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Natural Gas in the U.S. Southeast Power Sector under Deep Decarbonization

The role of natural gas under deep decarbonization pathways in the electric power sector is uncertain due to a number of technological and policy factors. In this study, we analyze the impact of variable renewable energy (VRE) and storage resource costs, the availability of existing nuclear plants, upstream emissions accounting, and direct regulations on new natural gas deployment on least-cost resource mixes selected by a capacity expansion model for the American Southeast across three deep decarbonization pathways.

Carbon Abatement Costs for Hydrogen Fuels in Hard-to-Abate Transport Sectors

In a new CEEPR Working Paper, the researchers use a holistic cost model of hydrogen value chains to estimate abatement costs of replacing fossil fuels with renewable hydrogen, ammonia, or e-fuel for freight applications across trucking, shipping, and aviation. This work also analyzes how different climate policies – including carbon pricing, subsidies, and de-risking policies that influence the cost of capital – could impact the competitiveness of hydrogen-based fuels.

Five Myths About Carbon Pricing

While carbon pricing, in general, and carbon taxes, in particular, are popular with economists, they are subject to considerable misunderstanding among policy makers and the public. In this new CEEPR Working paper, Professor Gilbert Metcalf considers and refutes five myths about carbon taxes: 1) that a carbon price will hurt economic growth; 2) that carbon pricing will kill jobs; 3) that a carbon tax and cap and trade program have the same economic impacts; 4) that we can’t achieve carbon reduction targets with a carbon tax; and 5) that carbon pricing is regressive.

Electricity Retail Rate Design in a Decarbonizing Economy

Currently, U.S. residential and small commercial electricity consumers typically pay a constant price per kWh consumed that accounts for most of their bill. Pure spot pricing is not popular among consumers; consumers value price predictability and bill stability. Also, sudden increases in bills often become a political problem. In this paper, the authors focus on second-best alternatives: time-of-use (TOU) and critical peak pricing (CPP).

Rational Rationing: A Price-Control Mechanism for a Persistent Supply Shock

The 2021 Texas power crisis, caused by a series of winter storms, led to prices that were 100 times higher than anything considered normal. The conflict in Ukraine threatens to disrupt supplies of gas, oil, and electricity in Europe, leading to a chilling prospect that a “Texan Storm” type of event could last for, not just weeks, but months. In this new CEEPR Working paper, the researchers propose and empirically quantify a price-control mechanism for an efficient demand adjustment in such a persistent crisis.

November 29, 2022

A breakthrough on “loss and damage,” but also disappointment, at UN climate conference

Throughout the two weeks of the COP27, a delegation of MIT students, faculty, and staff was traveled to Sharm El-Sheikh, which included CEEPR Deputy Director Michael Mehling. In this article on MITNews, he comments on "loss and damage", a central issue in this year's discussions which refers to harms caused by climate change — either through acute catastrophes like extreme weather events or slower-moving impacts like sea level rise — to which communities and countries are unable to adapt.

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November 14, 2022

Gilbert Metcalf Joins MIT CEEPR

CEEPR is delighted to welcome Gilbert E. Metcalf as a Visiting Professor. Professor Metcalf is an economist who has made important contributions to academic scholarship and government policy making, with a focus on applied public finance and energy and environmental economics. He joins CEEPR and the MIT Sloan School of Management from Tufts University, where he has been the John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service and a professor of economics. Read more about Gib here.

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September 21, 2022

3 Questions: Janelle Knox-Hayes on producing renewable energy that communities want

Wind power accounted for 8 percent of U.S. electricity consumption in 2020, and is growing rapidly in the country’s energy portfolio. But some projects, like the now-defunct Cape Wind proposal for offshore power in Massachusetts, have run aground due to local opposition. Are there ways to avoid this in the future? MIT professors Janelle Knox-Hayes and Donald Sadoway think so. Read more on MIT News here.

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The Roosevelt Project

The Roosevelt Project takes a multidisciplinary approach to examine the transitional challenges associated with progress toward a deeply decarbonized U.S. economy. The project aims to chart a path forward through the transition that minimizes worker and community dislocations and enables at-risk communities to sustain employment levels by taking advantage of the economic opportunities present for regional economic development.

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The CATE Project

The Climate Action Through Education Project aims to develop a science-based climate curriculum for U.S high school students, placing particular emphasis on reaching populations who are underserved and on countering climate denial messages. The curriculum will inform students about the causes and consequences of anthropogenic climate change, while equipping them with the knowledge and sense of agency to contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation.

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The E2e Project

Through an interdisciplinary approach to the so-called ‘energy efficiency gap’, the E2e Project seeks to evaluate and strengthen policies and incentives for improved energy efficiency. Proven research designs used to achieve these aims include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental designs, with data and customer access provided through formal partnerships with private-sector companies.

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