Enhancing policy realism in energy system optimization models: Politically feasible decarbonization pathways for the United States

Energy Policy ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 112754
Author(s):  
Qianru Zhu ◽  
Benjamin D. Leibowicz ◽  
Joshua W. Busby ◽  
Sarang Shidore ◽  
David E. Adelman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Optimization Models

Development Channelization, Partisanship, and Populism: Possibilities for Rural Renewal in the Death Throes of Coal

2021 ◽  
pp. 073112142110246
Author(s):  
Adam Mayer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coal Industry ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Partisan Polarization ◽  
Rural Economies ◽  
Right Wing Populism

In the last few decades, the United States has experienced several related and significant societal trends—the transition of the energy system away from coal, the intensification of partisan polarization, and the rise of a populist right-wing political ideology, perhaps best exemplified by the election of Donald Trump. We build Gramling and Freudenberg’s little-explored concept of “development channelization” to argue that nostalgic right-wing populism, grievances directed toward the federal government, and partisanship converge to potentially thwart efforts to transition and diversify rural economies. Populist nostalgia and blame are associated with support for expanding the collapsing coal industry but do not predict support for other types of development. There are patterns of partisan polarization in support for extractive industries and wind power, but many development options appear to be relatively nonpartisan. We discuss these findings in terms of populism, nostalgia, partisan polarization, and the potential for rural renewal in the United States.

scholarly journals Governance and decentralized energy transitions: a comparative case study of three medium-sized cities in Sweden, Canada, and the United States.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-106
Author(s):  
Martin Boucher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Energy Transitions ◽  
Contextual Understanding ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
Decentralized Energy ◽  
The Impact

 Aim: This study examines the impact of governance on decentralized energy transitions. Knowledge of how particular jurisdictions and their governance arrangements influence these transitions can help strengthen and contextualize divergent trajectories of decentralized energy transitions and—most importantly—reveal the role of geographical context in policy change. Design: This research gap is addressed in this paper by comparing the uptake of decentralized energy transitions in three cities in three different countries—Luleå (Sweden), Saskatoon (Canada), and Anchorage (United States). The jurisdictions in each city has unique governance contexts pertaining to electric utilities, regulations, public policy, and public acceptance.  By comparing these transitions, this study highlights the governance considerations for decentralized energy transitions and asks how does governance impact decentralized energy transitions in cities? To answer this question, actors within various public, private, and sectoral capacities were interviewed to provide their insights on decentralized energy transitions in each jurisdiction. Conclusion: I present five governance dimensions that impact decentralized energy transitions and explain how these factors can be included to provide a more contextual understanding of patterns of decentralized energy transitions in cities.  Originality: Much of the literature on decentralized energy and cities has focused on project and sectoral level analysis and hasn’t considered the holistic nature of the energy system transition. A particular gap that would help inform a broader understanding is the jurisdictional governance impacts of decentralization energy transitions. Implications of the Research: In practical terms, the results could be used to inform inter-jurisdictional comparisons of decentralization energy projects. Limitations of the Research: Given that there were three case studies, it is not possible to make generalizable claims from the results.  

Plant Biomass as a Substitute for Oil in Transportation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. McElroy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Motor Fuel ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Corporate Average Fuel Economy ◽  
Transportation Sector ◽  
Henry Ford

As discussed in Chapter 3, the transportation sector accounts for approximately a third of total emissions of CO2 in the United States, with a smaller fraction but a rapidly growing total in China. Combustion of oil, either as gasoline or diesel, is primarily responsible for the transportation- related emissions of both countries. Strategies to curtail overall emissions of CO2 must include plans for a major reduction in the use of oil in the transportation sector. This could be accomplished (1) by reducing demand for trans¬portation services; (2) by increasing the energy efficiency of the sector; or (3) by transitioning to an energy system less reliant on carbon- emitting sources of energy. Assuming continuing growth in the economies of both countries, option 1 is unlikely, certainly for China. Significant success has been achieved already in the United States under option 2, prompted by the application of increasingly more stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. And the technological advances achieved under this program are likely to find application in China and elsewhere, given the global nature of the automobile/ truck industry. The topic for discussion in this chapter is whether switching from oil to a plant- or animal- based fuel could contribute to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions from the transportation sector of either or both countries, indeed from the globe as a whole. The question is whether plant- based ethanol can substitute for gasoline and whether additional plant- and animal- derived products can cut back on demand for diesel. The related issue is whether this substitution can contribute at acceptable social and economic cost to a net reduction in overall CO2 emissions when account is taken of the entire lifecycle for production of the nonfossil alternatives. There is an extensive history to the use of ethanol as a motor fuel. Nicolas Otto, cred¬ited with the development of the internal combustion engine, used ethanol as the energy source for one of his early vehicle inventions in 1860. Henry Ford designed his first auto¬mobile, the quadricycle, to run on pure ethanol in 1896.

