Publication Year

2021

Large Scale Wind Power Investment’s Impact on Wholesale Electricity Markets

December 16, 2021

Wind energy plays a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing carbon-free and low marginal cost energy. In […]

Global Externalities, Local Policies, and Firm Selection

December 1, 2021

How to fight global problems without hurting the local welfare? Economists are increasingly confronting this question: Whether it relates to […]

The Value of Nuclear Microreactors in Providing Heat and Electricity to Alaskan Communities

November 16, 2021

We evaluated the system cost of providing electricity and heat to serve the load profiles of two types of Alaskan […]

$1B Transmission Smack Down May Upend Northeast Renewables

November 12, 2021

CEEPR Executive Director Joshua Hodge is interviewed by E&E News on the potential policy ramifications of Maine voters opting to […]

Electricity Price Distributions in Future Renewables-Dominant Power Grids and Policy Implications

November 5, 2021

Future electricity systems with constraints on carbon emissions will rely more on wind and solar generation, with zero marginal cost, […]

Advancing International Cooperation under the Paris Agreement: Issues and Options for Article 6

November 1, 2021

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement enables Parties to engage in voluntary cooperation as they implement their nationally determined contributions […]

Here’s What Every Degree of Heat Rise Could Do to the Global Economy

October 28, 2021

CEEPR Director Christopher Knittel is among a group of experts interviewed by CBS News for a piece on the effects […]

Technology Adoption and Early Network Infrastructure Provision in the Market for Electric Vehicles

October 28, 2021

Car use is associated with significant negative local and global external costs (e.g., from pollution), and many consider electrification as […]

How the Gulf Coast Can Lead the Energy Transition

September 24, 2021

On Thursday, September 23 at 4PM EDT, the Roosevelt Project held a webinar to release preliminary findings from the Gulf […]

Policies for Electrifying the Light-Duty Vehicle Fleet in the United States

September 10, 2021

The decarbonization of the light-duty vehicle (LDV) fleet in the United States is an important policy priority for the coming […]

Intermittent versus Dispatchable Power Sources: An Integrated Competitive Assessment

September 8, 2021

The costs of replacing dispatchable power sources based on fossil fuels with intermittent renewable power sources remain controversial. The life-cycle […]

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

How to Reach 50 percent Zero-emission Vehicles

September 1, 2021

The transition to EVs is within grasp, if it is supported by the right mix of policies. Prof. Knittel and two co-authors propose policies that Congress can adopt to meet this 50% goal by 2030.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Rust? Trains? Why clean energy is turning to exotic ideas to fix its storage problem

August 6, 2021

An article on NBCnews looks at storage solutions, such as Form Energy’s iron-air battery technology, and asks CEEPR Director Christopher Knittel for his thoughts on grid-scale storage options.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Lack of Transatlantic Cooperation on Trade Threatens Global Climate Change Goals

August 2, 2021

CEEPR’s Deputy Director Michael Mehling and the Bipartisan Policy Center’s George David Banks discuss border carbon adjustment proposals from both the US and the EU in this piece on The Hill.

Water for a Warming Climate

July 14, 2021

California has a pressing need for additional sustainable fresh water supplies. This report explores the feasibility and economic benefits of co-locating a large seawater desalination plant at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant to supply potable water to the state. This arrangement integrates the two facilities by sharing infrastructure, forming a water-power coproduction system.

Challenges and Opportunities for Decarbonizing Power Systems in the US Midcontinent

July 8, 2021

In this paper, the authors assess options for rapid decarbonization of the power system with a focus on coal-reliant states across the midcontinent, where a diversity of entities share responsibility for maintaining a reliable and affordable supply of electricity.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Facilitating Transmission Expansion to Support Efficient Decarbonization of the Electricity Sector

July 8, 2021

Many studies have found that achieving decarbonization targets in a cost-efficient manner will require significant investments in new transmission capacity. However, there are numerous barriers that go beyond “NIMBY” opposition. These barriers are identified and potential reforms to reducing them are discussed in this Working Paper.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

From Hierarchies to Markets and Partially Back Again in Electricity

June 21, 2021

Many electricity sectors are now pursuing deep decarbonization goals which will entail replacing dispatchable fossil generation primarily with intermittent renewable generation over the next 20-30 years. In this paper, Paul Joskow thinks broadly about the options for institutional change from a Williamsonian perspective, which provides a useful framework for examining institutional adaptation.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Taxes, Oil Prices And Why We’re All Quitting Our Jobs: Indicators Of The Week

June 15, 2021

In an episode of NPR’s Planet Money podcast series, Director Christopher Knittel discusses corporate taxes, the current state of oil prices, and employment trends.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Energy Conversion and Storage: The Value of Reversible Power-to-Gas Systems

