Randy Udall, director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency, presents the third in the lecture series "Energizing the Rockies: Energy Challenges in Global, National and Regional Perspectives." CORE works with government officials at the local, state and federal levels to promote forward-thinking energy and green building policy. Part of Notable Lectures & Performances series, Colorado College. Recorded February 27, 2007.
Currently, fossil fuels are the world’s primary energy source. However, the burning of fossil fuels, for energy, has many negative side effects. There is a growing consensus that burning fossil fuels leads to the greenhouse effect and global warming. The supply of fossil fuels is also finite. Thus, a clean and renewable energy source must eventually replace fossil fuels as our energy source. Wind power is currently the fastest growing, and most efficient, form of renewable energy. Wind power has the potential to unite profitable business with the protection of the environment. However, there are currently many non-price barriers that prohibit wind power from achieving its full potential. This paper takes a qualitative approach. Seven people involved with the wind industry are interviewed. This data is used to determine what barriers to wind power exist and how these barriers can be overcome. It also explores the need for the development of a Smart Grid to achieve the large-scale integration of renewable energy. The majority of the non-price barriers can be alleviated; however, the need for a Smart Grid still remains.
Renewable energy policies help drive states in the US toward cleaner energy technologies. Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) is one policy which mandates states to produce a certain percentage of their electricity mix from renewable energy sources. This paper looks at how these policies affect residential electricity prices in the United States. This paper hypothesizes that, due to falling costs of renewable energy technologies, residential electricity costs will not increase due to RPS mandates. This main hypothesis is not supported by previous literature, and this paper also concludes that RPS mandates increase residential electricity prices in states which implement them. This paper differs from previous literature by showing a much lower percentage increase in electricity prices due to RPS mandates and thus provides insight into how renewable energy policies affect the people which live in places where the policies are enacted.
As society has progressed over time, we have developed extensive unsustainable consumption habits, and we will have to deal with the future consequences of those actions. Problems, like climate change, have developed into intricate issues that will require innovative marketing and promotion methods, as they will involve the alteration of solidified social patterns and constructs. Through analyzing products like residential renewable energy, we can better understand how sustainable and responsible behavior can be fostered from the individual level to a national scale. That is why this study asks what factors explain homeowners’ decision to invest in renewable energy? Through exploring past research, understanding current markets, and surveying potential and current renewable energy user, this study attempts to identify the most prominent barriers and effective promoters of residential renewable energy.
Dan Chiras, visiting professor of environmental science and director of The Evergreen Institute in Missouri, discusses America at a crossroads in its history. The world is changing rapidly. How we react to these changes, among them global climate change and shortages of key energy resources, will determine whether we prosper or flounder. Unfortunately, extremely powerful forces now prevent us from enacting the measures required to build a truly sustainable future based on a renewable energy economy. Part of Notable Lectures & Performances series, Colorado College. Recorded April 27, 2011.
Alternative energy is a rapidly growing field, and one of the main drivers behind this growth is the investment of venture capital. Because of this recent market expansion, little research has been done analyzing venture capital investment behaviors in specific alternative energy industries. This thesis present an analysis of venture capital investments with regard to industry and type of security invested. A Poisson distribution is used to measure the time in between financing rounds, and a negative binomial distribution is used to measure the change in the sum of equity from round to round.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are an emerging market in California and present an opportunity for emissions reductions in the transportation sector. In order for the EV market to grow, however, it is important to discern which factors affect the EV sales. Ding (2017) used demand theory to create a model to prove that if the cost of conventional vehicles are high, then the demand for energy efficient vehicles will increase. Ding (2017) examined EV sales across the entire United States, and found that retail gasoline prices and residential electricity prices may affect the sales of EVs. This study narrows the focus to California, assessing whether retail gasoline prices, residential electricity prices and a new independent variable, the percentage of renewable resources used in the electricity generation mix, affect plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in the state. The results of the Robust Regression demonstrate that a decrease in gasoline price leads to an increase in both PHEV and BEV sales, while an increase in residential electricity price leads to an increase in the sales of these vehicles. Also, an increase in the percentage of renewable resources used in the electricity generation mix leads to an increase in PHEV and BEV sales. Certain results are unexpected, but make sense when EV market conditions specific to California are considered.
Renewable energy policies help drive states in the US toward cleaner energy technologies. Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) is one policy which mandates states to produce a certain percentage of their electricity mix from renewable energy sources. This paper looks at how these policies affect residential electricity prices in the United States. This paper hypothesizes that, due to falling costs of renewable energy technologies, residential electricity costs will not increase due to RPS mandates. This main hypothesis is not supported by previous literature, and this paper also concludes that RPS mandates increase residential electricity prices in states which implement them. This paper differs from previous literature by showing a much lower percentage increase in electricity prices due to RPS mandates and thus provides insight into how renewable energy policies affect the people which live in places where the policies are enacted.
