"What is Energy Justice? A Primer for Non-Philosophers"
Rebecca Livernois, June 2024
This article disentangles features of energy production, distribution, and consumption that create injustices
with the aim of clarifying what constitutes energy justice. It argues that energy justice is upheld when
individuals and countries minimize the harm their energy use causes while fulfilling the duty to provide
energy, where possible, to those who need it to meet their basic needs.
"Price spikes, temporary price caps, and welfare effects of regulatory interventions on wholesale electricity markets"
Selahattin Murat Sirin and Ibrahim Erten. Energy Policy, April 2022
This paper evaluates the welfare effect of the temporary price cap implemented in 2017 on the Turkish electricity market. By using matching and panel data methods, we show that the temporary price cap reduced the total welfare but did not affect market clearing price and projected supply. Our detailed analysis shows that this decision was driven by non-economic motives, and identifies a number of fundamental problems in the Turkish market that limit the effective functioning of the market.
"Foam-based floatovoltaics: A potential solution to disappearing terminal natural lakes"
Koami Soulemane Hayibo and Joshua M. Pearce.Renewable Energy, April 2022
Terminal lakes are disappearing worldwide because of direct and indirect human activities. Floating photovoltaics (FPV) are a synergistic system with increased energy output because of water cooling, while the FPV reduces water evaporation. This study explores how low-cost foam-based floatovoltaic systems can mitigate the disappearance of natural lakes.
"The Greenest Solar Power? Life Cycle Assessment of Foam-Based Flexible Floatovoltaics"
Hayibo, K.S., Mayville, P., Pearce, J. Sustainable Energy & Fuels, March 2022
This study presents a life cycle analysis (LCA) of a 10 MW foam-based floatovoltaics (FPV) plant installed on Lake Mead, Nevada, U.S. The results show that the 30 year lifetime foam-based FPV system has one of the lowest energy payback times (1.3 years) and the lowest GHG emissions to energy ratio (11 kg CO2 eq per MW h) in c-Si solar PV technologies reported to date.
"Decarbonizing rural residential buildings in cold climates: A techno-economic analysis of heating electrification"
Padovani, F., Sommerfeldt, N., Longobardi, F. and Pearce, J.M. Energy and Buildings, July 2021
Given the need for decarbonization of the heating sector and the acute need of a replacement for propane in the U.S. Upper Midwest, this study quantifies the techno-economic characteristics of sustainable heating electrification in isolated rural, residential buildings in cold climates without natural gas supply.
"Electric vehicle charging potential from retail parking lot solar photovoltaic awnings"
Deshmukh, S.S. and Pearce, J.M. Renewable Energy, May 2021
This study investigates the energy related aspects of developing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations powered with solar photovoltaic (PV) canopies built on the parking infrastructure of large-scale retailers.
"Integrating solar energy with agriculture: Industry perspectives on the market, community, and socio-political dimensions of agrivoltaics"
Pascaris, A.S., Schelly, C., Burnham, L. and Pearce, J.M. Energy Research & Social Science, May 2021
Large-scale development of solar-generated electricity is hindered in some regions of the U.S. by land use competition and localized social resistance. One approach to alleviate these coupled challenges is agrivoltaics: the strategic co-location of solar photovoltaics and agriculture.
"Economics of Grid-Tied Solar Photovoltaic Systems Coupled to Heat Pumps: The Case of Northern Climates of the US and Canada"
Pearce, J.M. and Sommerfeldt, N. Energies, February 2021
Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is now a profitable method to decarbonize the grid, but if catastrophic climate change is to be avoided, emissions from transportation and heating must also decarbonize. One approach to renewable heating is leveraging improvements in PV with heat pumps (HPs). To determine the potential for PV+HP systems in northern areas of North America, this study performs numerical simulations and economic analysis using the same loads and climate, but with local electricity and natural gas rates for Sault Ste. Marie, in both Canada and U.S.
"Lessons from a Utility-Sponsored Revenue Neutral Electricity Conservation Program"
Brandon Schaufele. Energy Policy, January 2021
Using monthly account level data for over 27,000 households between 2007 and 2014, this study evaluates a revenue neutral municipal electricity conservation program.
"Energy Policy for Energy Sovereignty: Can Policy Tools Enhance Energy Sovereignty?"
Schelly, C., Bessette, D., Brosemer, K., Gagnon, V., Arola, K.L., Fiss, A., Pearce, J.M. and Halvorsen, K.E. Solar Energy, July 2020
Energy sovereignty involves centering the inherent right of humans and communities to make decisions about the energy systems they use, including decisions about the sources, scales, and forms of ownership that structure energy access.
"The Impact of Political Directors on Corporate Strategy for Government-Owned Utilities: Evidence from Ontario's Electricity Distribution Sector"
Adam R. Fremeth and Guy L.F. Holburn, May 2020
This paper draws on a survey of directors of municipally-owned electricity distribution utilities in Ontario to examine whether political directors (elected municipal councillors) have different views on corporate strategy from independent directors.
"Energy for off-grid homes: Reducing costs through joint hybrid system and energy efficiency optimization"
Ana Guerello, Shannon Page, Guy Holburn, Michaela Balzarova, November 2019
This paper develops a new process for identifying the lowest cost package of energy efficiency measures (EEM) and hybrid energy system configuration for off-grid homes.
International Association of Energy Economics Energy Forum Special Issue
Edited by Laura McLeod and Brian Rivard, August 2019
This year's Special Issue includes 17 articles from among 262 papers presented at the IAEE conference in Montreal. In selecting the articles, the editors tried to represent the diversity of issues that were discussed in the 60 concurrent sessions held over 3 days. They also tried to reflect the geographical dispersion of topics and authors participating at the conference.
