Energy Tradeoffs

Another Thursday, another EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode: This week, Eric Orts from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and David Spence talk about Eric’s research on “Climate Change and the Ethical Obligations of Business.” Eric argues that major fossil fuel companies—the “carbon majors”—face a dilemma: they face an ethical imperative to address climate change but they also face a market imperative to maximize

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Indiana University’s David Konisky talking with Shelley Welton about his research on “Public Attitudes on Energy & Climate.” David and Shelley discuss David’s research on what Americans believe about different sources of power. David finds that people mostly judge power sources based on their local environmental harms and their cost. They tend to be very favorable toward renewable

For this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, we have David Spence interviewing Sheila Olmstead his colleague at the University of Texas, about Sheila’s research on “Carbon Taxes: The Evolving Conventional Wisdom.” Sheila responds to the concern that a carbon tax would have a regressive impact on lower-income households by raising the price of energy. She explains that a carbon tax is actually less likely to

This Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast is our 40th episode! It features Yale Law School’s Doug Kysar talking with University of Colorado’s Sharon Jacobs about his research on “Tort Law & Climate Litigation.” Sharon and Doug first discuss the different types of climate litigation, including causes of action based on nuisance, arguments that the government holds the climate in trust for future generation, and claims that

For this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, we have David Spence interviewing my friend and co-author Hannah Wiseman, now at Penn State Law – University Park, about her research on “Balancing the Local Costs and Wider Benefits of Energy Development.” Hannah and David discuss her research on how to address energy projects that have concentrated costs in local communities but broader benefits to the economy

In this Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode, I talk with Caroline Cecot of GMU’s Scalia Law School about her research on “Regulating the Risks of Fracking to Water.” Caroline describes her empirical research on how New York towns approached fracking in the years before it was banned across the State. She finds that towns that were more vulnerable to water pollution and those

Another week, another EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode. This week, the University of California at Berkeley’s Eric Biber talks with David Spence about his research on “How Law Must Change in the Anthropocene.” Eric explains his argument that as humans change the global environment, legal doctrines will have to change to accommodate regulatory responses as well as to address wider problems triggered by environmental harm. Eric

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features David Spence interviewing MIT’s Scott Burger about his research on “How to Value Distributed Energy Resources.” David and Scott discuss the problems that can arise if rooftop solar is overcompensated through net metering when rooftop solar is mostly installed by wealthier customers. Scott and his colleagues “simulated rooftop solar adoption across single family homes [in] the Chicago, Illinois

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode is Part II of Michael Wara‘s discussion with David Spence about his research on California’s wildfire policies. This two-part series focuses on “PG&E’s Wildfire Liability and Bankruptcy: Who Pays?” Today’s 19-minute podcast episode starts where the last one left off; it focuses on “Bankruptcy & the Future.” Michael explains why PG&E’s bankruptcy is co complex, noting: “It’s a mess.

This Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast features Stanford University’s Michael Wara talking with David Spence about his research on California’s wildfire policies. This week’s podcast episode is the first part of a two-part series on “PG&E’s Wildfire Liability and Bankruptcy: Who Pays?” This episode focused on wildfire causes, liability, and victims. David and Michael talk about why Northern California has been so vulnerable to fires in

Another week, another EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode. This week, Michael Burger of Columbia University talks with the University of Texas’s David Spence about Michael’s work on “Climate Litigation & the Green Transition.” Michael and David talk about the variety of lawsuits that have been brought to try and hold fossil fuel companies responsible for the costs of climate change. (A chart collecting and organizing the

This Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features features the University of Texas’s David Spence interviewing Vanderbilt Law School’s Jim Rossi and Chris Serkin about their proposal for “Energy Exactions“. Jim and Chris describe this proposal, which would have local governments impose “a fee on development … that is designed to avoid strains on the energy grid.” It would build on existing negotiations between developers and local

Today’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Yael Lifshitz, from King’s College London, talking with me about her research on “Private Energy, Private Law, & the Green Transition.” Yael describes her research on how private law interacts with our public policy goals for an energy transition. As one example, she describes how private leases for housing often are roadblocks to installing rooftop solar on

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features David Spence interviewing Joshua Rhodes & Colin Meehan about their research on “Keeping the Lights on in a High Renewables Grid.” Josh & Colin explain the concept of grid “inertia” and why it is so important for grid stability. The grid must always maintain the same frequency and inertia steadies this frequency when a power plant suddenly goes

Today’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode has me interviewing the University of Oklahoma’s Monika Ehrman about her research on “Energy Realism & Fossil Fuels.” Monika describes and criticizes the “keep it in the ground” movement–a coalition that is looking to stop production of oil and gas on federal lands and has now gained support from all of the remaining Democratic candidates for President. She

