Energy Policy Commons^™

Carbon Free Colorado: An Integrated Resource Plan For The Public Service Company Of Colorado 2020-2050, Vignesh Devaki Murugesan, Adam Lokar

Master's Projects and Capstones

This Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) outlines the Public Service Company of Colorado’s (PSCo) strategy to accommodate the growing energy demand of its customers while transitioning to renewable energy. The IRP attempts to quantify the impact of Colorado’s clean energy and climate policy by comparing three different scenarios:

1. Reference Scenario. New capacity is met with the lowest cost of generation ignoring Colorado Renewable Energy Standard.

2. 100% Carbon Free by 2050. Additional capacity is met with lowest cost mix of renewables sufficient to meet Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard.

3. High Electrification. Adheres to Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard while also accommodating …

Positive Out Of The Negative: Tracking Renewable Energy Projects In Central America, Jordan Ethan Castillo (Miner)

Master's Theses

Central America is undertaking a vast Renewable Energy (RE) transition, due to widespread investments across the region in an array of technologies. These technologies include Community Solar, Wind, and Hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity has long been the backbone of many countries’ energy grids in the region due to the region’s long history with hydroelectricity. Ambitious climate goals coupled with diminishing hydroelectric power generation opportunities have led to an expansion of investment in Community Solar and Wind energy. The embrace of Solar and Wind has been accelerated due to declining costs for these technologies as they mature. Central America as a case study …

An Analysis Of Us Energy Policy Within A Shifting Geopolitical Landscape, Rodney Ford

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Through numerous policy initiatives and a catalogue of antagonistic rhetoric, the Biden administration has made it clear since January of 2021 that America will be last when it comes to energy policy. As the rest of the world pursues far-fetched goals to eliminate fossil fuels and usher in the era of green energy, the administration has actively sought to conform to these goals at the expense of the American taxpayer. The issue of climate change, undeniably an issue indeed, will prove itself to be a hallmark of the Biden White House as everything from the tightening of ESG policies to …

Centrality And Compliance: Unitary Vs. Federalist Political Systems In The Implementation Of The Kyoto Protocol In Argentina And Uruguay, Aidan Homan

Baker Scholar Projects

When Uruguay and Argentina first gained their respective independence in the early 1800s, they appeared to be following the same path of development As countries that came from the same Spanish colonization, share almost identical agricultural economies, and retain a close relationship, it is logical that they would follow similar trajectories. This assumption proves to be inaccurate in more ways than one, but most prominently within the environmental sphere. One way to analyze this difference in policy implementation lies in compliance with international environmental treaties which contain specific goals and limits for all parties involved. The Kyoto Protocol presents a …

The Power Grid/Wildfire Nexus: Using Gis And Satellite Remote Sensing To Identify Vulnerabilities, Alyssa Farnes, Keith Weber, Cassie Koerner, Kathy Araújo, Christopher Forsgren

CAES Energy Policy Institute Faculty Publications and Presentations

The effects of wildfire on the power grid are a recurring concern for utility companies who need reliable information about where to prioritize infrastructure hardening. Though there are existing data layers that provide measures of burn probability, these models predominately consider long-term climate variables, which are not helpful when analyzing current season trends. Utility companies need data that are temporally and locally relevant. To determine the primary drivers of burn probability relative to power grid vulnerability, this study assessed potential wildfire drivers that are both readily accessible and regularly updated. Two study areas in Idaho, USA with contrasting burn probabilities …

Research On Offshore Wind Energy Classification: Bottlenecks And Countermeasures, Chongwei Zheng, Chongyin Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Offshore wind energy resource is a key support for the “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”. However, offshore wind energy development still faces the international bottleneck of reasonable energy classification, which is urgently needed in the overall arrangement and accurate site selection. Firstly, this study systematically reviewed the research progress of offshore wind energy classification scheme at home and abroad, and analyzed the six aspects that need to be improved in the traditional energy classification scheme: without comprehensive consideration of resource characteristics, environmental risks and cost-effectiveness, without significant regional difference of energy classification, unable to meet the needs of diversified tasks, …

Enabling A Just Transition: Protecting Human Rights In Renewable Energy Projects: A Briefing For Policymakers, Hansika Agrawal, Laura El-Katiri, Kimathi Muiruri, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment

