Download or read book The Influence of Policy Economic and Social Variables on Solar Photovoltaic Market Maturity in U S States with an Emphasis on Minnesota and Wisconsin from 2001 2016 written by Benjamin Nusz and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States solar photovoltaic (PV) market has seen rapid growth in the first half of this decade (2011-2016). Over this period, Minnesota and Wisconsin have seen divergent solar growth rates. The rate of solar deployment in Minnesota has greatly outpaced Wisconsin in this period. This thesis summarizes demographic, solar production and policy information at the state level to analyze these market irregularities and the efficacy of state solar policies. A quantitative analysis of state level data sought correlations between solar PV market maturity and economic conditions, demographic characteristics and state actions. Multiple outputs were collected as indicators of mature solar markets. Multiple single point metrics were analyzed to represent state profiles. When these metrics were analyzed with demographic and policy considerations, it was found that several non-policy factors strongly correlated with strong solar markets. Notably, Google search interest data was a relevant and new correlation technique and a likely predictor of solar PV demand. Solar economics demonstrated to be the most important factor. By 2017, 25 states had a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) equal to current market rates of electricity. Reaching grid parity provided the strongest economic indicator of robust solar markets with strong correlations with all solar PV market outcomes. Allowing third party ownership (TPO) was found to be the most effective piece of legislation that states can enact. All but one of the top producing solar states allow TPO. The additional analysis of Minnesota and Wisconsin demonstrated that effective application of solar related policies matters more than their presence. The policies implemented in Minnesota's 2013 Solar Energy Jobs Act were impactful and immediately effective at growing the solar industry. However, this legislation did not impact all sectors equally. The majority of the growth was in utility scale developments. The residential market was fairly consistent between the two states, which demonstrated to be a better predictor of solar jobs.
Download or read book The Price Concentration Relationship in Early Residential Solar Third Party Markets written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The market for residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade, with installed capacity more than doubling between 2014 and 2016 alone (SEIA, 2016). As the residential market continues to grow, it prompts new questions about the nature of competition between solar installers and how this competition, or lack thereof, affects the prices consumers are paying. It is often assumed that more competition leads to lower prices, but this is not universally true. For example, some studies have shown that factors such as brand loyalty could lead to a negative relationship between concentration and price in imperfectly competitive markets (Borenstein, 1985; Holmes, 1989). As such, the relationship between prices and market concentration is an open empirical question since theory could predict either a positive or negative relationship. Determining a relationship between prices and market concentration is challenging for several reasons. Most significantly, prices and market structure are simultaneously determined by each other -- the amount of competition a seller faces influences the price they can command, and prices determine a seller's market share. Previous studies have examined recent PV pricing trends over time and between markets (Davidson et al., 2015a; Davidson and Margolis 2015b; Nemet et al., 2016; Gillingham et al., 2014; Barbose and Darghouth 2015). While these studies of solar PV pricing are able to determine correlations between prices and market factors, they have not satisfactorily proven causation. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, there is little work to date that focuses on identifying the causal relationship between market structure and the prices paid by consumers. We use a unique dataset on third-party owned contract terms for the residential solar PV market in the San Diego Gas and Electricity service territory to better understand this relationship. Surprisingly, we find that firms charged higher prices in more competitive markets in our sample. The finding is robust across multiple definitions of firm concentration. There are at least two potential explanations for our findings. First, firms could be conducting entry deterrence strategies. It is possible that firms are acting in a non-competitive way and setting prices lower than they would be otherwise. Setting low prices that are below potential competitors' marginal costs could deter entrants and ensure a larger market share. Second, there could be a group of dominant firms (with a competitive fringe), and the dominant firms may occasionally engage in price wars. If this is true, prices should be lower in more concentrated markets during the price wars (Salinger, 1990). As the rooftop PV market continues to grow, market structure will remain a relevant policy issue in consideration of the potential for rooftop solar to contribute to de-carbonization efforts or other policy objectives. This paper adds to a growing emphasis on understanding supply-side factors in scaling up solar markets in the residential sector. Generally, solar markets have become more competitive over the same time period that solar technology costs decreased. While solar system hard costs have come down, our research suggests that total costs are more nuanced in early solar system TPO markets. Policymakers should consider these findings when designing markets, and have the data needed to make informed decisions.