In this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode, the University of Colorado’s Sharon Jacobs interviews Sanya Carley of Indiana University about Sanya’s work on Alternatives talks with about Sanya’s work on “Energy Justice.” Sanya explains her efforts to identify communities that are particularly likely to be harmed as the country moves to cleaner energy sources. She describes steps that the government can take to address these

This Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features me talking with the University of Calgary Faculty of Law’s Kristen van de Biezenbos about her research on “Social License & Fossil Fuels.” Kristen describes how the term “social license” has become so important in Canadian energy policy and shows the different ways it has been used and misused by provincial and federal politicians. Kristen explains

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Columbia’s Mike Gerrard talking with Shelley Welton about his research on “Deep Decarbonization: Legal Impediments to a Massive Renewables Build-Out.” In the interview, Mike explains why dramatic cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions will require a massive build out of new zero-carbon power sources to 1) replace coal and gas power plants and 2) electrify the other parts

Another week, another EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode. This week, Victoria Mandell of GRID Alternatives talks with the University of Colorado’s  Sharon Jacobs about Victoria’s work on “Energy Poverty, Energy Burden and Rooftop Solar.” Victoria and Sharon talk about why some policies that favor rooftop solar are regressive: “You have low income customers paying for high income customers to have solar on their roofs.” Victoria

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode is Part II of Arne Olson‘s discussion with David Spence on “Modeling Decarbonization in the West.” This two-part series covers Arne’s research on achieving a reliable transition to low-carbon energy on the West Coast. Today’s 15-minute podcast episode starts where the last one left off, focusing on California. Arne describes why California may need to maintain some natural gas power

This Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Arne Olson talking with David Spence about his research on achieving a reliable transition to low-carbon energy on the West Coast. This week’s 18-minute podcast is the first part of a two-part series on “Modeling Decarbonization in the West,” and it focuses on the Pacific Northwest. Arne and David’s discussion focuses on the reasons that natural gas may play

Happy new year! For this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, we have David Spence interviewing Leah Stokes, from the University of California – Santa Barbara about her research on “The Politics of Technology Transitions.” Leah and David discuss politically sustainable methods of accomplishing an energy transition, focusing on Leah’s research on the history of policies supporting renewable and zero-carbon technologies. She traces a trajectory for

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Cornell’s Joshua Macey talking with David Spence about his research on “Renewables and Reliability in Competitive Wholesale Electricity Markets.” In the interview, Joshua explains why electric power providers in competitive markets are relying more and more on capacity markets, which pay them just for being available to provide power, and less on energy markets, which pay them only

Today’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features David Spence interviewing Carey King, his colleague at the University of Texas, about Carey’s research on “Economic Growth, Inequality & Decarbonization.” Carey and David discuss several ways that transitioning to cleaner energy sources will change the economy. In particular, Carey notes that “lower carbon infrastructure tends to be higher capital cost relative to operating cost, implying less labor and

Our new EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Resources for the Future’s Daniel Raimi talking with David Spence about his research on “Fossil Fuels and the Risk Profile of Fracking.” Daniel talks about his recent book, which evaluates common concerns about fracking, including polluted water supplies, diesel emissions, increased risks of earthquakes, and greenhouse gas emissions. Daniel explains how recent studies support or do not

This Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Harvard Law School’s Ari Peskoe talking with David Spence about his research on “Reliability, Decarbonization & Federal-State Conflict Over Electricity Markets.” Ari and David talk about restructured power markets and struggles over the extent of federal and state authority to ensure that there are enough power plants and that electricity remains reliable. And Ari explains his work on a

Another week, another EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode. This week, the University of Texas’s Melinda Taylor talks with David Spence about her research on “Studying Intensive Energy Development (Oil & Gas, Wind and Solar) in West Texas.” Melinda talks about her work with the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation on “a community-based landscape conservation plan” for three West Texas counties that are part of Texas’s staggering

For this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, we have David Spence interviewing Todd Davidson, his colleague at the University of Texas, about Todd’s research on “Long-term storage needs, ‘green gases,’ & the energy transition.” Todd and David’s discussion focuses on one of the most pressing problems with increasing reliance on solar and wind power: how to store the energy from these sources for use during

Today’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features UCLA’s William Boyd talking with David Spence about his research on “‘Public’ Utility: Steering Markets Toward Public Ends“. In the interview, William explains his critique of FERC’s approach to price formation in natural gas markets and electricity auctions. William argues that markets cannot be insulated from politics and that the policy choices that often dominate cost-of-service ratemaking can emerge

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast features the University of Texas’s David Spence interviewing Dana Harmon about her work on “Energy Poverty and the Green Transition.” Dana describes the challenges of ensuring that low-income consumers have access to reliable energy at affordable prices. Dana and David discuss how to address these challenges as energy markets transition toward cleaner power sources, electrified transport, and increased reliance on

In this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, the University of Richmond’s Joel Eisen and the University of South Carolina’s Shelley Welton talk with David Spence about their research on “Net Metering & the Value of Distributed Solar Generation.” David, Joel, and Shelley discuss hot-button questions about net-metering, which effectively pays homeowners with rooftop solar the retail price for the electricity that they provide to the grid.

