Research that Informs Business and Public Policy
A new paper estimates the massive damages from leaded gasoline (which is still around). In my free time I really like reading about the history of pollutants. While PM2.5 and … Continue Reading The Crazy History of Lead in Gasoline
Air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have increased during the Trump presidency. The EPA just released the latest greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. This is a massive report and public dataset … Continue Reading Is This a Trump Bump?
Does an electricity connection help the very poorest households? To many people, connecting rural households to the electricity grid in places like Kenya seems like a great way to help … Continue Reading Electrification and the Poverty Trap
2019 was a record year for the Mystery Surcharge, which is bad news for drivers and the state’s economy. If the price of gasoline stays inexplicably high and the media … Continue Reading California’s Mystery Gasoline Surcharge Strikes Back
High retail electricity prices, not economic value, are driving U.S. investments in rooftop solar. If you were starting from scratch and could install the United States’ 22,500 MW of rooftop … Continue Reading Putting Solar in All the Wrong Places
A new paper reveals the financial and environmental costs of Germany’s nuclear power phaseout. I spent the first fifteen years of my life in Northern Bavaria, right next to the … Continue Reading No Nukes, Mo Problems.
Carbon pricing around the world is demonstrating an important proof of concept Climate change policy (or the lack of it) is finally becoming a mainstream issue in U.S. politics. A … Continue Reading Would a Carbon Tax Hurt the Economy?
How Amazon and e-commerce may be harming the environment and what to do about it. E-commerce hit new records during the 2019 US holiday shopping season. Online shopping grew by … Continue Reading The Environmental Cost of Convenience
With new carbon capture and sequestration technologies, can fossil fuels be part of the zero-carbon solution? The start of a new year – and decade – is a good time … Continue Reading Fossil Fuels are Dead, Long Live Fossil Fuels
Millennials, carbon pricing, falling solar prices and Greta Thunberg topped our most-read list. I’m often asked, “Who actually writes the Energy Institute’s blog posts?” These questioners expect to hear that … Continue Reading Top 10 Blog Posts for 2019
The best customer response depends on how much utilities can reduce their frequency. The rains have arrived in California and wildfire season has ended, temporarily. But fire risks will be … Continue Reading Preparing for Next Year’s Power Shutoffs
New paper ranks 219 countries and 1,692 cities based on air conditioning potential. Air conditioner sales are booming worldwide, especially in warm countries with growing economies. But how big is … Continue Reading Heat Exposure and Global Air Conditioning
A new paper shows that people drive less and slow down when gasoline prices rise. I drive an electric vehicle. So I am, of course, better than you and now … Continue Reading Taking The Pedal Off The Metal
A book by Russell Gold on the US wind industry, and a bumper crop of other energy books. Happily, for my annual book review, a number of energy books have … Continue Reading 2019 Energy Books: A Superpower-ed Selection
What happens when Californians take reliability investments into their own hands? (Today’s post is co-authored with Duncan Callaway) It’s easy to take your power supply for granted … until it’s … Continue Reading The Changing Economics of Electricity Supply Reliability
Converting an investor-owned utility to a non-profit is no silver bullet. Wildfires, possibly sparked by electrical lines, are still burning here in California, and there is no rain in the … Continue Reading Would Non-Profit Utilities Cure What Ails California Electricity?