Download or read book Solar Photovoltaic Market Structure in the United States written by Eric Jon O'Shaughnessy and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems could play a pivotal role in the transition toward a cleaner energy future. Yet PV still accounts for a small share of global electricity generation. Meanwhile the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity emits about 13 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Finding ways to increase PV deployment by reducing PV prices is a key element to reducing those emissions and mitigating the worst impacts of global climate change. Various characteristics of the PV installation industry's market structure, such as the number of installers and the relative sizes of installers, have been shown to affect PV prices. However, the net effects of market structure on PV prices are still not understood. In this dissertation, I explore the effects of market structure on residential PV prices in the United States using a rich dataset of systems installed from 2010 to 2016. I find that PV prices are lower, on average, in markets with fewer and larger installers. This result provides evidence that large-scale PV installers find ways to reduce costs through economies of scale and pass cost savings through to customers. However, I also find that prices are higher in markets where large-scale installers hold very high market shares, suggesting that large-scale installers do not pass cost savings through to customers in markets with little competition. Together, these results show that PV prices are minimized in markets with an optimal combination of installer scale and inter-installer competition. I also find that public policy affects PV market structure, even policies not explicitly designed to affect the installation industry. My results indicate that public policy has indirect impacts on PV prices via its influence on PV market structure. The findings from my dissertation and other findings from the PV price research literature suggest that policymakers can drive future PV price reductions through innovative PV marketplace design. Such measures could form part of a suite of policies to reduce PV prices and increase PV deployment in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
Download or read book International Handbook of Energy Security written by Hugh Dyer and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ÔThis Handbook should be consulted by anybody interested in the issue of energy security. It convincingly demonstrates why the provision of energy is such a contentious issue, addressing the complex interaction of economic, social, environmental, technical and political aspects involved. The book is particularly valuable in investigating and highlighting processes in which (inter)national actors apply this variety of aspects in (re)constructing their notion of Òenergy securityÓ, its particular meaning and the implications thereof. Such understanding of energy security is helpful!Õ Ð Aad F. CorreljŽ, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands ÔEnergy security has for long been treated as an issue of pure geopolitics. Hugh Dyer and Maria Julia Trombetta aim at broadening energy security debates and extend them to new agendas. Their excellent Handbook offers a fresh perspective on four crucial dimensions: supply, demand, environment and human security. A diverse group of international energy scholars provides for an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of key contemporary energy problems, ranging from an oil producersÕ perspectives on energy security to ethical dimensions of renewable energy and climate governance.Õ Ð Andreas Goldthau, Central European University, Hungary This Handbook brings together energy security experts to explore the implications of framing the energy debate in security terms, both in respect of the governance of energy systems and the practices associated with energy security. The contributors expertly review and analyse the key aspects and research issues in the emerging field of energy security, test the current state of knowledge, and provide suggestions for reflection and further analysis. This involves providing an account of the multiplicity of discourses and meanings of energy security, and contextualizing them. They also suggest a rewriting of energy security discourses and their representation in purely economic terms. This volume examines energy security and its conceptual and practical challenges from the perspectives of security of supply, security of demand, environmental change and human security. It will prove essential for students in the fields of global, international and national politics of energy, economics, and society as well as engineering. It will also appeal to policy practitioners and anybody interested in keeping the lights on, avoiding climate change, and providing a secure future for humanity.