This briefing provides guidance to policy- and decision-makers (hereafter, “policymakers”) on the benefits of and strategies for taking a human rights-based approach to renewable energy policy. It highlights the various impacts of utility-scale renewable energy projects on peoples and communities, associated risks for policymakers, and explains how national, regional, and global policies can help mitigate those impacts and risks. The briefing addresses different agents of policy- and decision-making: Host states, where renewable energy projects are proposed or located; Home states where corporations pursuing renewable energy investments, especially investments abroad, are based; Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) financing renewable energy investments, especially …

Hydropower To The People: Implications Of A Comparative Macroinvertebrate Study On Either Side Of The Central Hidroeléctrica Topo In Tungurahua, Ecuador, Grace Mazur

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study uses macroinvertebrates as bioindicators to assess the water quality upstream and downstream of a hydroelectric project in Ecuador’s eastern cloud forest. Ecuador has increasingly turned to hydropower to supply its energy needs as pressure mounts to turn away from fossil fuels. This transition has been realized on the Río Topo, located in the province of Tungurahua. This study aims to determine how the Central Hidroeléctrica Topo (CHT), a diversion hydroelectric project (HEP) constructed on the Río Topo in the 2010s, has affected the water quality of the river. Samples were taken of benthic (bottom-dwelling) macroinvertebrates in the Río …

Unleash The Heat: Exploring Geothermal Energy Perspectives And Energy Literacy In São Miguel, Azores, Lena Mcdonough

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The green energy transition is moving ahead in EU countries at very different paces, and there are some key challenges that all regions currently face in trying to phase fossil fuels out of their energy mixes. One of these challenges is that most regions simply cannot harness enough renewable energy sources and simultaneously have the storage technology for creating a baseload power source as reliable as oil, coal and natural gas. That is, unless you sit in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the boundary of three tectonic plates, with a continuous and reliable renewable energy source beneath your …

Consumo Verde ¿Para Quién?: Las Tierras, Cosmovisiones, Y Personas Escondidas Detrás De La Fiebre Del Oro Blanco / Green Consumption, For Who?: The Lands, World Views, And People Hidden Behind The White Gold Rush., Gabriel Gómez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La “Transición energética” a consumo verde ha sido reconocida globalmente como el camino necesario para evitar lo peor de la crisis climática, pero es una solución que depende en un aumento del litio. La manera más usada para extraer el litio genera impactos destructivos en los ambientes que contienen el recurso, y en Sudamérica, donde los habitantes son mayormente indígena. Usando las comunidades de Salinas Grandes y Laguna de Guayatayoc en Jujuy, Argentina como un caso práctico, este proyecto propone analizar cómo el discurso hegemónico del consumo verde invisibiliza a gente indígena, y cómo estas comunidades resisten entendimientos occidentales y …

People Power & Politics: Evaluating The Impact Of The Conselho De Cidadãos De Lisboa On Climate Policy And Political Efficacy In Lisbon, Marion Linde

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the social and ecological effects of climate change intensify, governments across the globe must evaluate how best to deal with the climate crisis. Likewise, increasing citizen participation in decision-making processes has been a key strategy for dealing with such issues. Theories on the benefits of citizen participation inform real practices such as democratic mini-publics and citizens assemblies. In Lisbon, Portugal, the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa implemented the first edition of the Conselho de Cidadãos de Lisboa (CCL) in May 2022. The CCL is a citizens assembly designed to directly involve residents in city policy-making, with the first edition focusing …

Electric Utility Performance In The Mountain West, Hira Ahmed, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines select data from the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) report, “Electric Utility Performance: A State-By-State Review,” which provides information on the affordability, reliability, and environmental responsibility of electric utility energy consumption. The original report provides a comprehensive state-by-state profile of utility performance in the United States. These data were originally reported by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy. This federal entity is responsible for the aggregation and dissemination of information about the American energy industry. This fact sheet highlights energy sources, affordability, reliability, and environmental impact of energy consumption in the Mountain …

U.S. Energy Information Administration Information Resources, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides information about the resources produced by U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. These resources cover energy statistics for U.S., states, the United States, and foreign countries. They also cover energy products as varied as coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, petroleum, and renewable energy.