June 1, 2021

Power-to-Gas technology has recently seen falling acquisition costs and lower conversion efficiency losses. In a new Working Paper, the authors examine the economic potential of reversible Power-to-Gas systems that can convert electricity to hydrogen or operate in the reverse direction to deliver electricity during times of high power prices.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Spring 2021 Newsletter Released

June 1, 2021

The next issue of the CEEPR Newsletter is now online. Read about research work and other collected news items from the past few months here.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

MIT CEEPR Research on Carbon Pricing Cited in Congressional Hearing

May 19, 2021

Congressman Scott H. Peters highlights CEEPR study on the benefits of including carbon pricing in a climate policy portfolio.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

MIT Unveils a New Action Plan to Tackle the Climate Crisis

May 12, 2021

The plan includes a broad array of new initiatives and significant expansions of existing programs to bring the Institute’s expertise to bear on this critical global issue.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Are Complementary Policies Substitutes? Evidence from R&D Subsidies in the UK

May 10, 2021

Fostering innovation is one of the longest-standing and most pressing economic challenges. Governments globally provide subsidies comprising hundreds of billions of dollars each year. A paper by CEEPR faculty affiliate Jacquelyn Pless examines the interdependence of direct subsidies and tax incentives on private R&D.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

On the Path to an Equitable Energy Transition, a New Collaborative Report Provides Insight on How to Get There

April 28, 2021

MIT researchers join scholars from across the United States in an analysis of 35 policy proposals to support an equitable energy transition for all communities.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

CEEPR Research Referenced in Hydro-Quebec CEO’s Vision for Climate Action

April 12, 2021

Canada’s leading newspaper highlights CEEPR research that informed Hydro-Québec’s strategic realignment under CEO Sophie Brochu.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

The Economics of Grid-Scale Energy Storage

April 8, 2021

The transition to a low-carbon electricity system is likely to require grid-scale energy storage to smooth the variability and intermittency of renewable energy. This paper investigates whether private incentives for operating and investing in grid-scale energy storage are optimal and the need for policies that complement investments in renewables with encouraging energy storage.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Resilient Decarbonization for the United States

March 19, 2021

The past decade has seen an unprecedented surge of climate change-driven extreme weather events that have wrought over $800 billion in damage and taken more than 5,200 lives across the United States — a trend that appears poised to intensify. At the same time, the need for a large-scale effort to decarbonize the U.S. electric power system has become clear, along with the growing climate risks and impacts that any such effort will face.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Electric Cars Are Coming. How Long Until They Rule the Road?

March 11, 2021

An article in The New York Times explores how long fleet turnover may take to switch from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles and interviews CEEPR Director Christopher Knittel for his thoughts…

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

CEEPR Research Featured in Forbes

March 5, 2021

CEEPR’s oil-battery price calculator used to evaluate prospects for EV uptake in Forbes Magazine. Read the full article here.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Q&A: Clare Balboni on environmental economics

February 23, 2021

In this Q&A with MIT SHASS Communications, Professor Clare Balboni describes the burgeoning influence of economics in understanding climate, energy, and environmental issues.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Grid Impacts of Highway Electric Vehicle Charging

February 22, 2021

Highway fast-charging (HFC) stations for electric vehicles (EVs) are necessary to address range anxiety concerns and thus to support economy-wide decarbonization goals through the electrification of transportation. The characteristics of HFC electricity demand – their relative inflexibility, high power requirements, and spatial concentration – have the potential to adversely impact grid operations as HFC infrastructure expands.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Learning from Supply Shocks in the Energy Market

February 8, 2021

In this paper, Bora Ozaltun carries out three studies of the local and global impacts of supply shocks in energy markets, including looking at the relationship between power plants, energy prices and local pollution, analyzing fossil fuel trade networks, and developing a general equilibrium model to isolate trade impacts of the shale revolution.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

MIT CEEPR Again Ranked Among Top Energy Policy Think Tanks in the World

February 5, 2021

For the ninth consecutive year, MIT CEEPR has been ranked among the top ten energy policy think tanks in the world, according to the annual “Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Registration Open for the 2021 MIT Energy Conference

February 5, 2021

Held from March 10-12, the 2021 MIT Energy Conference will feature high-profile keynote speakers and panels covering the fossil transition, trends in renewable energy development, and many more.

Parliamentary Secretary Mike Bernier summarizes British Columbia’s positive experience with its revenue-neutral carbon tax

Energy Storage Investment and Operation in Efficient Electric Power Systems

January 26, 2021

Variable renewable energy (VRE) resources, mainly wind and solar, are becoming increasingly important sources of electricity in many regions. In a new CEEPR Working Paper, MIT’s Cristian Junge, Dharik Mallapragada, and Richard Schmalensee consider welfare-optimal investment in – and operation of – electric power systems.