Download or read book The Power of Change written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-09-30 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electricity, supplied reliably and affordably, is foundational to the U.S. economy and is utterly indispensable to modern society. However, emissions resulting from many forms of electricity generation create environmental risks that could have significant negative economic, security, and human health consequences. Large-scale installation of cleaner power generation has been generally hampered because greener technologies are more expensive than the technologies that currently produce most of our power. Rather than trade affordability and reliability for low emissions, is there a way to balance all three? The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies considers how to speed up innovations that would dramatically improve the performance and lower the cost of currently available technologies while also developing new advanced cleaner energy technologies. According to this report, there is an opportunity for the United States to continue to lead in the pursuit of increasingly clean, more efficient electricity through innovation in advanced technologies. The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies makes the case that America's advantagesâ€"world-class universities and national laboratories, a vibrant private sector, and innovative states, cities, and regions that are free to experiment with a variety of public policy approachesâ€"position the United States to create and lead a new clean energy revolution. This study focuses on five paths to accelerate the market adoption of increasing clean energy and efficiency technologies: (1) expanding the portfolio of cleaner energy technology options; (2) leveraging the advantages of energy efficiency; (3) facilitating the development of increasing clean technologies, including renewables, nuclear, and cleaner fossil; (4) improving the existing technologies, systems, and infrastructure; and (5) leveling the playing field for cleaner energy technologies. The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies is a call for leadership to transform the United States energy sector in order to both mitigate the risks of greenhouse gas and other pollutants and to spur future economic growth. This study's focus on science, technology, and economic policy makes it a valuable resource to guide support that produces innovation to meet energy challenges now and for the future.
Download or read book Pathways to Urban Sustainability written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-11 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cities have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth in the last decade. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas, with the U.S. percentage at 80 percent. Cities have captured more than 80 percent of the globe's economic activity and offered social mobility and economic prosperity to millions by clustering creative, innovative, and educated individuals and organizations. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. The spread and continued growth of urban areas presents a number of concerns for a sustainable future, particularly if cities cannot adequately address the rise of poverty, hunger, resource consumption, and biodiversity loss in their borders. Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. It focuses on nine cities across the United States and Canada (Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, Flint, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Vancouver, Canada), chosen to represent a variety of metropolitan regions, with consideration given to city size, proximity to coastal and other waterways, susceptibility to hazards, primary industry, and several other factors.
Download or read book Wind Vision written by U. S. Department U.S. Department of Energy and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-03-18 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a detailed roadmap of technical, economic, and institutional actions by the wind industry, the wind research community, and others to optimize wind's potential contribution to a cleaner, more reliable, low-carbon, domestic energy generation portfolio, utilizing U.S. manu-facturing and a U.S. workforce. The roadmap is intended to be the beginning of an evolving, collaborative, and necessarily dynamic process. It thus suggests an approach of continual updates at least every two years, informed by its analysis activities. Roadmap actions are identified in nine topical areas, introduced below.
Download or read book The Sun Betrayed written by Ray Reece and published by Black Rose Books Ltd.. This book was released on 1979 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of the collusion between power elites against small-scale energy development. It ends by profiling successful community projects using innovative solar technologies.
Download or read book Dynamics of Contention written by Doug McAdam and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001-09-10 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Over the past two decades the study of social movements, revolution, democratization and other non-routine politics has flourished. And yet research on the topic remains highly fragmented, reflecting the influence of at least three traditional divisions. The first of these reflects the view that various forms of contention are distinct and should be studied independent of others. Separate literatures have developed around the study of social movements, revolutions and industrial conflict. A second approach to the study of political contention denies the possibility of general theory in deference to a grounding in the temporal and spatial particulars of any given episode of contention. The study of contentious politics are left to 'area specialists' and/or historians with a thorough knowledge of the time and place in question. Finally, overlaid on these two divisions are stylized theoretical traditions - structuralist, culturalist, and rationalist - that have developed largely in isolation from one another." http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/cam021/2001016172.html.
Download or read book Guide to Purchasing Green Power written by and published by Environmental Protection Agency. This book was released on 2004 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This guide can be downloaded from: www.eere.energy.gov/femp/technologies/renewable%5Fpurchasepower.cfm, www.epa.gov/greenpower/buygreenpower.htm, www.thegreenpowergroup.org/publications.html, www.resource-solutions.org."--Verso. t.p.
Download or read book Critical Materials Strategy written by Steven Chu and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011-05 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines the role of rare earth metals and other materials in the clean energy economy. It was prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) based on data collected and research performed during 2010. In the report, DoE describes plans to: (1) develop its first integrated research agenda addressing critical materials, building on three technical workshops convened by the DoE during November and December 2010; (2) strengthen its capacity for information-gathering on this topic; and (3) work closely with international partners, including Japan and Europe, to reduce vulnerability to supply disruptions and address critical material needs. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.
