Economics

Will Pricing Carbon Raise Electricity Prices?

Lynne Kiesling UPDATE: Thanks to the commenter who alerted me that I mis-labeled my graph, and that equilibrium B should be at the intersection of S’ and D’. I may not get to update the graph Monday, my apologies. There’s been an interesting discussion going on this week building off of a Sean Casten post …

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Recommendations for Smart Grid Policy (Part 5 of 5)

Lynne Kiesling So far in this series I have stressed what I think are some important foundational concepts in defining smart grid, thinking about its scope and its potential for value creation, and distinguishing it as an investment category from traditional transmission construction. All of these concepts have some interaction with government policy, at either …

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Smart Grid and Renewables Interconnection (Part 4 of 5)

Lynne Kiesling One of the reasons why smart grid is generating so much interest right now is its ability to enable the integration of renewable energy into the electric power network, leading to a broader generation portfolio and potentially beneficial carbon implications. Lots of the discussion of smart grid in policy and media (including places …

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Intelligent End-use Devices Make a Transactive Smart Grid Valuable (Part 3 of 5)

Lynne Kiesling Digital communication capabilities in the network, including in end-use devices, provides increasingly feature-rich, mobile, and customizable ways to create consumer awareness about electricity consumption, electricity expenditure, and the environmental impact of that consumption. It also provides ways to change electricity consumption, either manually or automatically, in the home or remotely. In yesterday’s post …

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A Smart Grid is a Transactive Grid (Part 2 of 5)

Lynne Kiesling One of the hallmarks of smart grid technology is how it enables and reduces the cost of two-way communication. In electricity as in other industries, digital communication technology makes it possible and easy to have two-way communication, and to use that communication capability to automate individual actions. As we have seen throughout society …

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Smart Grid Technology, Economics, and Policy (Part 1 of 5)

Lynne Kiesling This week I’ll be writing a series of posts about smart grid technology, economics, and policy. The buzz around the idea of smart grid is palpable:  old companies like GE and new companies like Google are changing their business models to incorporate more smart grid activities and products, entrepreneurs are exploring new products …

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Animal Conservation Through Prices

Lynne Kiesling The fundamental cause of most environmental problems — whether air pollution, climate change, or species extinction, for example — is ill-defined property rights. Ill-define property rights lead to inefficient resource use decisions, resource overuse, and accelerated resource use. The effect of human action on the rate and pattern of species extinction is an …

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Smart Grid Rhetoric at Yesterday’s Clean Energy Summit

Lynne Kiesling [UPDATED to add live link to NPR story} NPR just ran a story on yesterday’s clean energy summit in Washington DC. The event was organized by Senator Harry Reid and included such luminaries as Boone Pickens, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore, in addition to political representatives such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Secretary …

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