Research Library

This brief assesses the strategic and economic challenges of energy security amid a transition to a lower-carbon energy future.

The ORDC has been proposed in some markets to solve the missing-money problem. The authors estimate the extent to which ORDC prices are negatively affected by wind generation, using hourly data from ERCOT between Jan. 2015 and Feb. 2019. The authors conclude that if wind penetration increases, ORDC may not be a good idea.

With opposition to large-scale energy infrastructure on the rise, transmission service providers find it problematic to build the new power lines essential to a greener grid. This paper highlights the Texas Competitive Renewable Energy Zone initiative (CREZ) — a case study of the difficulties that new power lines face and the policy choices that can facilitate development of this necessary infrastructure. The CREZ experience can inform development of new large-scale transmission infrastructure in other regions.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry faces increasing pressure to do more to achieve climate change objectives. A new product—Green LNG—could help ensure that natural gas keeps its role in the energy transition, if the LNG industry can convert Green LNG into a uniform, tradable commodity, write the authors.

This paper presents a stochastic bilevel disjunctive program for transmission investment planning. Published in Networks and Spatial Economics -- A Journal of Infrastructure Modeling and Computation.

For petrostates like Saudi Arabia, new tactics and strategies will be needed to recapture the strategic interest of global powers, and to cope with the transition away from fossil fuels. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Fall 2020.

On September 16, energy fellow Michelle Michot Foss provided an overview of the role of critical minerals in creating a clean economy during testimony before the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. She also discussed the challenges associated with energy transitions, including import dependency and considerations for meeting environment, social and governance (ESG) goals.

The authors propose a new way to estimate "reasonably reliable" power and find that 3.5 billion people live without it.

This brief examines the legality of the decrees issued by the National Center for the Control of Energy (CENACE) and the Department of Energy (SENER) in Mexico earlier this year, which were intended to prevent renewable energy companies from connecting to the transmission grid.

Kelly Neill, graduate fellow at the Center for Energy Studies, examines how LNG exports have increased the domestic natural gas price in the eastern part of Australia, causing domestic gas users to grumble. Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/30voN4p