The Contemporary US Energy System Overview Including A Comparison With China

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. McElroy
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Personal Consumption ◽  
Energy Economy ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Reduce Emissions

The discussion in chapter 2 addressed what might be described as a microview of the US energy economy— how we use energy as individuals, how we measure our personal consumption, and how we pay for it. We turn attention now to a more expansive perspective— the use of energy on a national scale, including a discussion of associated economic benefits and costs. We focus specifically on implications for emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2. If we are to take the issue of human- induced climate change seriously— and I do— we will be obliged to adjust our energy system markedly to reduce emissions of this gas, the most important agent for human- induced climate change. And we will need to do it sooner rather than later. This chapter will underscore the magnitude of the challenge we face if we are to successfully chart the course to a more sustainable climate- energy future. We turn later to strategies that might accelerate our progress toward this objective.We elected in this volume to focus on the present and potential future of the energy economy of the United States. It is important to recognize that the fate of the global climate system will depend not just on what happens in the United States but also to an increasing extent on what comes to pass in other large industrial economies. China surpassed the United States as the largest national emitter of CO2 in 2006. The United States and China together were responsible in 2012 for more than 42% of total global emissions. Add Russia, India, Japan, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Iran to the mix (the other members of the top 10 emitting countries ordered in terms of their relative contributions), and we can account for more than 60% of the global total. Given the importance of China to the global CO2 economy (more than 26% of the present global total and likely to increase significantly in the near term), I decided that it would be instructive to include here at least some discussion of the situation in China— to elaborate what the energy economies of China and the United States have in common, outlining at the same time the factors and challenges that set them apart.

High performance computing for energy system optimization models: Enhancing the energy policy tool kit

Energy Policy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 66-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarun Sharma ◽  
James Glynn ◽  
Evangelos Panos ◽  
Paul Deane ◽  
Maurizio Gargiulo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Performance Computing ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
High Performance ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Optimization Models ◽  
Policy Tool ◽  
Performance Computing

scholarly journals Evolution of the United States Energy System and Related Emissions under Varying Social and Technological Development Paradigms: Plausible Scenarios for Use in Robust Decision Making

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (14) ◽  
pp. 8027-8038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen E. Brown ◽  
Troy A. Hottle ◽  
Rubenka Bandyopadhyay ◽  
Samaneh Babaee ◽  
Rebecca S. Dodder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Robust Decision Making

Estimation of the year-on-year volatility and the unpredictability of the United States energy system

Nature Energy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan D. Sherwin ◽  
Max Henrion ◽  
Inês M. L. Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States

scholarly journals Using Concepts from the Study of Social Movements to Understand Community Response to Liquefied Natural Gas Development in Clatsop County, Oregon

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trang Tran ◽  
Casey L. Taylor ◽  
Hilary S. Boudet ◽  
Keith Baker ◽  
Holly L. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Project Outcomes ◽  
Political Opportunities

Shifts in natural gas supply and demand since the early 2000s have triggered proposals for import and export terminals in coastal locations around the United States. Demand for such facilities is likely to grow with increasing rates of natural gas exports. Clatsop County, Oregon, is one such location that experienced over 10 years of debate surrounding the development of these facilities. The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility was proposed in this area in 2004; the final was withdrawn in 2016. While residents expressed both support and opposition early on, opposition dominated by the end. Drawing on insights from the literature on social movements, we conduct a case study of community response to LNG proposals in Clatsop County. We show how opponents were able to successfully frame the potential risks of LNG in a manner that had strong community salience, allowing them to appropriate resources and create political opportunities to advance their cause and influence local and state decisions. Engaging with this case provides an opportunity to observe the behavior and decisions of both opponents and supporters over time, and how they affected project outcomes. LNG proposals in Oregon have been among the most controversial cases of LNG development in the United States. As shale gas development continues to grow, understanding the conflicts involved with its associated infrastructure is critical to creating a more just and equitable energy system.

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