Research that Informs Business and Public Policy
U.S. energy-efficiency requirements for air conditioners illustrate the inherent limitations of standards. This was a hot summer. July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded globally. Even in temperate Oakland, … Continue Reading Limitations of Standards
A new book explores the precipitous decline. One of the most remarkable trends in energy economics over the last 50 years is the tremendous reduction in solar photovoltaic (PV) prices. … Continue Reading What Drove Solar PV Price Reductions?
Many factors go into electricity rate setting, but the economic guidance is short-run marginal cost. Economists can be so judgy. We don’t just study how the world is, like scientists, … Continue Reading Pricing for the Short Run
Saving energy and saving the climate are not the same thing. A couple years ago I took Severin’s advice and proactively replaced many of my still-working incandescent light bulbs with … Continue Reading Redirecting Energy Efficiency Policies for the Climate
Appeals to equity don’t salvage the argument for demand charges. In the past, I have said some pretty unkind things about demand charges in electricity tariffs. Demands charges are fees paid … Continue Reading Are Demand Charges Fair?
Volkswagen’s new advertising campaign raises some questions. VW committed a crime. They lied about emissions testing for their Diesel powered vehicles and got caught. This affected about 500,000 cars in … Continue Reading Forgive and Forget?
Energy efficiency world views collide. There are two dueling, strongly held, views on the definition of energy efficiency. The idea of energy efficiency, at least to economists, is to overcome … Continue Reading How Much Electricity Consumption Is Too Little?
