Widespread electrification of the transportation sector is a key component of most strategies for deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy. While the acceptance of EVs has grown dramatically over the last decade, much of this growth has been spurred by substantial support from public funds and other related policies. Major electrification on the time scales…
Electricity Access, Gender Disparity, and Renewable Energy Adoption Dynamics: The Case of Mountain Areas of Bangladesh
This paper examines the relationship between grid-based electricity access, gender disparity, and renewable energy adoption in the mountain areas of Bangladesh by collecting a novel set of micro-level survey data. We develop unique weighted indices and apply the robust instrumental generalised method of moment estimation for investigating electricity access and women empowerment nexus. The findings…
Economic efficiency and CO2 impact of a clean cooking program in Ecuador
Clean cooking programs are implemented to replace polluting fuel technologies and fight climate change. In 2014, Ecuador launched a clean cooking program to improve environmental conditions for its population and reduce the large financial burden spent on liquid petroleum gas subsidies. In this paper, we analyze the economic and environmental impacts of this program. We…
Guiding Action: A User-centric Approach to Define, Measure, and Manage Electricity Access
The role of electricity in human development is well established as being key to improved quality of life, safer environments, greater communication and connectivity, better educational services, and increased economic opportunities. Despite it having such a fundamental role, nearly one billion people across the world are deprived of electricity access, and many more suffer with…
The Economics of Sustainability: Causes and Consequences of Energy Market Transformation
The paper deals with the economics of sustainability associated with the transformation of energy markets. It emphasizes the interrelations between technical changes and energy markets and how in turn the resulting transformations alter the sustainability of economic systems that are dependent on these markets. It also explores how innovation (or the lack thereof) is intimately…
“Prosumage” and the British Electricity Market
Domestic electricity consumers with PV panels have become known as “prosumers”; some of them also have energy storage and we have named the combination “prosumage”. The challenges of renewable intermittency could be offset by storing power, and many engineering studies consider the role and value of storage which is properly integrated into the ‘smart grid’….
A regulatory framework for an evolving electricity sector: Highlights of the MIT utility of the future study
The electric power sector is once again evolving. A variety of distributed energy resources and improving computation, communication, and control technologies create an unprecedented degree of choice for electricity consumers, choices that are poorly guided by electricity rates and other incentives designed for a comparatively simpler era. These technologies also create new tools for regulated…
Book Reviews
Responding to electricity shortfalls: Electricity-saving activities of households and firms in Japan after Fukushima
Japan has experienced a severe electricity shortfall since the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 and the subsequent shutdown of nuclear power plants. Disruption to the supply-demand balance was especially severe in Tokyo and Tohoku in summer 2011, forcing the government to introduce mandatory rationing for large customers. Following intensive efforts, a reduction in…
Vehicle-to-grid Policy in South Africa: State-led v. Market-directed Approaches
The Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) policy aim has been widely analyzed in policy planning literature but has not been explored for adaptation to African contexts. African countries enjoy immense renewable energy (RE) potential but currently experience minimal electric vehicle usage, since most drivers confront limited charging station access and thus range anxiety. One potential workaround surmounting this…