Another week, another EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode. This week, the University of Florida’s Amy Stein talks with David Spence about her research on “Maintaining Reliability in a Distributed Energy World.” Amy and David explore the challenges of maintaining power grid reliability when an increasing amount of electricity is produced by distributed sources such as rooftop solar. Amy explains how energy storage and demand response can

This Thursday’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode features Stanford’s Frank Wolak talking with David Spence about his research on “Market Solutions to Reliability Challenges in Electricity Markets.” Frank explains different approaches to ensuring the reliability of the electric grid, including Texas’s approach of allowing very high prices during periods of peak demand to encourage sufficient power supply—an approach that has been repeatedly tested during hot weather

For this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, we have Josh Rhodes interviewing David Adelman, his colleague at the University of Texas, about David’s research on “Modeling the Evolution of a Greener Grid.” David’s research compares renewable portfolio standards, which are the most commonly used instrument for encouraging renewable power, with carbon pricing, which could be implemented through a cap-and-trade system or a tax. David

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast features Shelley Welton interviewing Nathan Richardson, her colleague at the University of South Carolina, about his research on “The Politics of Carbon Taxes vs. Regulation.” Nathan recaps much of the history of efforts to adopt federal climate regulation, and explains what steps a new administration could take to establish durable greenhouse gas controls. He explains why he is skeptical that

Another week, another EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast episode. This week, Princeton’s Jesse Jenkins talks with David Spence about his research on “The Best Route to Net-Zero Emissions.” Jesse describes why “firm low-carbon power resources,” such as nuclear and natural gas with carbon capture make it much cheaper to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electric power sector. Unlike variable solar and wind resources, these firm sources

In this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, Stanford’s Michael Wara talks with David Spence about his research on “California’s Energy Transition—Decarbonization & Decentralization.” Michael discusses the necessary tradeoffs in meeting California’s varied goals for its energy grid: the challenges of moving away from gas power plants and increasing rooftop solar and different ways to meet those challenges while limiting the costs borne by low-income ratepayers.

For this week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast interview, we have the University of Colorado’s  Sharon Jacobs talking with David Spence about her research on “Environmental Privileging.” Sharon talks about how different actors privilege different values in energy policy and argues that scholars should be explicit about which values they are privileging. She takes the case study of privileging environmental values in energy policy and argues that

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast features David Spence interviewing the University of Texas’s Sheila Olmstead about her research on “Cost-Benefit Analysis, ‘Secret Science,’ and OIRA Reviews of Rulemaking.” Sheila talks about two challenges of doing cost-benefit analysis on climate regulation. First, she describes why the bulk of benefits from carbon rules actually are indirect benefits of reduced air pollution, not climate benefits from reduced carbon

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast features David Spence interviewing the University of South Carolina’s  Shelley Welton about her research on “The Distributional Impacts of Distributed Energy Resources.” Shelley talks about how rooftop solar and other smaller sources of power are changing energy policy. The interview builds on her article on “Clean Electrification,” which was published in the Colorado Law Review. The Energy Tradeoffs Podcast

This week’s EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast features Sharon Jacobs and Shelley Welton interviewing the University of Texas’s David Spence about his research on “‘Naïve Energy Markets’ and the boundary between markets and regulation.” David argues that both consumers and investors make decisions based on factors that often aren’t considered in simple economic models of energy markets. He discusses electricity pricing, under-investment in energy transport, and

Our next EnergyTradeoffs.com podcast features David Spence interviewing the University of Minnesota’s Alexandra Klass about her research on “Network Infrastructure: Permitting & Eminent Domain.” They discuss permits for interstate power-lines, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and oil pipelines, focusing on two recent articles from Professor Klass: “Future Proofing Energy Transport Law” and  “Reconstituting the Federalism Battle in Energy Transportation.” Near the end

Earlier this month, David Spence posted an introduction to our new project with Sharon Jacobs and Shelley Welton, EnergyTradeoffs.com. Our website will feature the work of researchers grappling with energy policy tradeoffs between reliability, affordability, and environmental performance as well as the other trade-offs associated with energy transitions. The site includes interviews in which these researchers discuss their recent articles. We have already posted 27 of these conversations