Electric vehicles are the primary alternative to transportation based on internal combustion engines and the most promising route to decarbonization of light- and medium-duty transportation systems. A transition to electric vehicles does face important challenges in terms of scaling of battery production, charging infrastructure, and grid coordination, which may make aggressive EV targets difficult to…
Month: February 2026
How Should We Think About Pricing Electricity in the Context of Potential Life-Threatening Weather Events?
This paper argues that in markets characterized by highly inelastic demand, such as markets for electricity, market-clearing can force some individuals—particularly those with limited financial resources—out of the market, subsequently exposing them to significant risk. In the particular case of abnormally cold temperatures, as with the Texas deep freeze, or particularly hot temperatures, as may…
Book Reviews
Winter Ends
There is a common assumption that all-electric automobiles, powered by lithium-ion batteries, are the future of vehicle transportation. It is argued here that this is not the likely outcome, especially in the less-developed countries. Use of photovoltaic (PV) cells, in conjunction with gasoline or hydrogen-hybrids, will be less expensive, and more likely to be adopted…
Issues in The Future of Ground Transportation
Enhancing the Reliability of Bulk Power Systems against the Threat of Extreme Weather: Lessons from the 2021 Texas Electricity Crisis
The February 2021 cold weather outages in Texas remain a subject of important investigation, and lessons learned from the crisis have broader relevance for bulk power systems around the world. This article focuses on the policy responses to what we view as the root causes of the extended blackouts: the insufficient preparation of electric generating…
Making Electricity Capacity Markets Resilient to Extreme Weather Events
The devastating 2021 blackout in Texas, among others, has highlighted the need to reform electricity markets to make them resilient to extreme weather events. We review related efforts by system planners and operators within electricity market contexts, focusing on Europe and the United States, and we analyze possible reforms to electricity capacity markets. To account…
Transmission Network Investment in a Time of Transition
New Transactions in Electricity: Peer-to-Peer and Peer-to-X
Peer-to-peer and peer-to-x open a new world of transactions in the electricity sector. This world is characterised by the active involvement of new players, both small in size and non-professional in nature, and by new combinations of the activities carried out behind and in front of the meter. Peer-to-peer refers to transactions in which both…
Policies and Institutions to Support Carbon Neutrality in China by 2060
China’s leadership has announced its aim to achieve carbon neutrality at the national level by 2060. Recent statements clarify that the country’s pledge applies to all greenhouse gases. This review examines the extent to which current policies and institutions would need to evolve to support deep decarbonization in the world’s largest emitting nation. First, we…