Research that Informs Business and Public Policy
As temperatures climb, utilities sell more electricity. We had a heat wave in Berkeley last month. I know, a high temperature of 88° Fahrenheit doesn’t sound very hot to most … Continue Reading Do Utilities Like Heat Waves?
There are lots of government policies that economists like to roll their collective eyes about and use as examples of bad incentives in economics textbooks. In many cases these policies … Continue Reading Does Anyone Really Know How Much Electricity Goes into Cars?
I am living in a very blue state. The graph below charts Google searches for “stages of grief”. The spike in grief-stricken web/soul searching corresponds with- you guessed it- the … Continue Reading Climate Change and the Post-Election Blues
Natural gas is commonly called a “bridge” to a low carbon future. Why this metaphor? A bridge crosses over an obstacle, like a river or canyon. The metaphor suggests that … Continue Reading Proposals to Eliminate Natural Gas from the Fuel Mix Are Premature
How bad is the outlook for U.S. coal? Very bad. This is the worst year in decades for U.S. coal. During the first six months of 2016, U.S. coal production … Continue Reading King Coal is Dethroned in the U.S.
These are strange times for competitive power markets in the United States. Baseload power plants, many of them nuclear, are reportedly struggling to stay out of the red. About 10 … Continue Reading Is US Climate Policy Killing Nuclear Power?
We recently added a new member to our family. Since I have a tendency to look at the world through an energy lens, I’ve being wondering, what is the likely … Continue Reading Our Newest Energy Consumer
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