM simulates citizen opposition to locally unwanted land uses, using historical data from an energy infrastructure siting process in Southern California. Spatial theory, as well as the model’s design, suggest that adequate validation requires multiple tests rather than relying solely on a single test-statistic. A pattern-oriented modeling approach was employed that first mapped real and simulated citizen comments across the US Census tract. The suite of spatial tests included Global Moran’s I, complemented with bivariate correlations, as well as …

Heat, Wildfire And Energy Demand: An Examination Of Residential Buildings And Community Equity, Chrissi Argyro Antonopoulos

Dissertations and Theses

Extreme heat and wildfire events are becoming more prolific and exacerbated by climate change, carrying significant implications for environmental and social systems. Residential buildings play a central role in protecting people from heat and pollutant exposure during extreme weather events, but the level of protection varies dramatically depending on building energy efficiency and technology availability. Low-income and communities of color have higher energy burdens compared to affluent populations, and underserved communities often do not have financial resources for, or access to, advanced building technologies. This dissertation explores the impacts of extreme heat and wildfire on residential buildings, focused specifically on …

The Role Of Building Characteristics, Demographics, And Urban Heat Islands In Shaping Residential Energy Use, Chrissi Argyro Antonopoulos, Alec Trusty, Vivek Shandas

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

As global temperatures continue to rise, questions about infrastructure capacity to keep up with energy demand are increasingly germane. Energy demand is mediated by several structural and environmental conditions, though we have a limited understanding about the role of differences in local ambient temperatures as a predictor for energy demand. This study assesses the effects of residential building structure, socio-demographics, and ambient temperature conditions of a neighborhood to overall energy expenditures of a household. Using annual utility billing and demographic data, existing tax-lot records, and an unusually high-resolution description of ambient temperatures, we ask two research questions: (1) What role …

Oregon Clean Fuels Program Report 2018, Northwest Economic Research Center, Jenny H. Liu, Emma Willingham

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

This report, written by the Northwest Economic Research Center (NERC) of Portland State University with support from the Packard Foundation, is the first in a series designed to assess the economic impact of the Oregon Clean Fuels Program (CFP). Following a discussion of carbon mitigation tools and policies, the body of the report establishes a baseline of infrastructure and regulated parties, followed by presentation and analysis of a set of economic indicator variables expected to influence or be influenced by the CFP. (See p. 5 for a table with all variables and their relevance to the program.)

Low carbon fuel …

A Green New Deal For Social Work, Rupaleem Bhuyan, Stéphanie Wahab, Yoosun Park

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this editorial, we consider what climate action would mean for the social work profession. The urgency to address climate change compels social work practitioners, educators, and researchers to embrace a vision of social work that is committed to restoring human well-being and the natural world.

Solarworld Amidst Uncertainty, Palak Goel, Roland Richards, Asawari Kulkarni, Nagarjun Hassan Ranganath, Majed Alshamlani

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Solar energy is turning out to be a widely accepted renewable energy alternative. It is considered as the cleanest and abundantly available source of energy. Adoption of this source for energy generation has been made possible by technological advancements. The United States has realized the potential of the solar energy but hasn’t been able to exploit the technology until recently. Since 2009, the US has seen a significant growth in consumption of solar energy. Efficiency of solar cells, tax credits, state policies, increasing public awareness on environmental pollution have resulted in increasing use of solar energy. Although a key reason …

Portland General Electric’S Adoption Of Distributed Energy Resources, Lennae Misiewicz, Jason Carver, Abdalilah Owaishiz, Stephen Macdonald

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

For over 100 years, people have been searching for ways to make the electric grid more efficient, resilient, and cost effective. Although there have been many improvements over the years, in the past two decades from; increased concern on climate change, innovation in advance technologies, and political will mounting to become energy independent, there has been a shift in how our grid stakeholders talk future grid improvements for the next 100 years. One of the causes behind this shift is due to greater saturation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) on the grid. This disruptive technology creates many challenges to legacy …

Sustainable Municipal Operations: Albany, Oregon, Portland State University. Hatfield School Of Government. Center For Public Service, Ed Gallagher, Dave Rouse, Dennis Kurtz, Tanya Johnston

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Portland State University, Hatfield School of Government (PSU), and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), has formed a partnership to develop Sustainable Municipal Operations Plans that documents sustainability and energy management best practices. The goal of this partnership is to determine how a City/municipality can actively manage energy as a controllable expense by following a predetermined operation protocol. The PSU team developed a framework of best practices for sustainable municipal operations in different categories including facilities, fleet, purchasing, operations and the work environment. After identifying pilot jurisdictions, the team applied these best practices to the current operations of local governments in …

Integrating Psychological And Economic Perspectives On Energy Consumption: The Determinants Of Thermostat Setting Behavior, Jane Stromme Peters

Dissertations and Theses

Data obtained from two surveys of 283 residents of recently built homes in the Pacific Northwest were used to examine winter thermostat setting behavior. Attitude scales along with demographic, economic and dwelling structure data were used to estimate models of daytime, nighttime and average temperature setting choices. Two series of models were estimated: a partial model using demographic, dwelling structure characteristics and economic data; and an integrated model including the attitude scales.

The results of these analyses demonstrated that the inclusion of data on respondent attitudes toward comfort, conservation, health and cost control significantly improved the explanatory power of the …