Wednesday, September 11, 2019
5:15-6:15pm
Landau Building (66-110)
"More or less than zero: Can electricity markets survive deep decarbonization?" with James Bushnell, Professor, UC Davis; and Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research
As parts of the U.S. pursue increasingly aggressive policies for decarbonizing their electricity sectors, fault lines have continued to grow over the proper design and organization of electricity markets. While renewable generation continues to expand rapidly, operators of legacy power plants—particularly those fueled by coal and nuclear energy—are experiencing increasing financial distress. Across the U.S., a range of policy proposals and ad-hoc arrangements have been floated to maintain the economic viability of conventional generation. This talk draws upon research at the wholesale and retail level to contrast differing regional approaches to the economic challenges to integrating renewable electricity into electric systems.
About the speaker:
James Bushnell is a professor of economics at the University of California, Davis and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Prior to joining UC Davis, he was the research director at the UC Energy Institute and Cargill Chair in Energy Economics at Iowa State University. He holds a PhD in operations research from UC Berkeley.
Since 2002, Bushnell has served as a member of the Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). He has also advised the California Air Resources Board in several capacities, and has consulted on the design and performance of electricity markets around the U.S. and Internationally.
Reception with light refreshments will follow.
Please note that we will open our doors to unregistered participants 15 minutes before the event start time. To guarantee your seat, we recommend you register and arrive at least 15 minutes early.
If you are not able to attend, note there will be a high-quality recording of this seminar made available on our YouTube channel about a week following the event.