Shale Oil Development And Utilization And Its Role In Energy Industry, Xusheng Guo, Maowen Li, Mengyun Zhao

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Shale oil boom in the United States has catapulted it from an importer of crude oil to a net exporter. Field applications show that both the shift in exploration paradigm from finding traps to targeting resource-rich petroleum source kitchens (i.e., "sweet spots") and the technological innovation represented by horizontal well multi-stage fracturing are among the key factors for the large-scale development of shale oil in the United States. Compared with marine shale oils in North America, China's lacustrine shale oil resources have great potential, but the endowment conditions are not optimal. Early exploration and development experience shows that the adaptive …

Hydrocarbon Security Strategy And Carbon Peak And Carbon Neutral Strategy: Relationship And Path, Wenzhi Zhao, Kun Liang, Kun Wang, Shiguo Lin, Zhixin Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

A century of changes combined with the COVID-19 pandemic has sounded the alarm on energy security around the world. How to deeply understand the relationship between energy transition and energy security, and how to explore the path of China's energy security and the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality (abbreviated as "dual carbon") strategy have become a major problem. Based on detailed analyses of China's energy consumption predictions and dual carbon strategy requirements, this study proposes:(1) Energy security is the foundation of energy transition. The oil and gas shortage situation in China may persist for a long time. The "dual carbon" …

Mission Of New Energy Under Carbon Neutrality Goal In China, Caineng Zou, Yanpeng Chen, Bo Xiong, Hanlin Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, curbing the global temperature rise, and striving to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality are the initiatives and common pursuit of human beings confronting the climate change crisis. Carbon neutrality is a huge systemic project involving multiple disciplines and fields, and it requires a solid theoretical foundation and scientific methods to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, hence the emergence of carbon neutrality science. The theoretical connotation of carbon neutrality includes two "dynamic balances", namely, the dynamic balance between global carbon emission and carbon absorption, and the dynamic balance between human development and the natural environment, …

Development Opportunities And Technical Challenges Of Industrialization For Hydrogen Production From Bio-Ethanol Reforming, Xue Han, Hong He, Guojun Yue, Hailong Lin, Jinsong Liu, Bin Yu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Bio-ethanol reforming for hydrogen production, using renewable raw materials and adopting mature and efficient chemical processes, is an important source of green hydrogen supply to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Bio-ethanol is a widely used substitute for fossil fuels. With the continuous progress of cellulosic ethanol technology in recent years, bio-ethanol will gradually break through the constraints of starch-based raw material supply. Based on the industrialization achievements of hydrogen production and bio-ethanol, bio-ethanol reforming can realize a rapid linkage with the existing hydrogen energy industry. However, the existence of a carbon-carbon signal bond in ethanol poses …

Problems And Countermeasures For Construction Of China’S Salt Cavern Type Strategic Oil Storage, Xilin Shi, Xinxing Wei, Chunhe Yang, Hongling Ma, Yinping Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Oil is an important strategic energy source, and the establishment of sufficient oil storage is a major need to ensure the political, economic and national defense security of the country. China's outer dependence for oil has exceeded 70% for three consecutive years, but the oil storage is extremely low. Underground salt caverns are internationally recognized as excellent places for large-scale oil storage, developed countries in Europe and the United States have built several salt cavern oil storages in the last century. The construction of salt cavern oil storage is expected to become an effective way to solve China's oil crisis. …

High-Quality Energy Development And Energy Security Under The New Situation For China, Guofa Wang, He Liu, Dandan Wang, Yihui Pang, Lixin Wu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Energy security is the cornerstone of national security and stable development, and high-quality energy development is the fundamental guarantee for long-term national economic growth. This study analyzes the complicated domestic and international environmental impacts of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the United States energy rule, and the rigid demand for domestic energy consumption growth. It also analyzes the uncertainty of domestic energy transformation and development. Then, the study summarizes the enlightenment of China's energy development. Furthermore, based on China's energy structure and resource endowment, this study establishes an independent, controllable, safe and reliable integrated energy security system based on fossil energy, …

Role Of Transnational Oil And Gas Exploration And Development In Ensuring National Energy Security, Lirong Dou, Zuoqian Wang, Feng Gao, Xiaobing Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

United States is the founder of modern oil industry, which promoted the development of oil and gas in the world. By means of global layout of American oil companies, United States supercharges the backyard of North America while covets the forecourt of South America. United States realizes energy independence and opens energy hegemony during 70 years after World War II. On basis of reviewing the development history of American oil industry, this study analyzes the role of transnational oil and gas exploration, and development of Chinese national oil companies in ensuring national energy security. On the one hand, the entitlement …