Download or read book Rising Above the Gathering Storm written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-03-08 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas. This congressionally requested report by a pre-eminent committee makes four recommendations along with 20 implementation actions that federal policy-makers should take to create high-quality jobs and focus new science and technology efforts on meeting the nation's needs, especially in the area of clean, affordable energy: 1) Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education; 2) Sustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research; 3) Develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the U.S. and abroad; and 4) Ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world for innovation. Some actions will involve changing existing laws, while others will require financial support that would come from reallocating existing budgets or increasing them. Rising Above the Gathering Storm will be of great interest to federal and state government agencies, educators and schools, public decision makers, research sponsors, regulatory analysts, and scholars.
Download or read book Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels in the United States written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-01-18 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biofuels made from algae are gaining attention as a domestic source of renewable fuel. However, with current technologies, scaling up production of algal biofuels to meet even 5 percent of U.S. transportation fuel needs could create unsustainable demands for energy, water, and nutrient resources. Continued research and development could yield innovations to address these challenges, but determining if algal biofuel is a viable fuel alternative will involve comparing the environmental, economic and social impacts of algal biofuel production and use to those associated with petroleum-based fuels and other fuel sources. Sustainable Development of Algal Biofuels was produced at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Download or read book The New Public Diplomacy written by J. Melissen and published by Springer. This book was released on 2005-11-22 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After 9/11, which triggered a global debate on public diplomacy, 'PD' has become an issue in most countries. This book joins the debate. Experts from different countries and from a variety of fields analyze the theory and practice of public diplomacy. They also evaluate how public diplomacy can be successfully used to support foreign policy.
Download or read book Housing in the Evolving American Suburb written by Stockton Williams and published by . This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shifting Suburbs: Reinventing Infrastructure for Compact Development- Suburban housing markets across the United States are evolving rapidly and overall remain well-positioned to maintain their relevance for the foreseeable future as preferred places to live and work, even as many urban cores and downtown neighborhoods continue to attract new residents and businesses. Suburban housing dynamics increasingly reflect some of the most profound issues shaping our society, including aging, immigration, economic mobility, and evolving consumer preferences. As a result, suburbs will generate substantial residential development and redevelopment opportunities and challenges in the years ahead. -Housing in the Evolving American Suburb- This title describes different kinds of suburbs based on the key factors that define and determine their housing markets. The report classifies and compares suburbs in the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. and assesses the key issues that will shape suburban residential demand and development in the future. Suburban housing markets across the United States are evolving rapidly and overall remain well-positioned to maintain their relevance for the foreseeable future as preferred places to live and work, even as many urban cores and downtown neighborhoods continue to attract new residents and businesses. Suburban housing dynamics increasingly reflect some of the most profound issues shaping our society, including aging, immigration, economic mobility, and evolving consumer preferences. As a result, suburbs will generate substantial residential development and redevelopment opportunities and challenges in the years ahead. Housing in the Evolving American Suburb, describes different kinds of suburbs based on the key factors that define and determine their housing markets. The report classifies and compares suburbs in the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. and assesses the key issues that will shape suburban residential demand and development in the future."
Download or read book Accelerating Decarbonization of the U S Energy System written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-02 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is transforming its energy system from one dominated by fossil fuel combustion to one with net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary anthropogenic greenhouse gas. This energy transition is critical to mitigating climate change, protecting human health, and revitalizing the U.S. economy. To help policymakers, businesses, communities, and the public better understand what a net-zero transition would mean for the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine convened a committee of experts to investigate how the U.S. could best decarbonize its transportation, electricity, buildings, and industrial sectors. This report, Accelerating Decarbonization of the United States Energy System, identifies key technological and socio-economic goals that must be achieved to put the United States on the path to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The report presents a policy blueprint outlining critical near-term actions for the first decade (2021-2030) of this 30-year effort, including ways to support communities that will be most impacted by the transition.
Download or read book Work in the 21st Century written by Frank J. Landy and published by . This book was released on 2019-02 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
