Location: 

368A Heady Hall

Time: 

6 Feb 2012, 3:40 pm - 4:10 pm

Contact Person: 

Kling, Catherine L.

Description: 

"Valuing the Wind: Renewable Energy Policies and Air Pollution Avoided," with Kevin Novan, University of California at San Diego

Abstract: This paper estimates the variation over time in the quantity of pollution avoided by renewable electricity. Taking advantage of the natural experiment presented by changes in hourly wind speeds, I identify the amount of CO2, NOx, and SO2 reduced by electricity supplied from wind turbines in the Texas electricity market. The results provide clear evidence that renewable generation in the region offsets significant amounts of each of the pollutants examined. However, because different conventional generators are on the margin at different levels of demand, I find the amount of pollution avoided by a unit of renewable electricity varies substantially with the quantity of electricity demanded. As a result, renewable generators in separate locations, producing electricity at varying points in time, will provide very different reductions in pollution. By failing to account for these differences in the emissions avoided, policies equally subsidizing each unit of renewable electricity will not ensure efficient investment decisions are made.

Kevin Novan is a Ph.D. candidate in the Economics Department at the University of California, San Diego. His research focuses on the intersection of environmental and energy economics, with an emphasis on the electricity sector. Electricity generation is a major source of a variety of pollutants. To achieve significant reductions in the level of pollution emitted, substantial changes will need to be made in the way electricity is produced and consumed. Kevin's research explores how policies can induce more efficient use of the available energy resources.