2018’s Most Popular Blog Posts
Rooftop solar, gasoline price mystery, bike-sharing and more.
The Energy Institute Blog plays a unique, and I believe important, role in the energy field. Each week one of our contributors, all energy economists, shares timely and independent analysis on a current topic. We write our posts for policymakers and business professionals (Like you!). Climate change policy, inequality, energy for sustainable development and the future of transportation are all important themes.
Thank you for making 2018 a record year with a 15% increase in readership. Please spread the word! Get all the latest blog posts by signing up for the Energy Institute mailing list. Also, follow us on Twitter for more insights from the Energy Institute’s leading team of researchers.
Now, the ten most popular blog posts from 2018:
1. Why Am I Paying $65/year for Your Solar Panels?
700,000 California homes now have solar panels; what does this mean for everyone else’s rates?
by Lucas Davis (3/26/18)
2. California’s Mystery Gasoline Surcharge Continues
It’s time for lawmakers to make the $3 billion per year puzzle a priority.
by Severin Borenstein (2/26/18)
3. The Sharing Economy is Learning How to Ride a Bike
The sharing economy wants to fight congestion and pollution … with bicycles.
by Meredith Fowlie (2/20/18)
4. Lessons in Regulatory Hubris
What the Solar Rooftop Standard has to tell us about our climate policies.
by James Bushnell (5/14/18)
5. What Does Daylight Saving Time Really Save?
DST can coordinate societal shifts to better use daylight…but at a cost.
by Severin Borenstein (7/2/18)
6. The Electricity Price Isn’t Right
Setting prices too low is a climate problem, but so is setting prices too high.
by Severin Borenstein (9/17/18)
7. Bitcoins Should Be Called BTUcoins, and That’s a Problem
Because electricity is not priced optimally, we all pay for excessive Bitcoin mining.
by Maximilian Auffhammer & Catherine Wolfram (1/8/18)
8. Does Solving Energy Poverty Help Solve Poverty?
Recent research questions a widely held belief.
by Catherine Wolfram, Kenneth Lee & Edward Miguel (3/12/18)
9. Does Rooftop Solar Help the Distribution System?
California’s rooftop solar mandate is an opportune moment to revisit a pair of prescient studies by Michael Cohen and coauthors.
by Lucas Davis (6/25/18)
10. Are We Promoting the Right Kind of Energy Efficiency?
20% of industrial consumers adopted a new energy efficiency software tool.
by Catherine Wolfram (1/29/18)
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Andrew G Campbell View All
Andrew Campbell is the Executive Director of the Energy Institute at Haas. Andy has worked in the energy industry for his entire professional career. Prior to coming to the University of California, Andy worked for energy efficiency and demand response company, Tendril, and grid management technology provider, Sentient Energy. He helped both companies navigate the complex energy regulatory environment and tailor their sales and marketing approaches to meet the utility industry’s needs. Previously, he was Senior Energy Advisor to Commissioner Rachelle Chong and Commissioner Nancy Ryan at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). While at the CPUC Andy was the lead advisor in areas including demand response, rate design, grid modernization, and electric vehicles. Andy led successful efforts to develop and adopt policies on Smart Grid investment and data access, regulatory authority over electric vehicle charging, demand response, dynamic pricing for utilities and natural gas quality standards for liquefied natural gas. Andy has also worked in Citigroup’s Global Energy Group and as a reservoir engineer with ExxonMobil. Andy earned a Master in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and bachelors degrees in chemical engineering and economics from Rice University.
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My students in energy economics at UC Davis Spring quarter may account for some of that 15% increase in readership. Part of their homework during the quarter included reading, summarizing, and looking further into topics on this blog. I appreciate each of your abilities to present complex topics in a way that my students and others can understand. Thank you!