Electricity demand in Texas is evolving, posing major challenges for grid reliability. Center for Energy Studies experts lay out ways ERCOT, Texas’ grid operator, can enhance reliability and resource adequacy.
Peter R. Hartley, Kenneth B. Medlock III, Shih Yu (Elsie) HungFebruary 7, 2024
The U.S. has taken major legislative steps through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act to advance clean energy technologies and bolster national energy security. But for these measures to bear full fruit, policymakers will need to address critical infrastructure barriers, writes the Center for Energy Studies' Kenneth B. Medlock III.
This report explores the motives underlying Mexico’s contradictory climate change policies. Given the fossil fuel-centered actions of the López Obrador administration, the author argues that Mexico’s recent clean energy turn is merely an attempt to lower tensions with the U.S. — not a true commitment to combatting climate change.
As global energy markets continue their inexorable transition to a lower GHG future, sources of energy supply that are competitive, accessible, and environmentally favorable will thrive. This is exactly where U.S. natural gas can find its comparative advantage.
Texas is in a very advantageous position to play a leading role in driving hydrogen market growth, but the evolution of policy and market structure will dictate whether or not this comes to pass.
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Shih Yu (Elsie) HungFebruary 16, 2023
Europe’s reliance on fuel-switching and demand-rationing — and its need for new natural gas supply sources — will persist through this winter into next year. Using a newly developed interactive dashboard, Center for Energy Studies experts analyze possible winter scenarios using Germany as a case study.
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Anna B. Mikulska, Luke (Leelook) MinDecember 7, 2022
This paper reviews the attempts of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to push for reforms in the electricity sector that would strengthen the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Mexico’s state-owned electric utility, while limiting the involvement of privately owned power companies.
In this paper, the authors seek to quantify the potential energy security consequences of a significant disruption of gas supplies from Russia to Europe, and objectively assess strengths, weaknesses, and consequences of potential response strategies.
Gabriel Collins, Kenneth B. Medlock III, Anna B. Mikulska, Steven R. MilesFebruary 11, 2022
The authors examine how vertical market structures impact the way a tax affects gas prices, using data from gas station contracts with a major Spanish refiner. Find the article in The Economic Journal.
Raúl Bajo Buenestado, Miguel Ángel Borrella-MasJanuary 27, 2022
Mexico's complex land governance regime does not generate certainty for foreign investors, writes nonresident scholar Miriam Grunstein. In this paper, she explores land classifications in Mexico and the challenges investors may face when attempting to acquire acreage.