"Spillovers From Regulating Corporate Campaign Contributions"
Adam R. Fremeth, Brian Kelleher Richter and Brandon Schaufele. Journal of Regulatory Economics, October 2018
Exploiting within firm-cycle cross-candidate variation and across firm-cycle variation, the authors demonstrate that the regulation of PAC campaign contributions generates large spillovers into other corporate political expenditures such as lobbying.
"Pollution and Politician Productivity: The Effect of PM on MPs"
Anthony Heyes, Nicholas Rivers and Brandon Schaufele. Land Economics, September 2018
"Signaling by Early Stage Startups: US Government Research Grants and Venture Capital Funding"
Mazhar Islam, Adam Fremeth and Alfred Marcus. Journal of Business Venturing, January 2018
In this paper, we study the value that signals have for startups in an emerging technology industry by examining the impact of government research grants on the recipients' ability to attract subsequent venture capital (VC) funding.
“A Forward Dynamic Optimization Strategy Under Contango Storage Arbitrage with Friction”
Behzad Ghafouri and Matt Davison. Journal of Energy Markets, September 2017
“Mathematical Properties and Financial Applications of a Novel Mean- reverting Random Walk in Discrete and Continuous Time”
Moosavi Avonleghi and Matt Davison. Journal of Energy Markets, March 2017
"New Vehicle Feebates"
Nicholas Rivers and Brandon Schaufele. Canadian Journal of Economics, February 2017
Governments around the world have looked at feebate policies to combat greenhouse gas emissions from cars. This paper is among the first to empirically evaluate a longstanding new vehicle feebate policy.
"Examining interconnection and net metering policy for distributed generation in the United States"
Schelly, C., Louie, E.P. and Pearce, J.M. Renewable Energy Focus, January 2017
"Corporate Political Strategy in Contested Regulatory Environments"
Adam R. Fremeth, Guy L.F. Holburn and Richard G. Vanden Bergh. Strategy Science, December 2016
The authors examine how firms strategically manage opposition from organized stakeholders who participate in regulatory agency policy-making processes.
"The Role of Governance Systems and Rules in Wind Energy Development: Evidence from Minnesota and Texas"
Adam R. Fremeth and Marcus, A.A. Business and Politics, October 2016
Drawing on the ideas of J.Q. Wilson and E. Ostrom, the authors compare options for overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of deploying wind energy in two U.S. states.
"Emerging economic viability of grid defection in a northern climate using solar hybrid systems"
Kantamneni, A., Winkler, R., Gauchia, L. and Pearce, J.M. Energy Policy, 2016
High demand for photovoltaic (PV), battery, and small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) technologies are driving a virtuous cycle of technological improvements and cost reductions in off grid electric systems that increasingly compete with the grid market. Using a case study in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, this paper quantifies the economic viability of off-grid PV+battery+CHP adoption and evaluates potential implications for grid-based utility models.
“Taxes, Volatility and Resources in Canadian Provinces"
Brandon Schaufele. Canadian Public Policy, June 2016
Tax policy often breeds controversy, especially when rate changes are motivated by volatile resource sectors. This paper examines how provincial tax policies respond to changes in resource revenues.
"Do Retailers Set Optimal Prices in the Case of the Retail Gasoline Market?"
Daero Kim, Matt Davison and Fredrik Odegaard. International Journal of Revenue Management, 2015
The authors discuss a special case in which they empirically fit a model where retailers set prices partly in response to local competitors.
"Real Options with Regulatory Policy Uncertainty"
Christian Maxwell and Matt Davison. Commodities, Energy and Environmental Finance, 2015
In this paper, the authors present a quantitative framework for modelling and interpreting regulatory changes for energy real options as a Poisson jump process, in a context where other relevant prices follow diffusion processes.
“The Effect of Carbon Taxes on Agricultural Trade”
Nicholas Rivers and Brandon Schaufele. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, September 2014
This study evaluates the implications of an existing carbon tax on international trade in the agricultural sector, with a focus on British Columbia’s carbon tax on all fossil fuels.
“New Vehicle Feebates: Theory and Evidence”
Nicholas Rivers and Brandon Schaufele. Social Science Research Network, September 2014
Nic Rivers, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa, and Ivey Assistant Professor Brandon Schaufele analyze Ontario’s long-running Tax and Credit for Fuel Conservation, suggesting that new vehicle feebates may be a feasible policy option to confront the external costs associated with driving.
"Securitization of residential solar photovoltaic assets: Costs, risks and uncertainty"
Alafita, T. and Pearce, J.M. Energy Policy, April 2014
“Integrated Market and Non-Market Strategies: Political Campaign Contributions around Merger and Acquisition Events in the Energy Sector”
Guy L.F. Holburn and Richard G. Vanden Bergh. Strategic Management Journal, 2014
The U.S. electric utility industry has undergone considerable restructuring since the mid 1990s through corporate mergers and acquisitions, which are often contested in regulatory hearings by organized stakeholder groups. This paper finds that utilities typically increase their campaign contributions to state politicians in the year before public announcement of a proposed merger, consistent with a strategy of building political support for restructuring.
“The Impact of Consumer Advocates on Regulatory Policy in the Electric Utility Sector”
Adam R. Fremeth, Guy L.F. Holburn, and Pablo T. Spiller. Public Choice, 2014
This paper looks at how consumer advocates affect Public Utility Commission decisions on utilities’ allowed financial returns and rate structures.
“Using Real Option Analysis to Quantify Ethanol Policy Impact on the Firm’s Entry into and Optimal Operation of Corn Ethanol Facilities”
Christian Maxwell and Matt Davison. Energy Economics, 2014
Efforts to obtain fuel from environmentally friendly sources have led to increased subsidies for ethanol production from corn. However, the corn ethanol process has some critics. Using real option analysis, this paper assesses the optimal operating strategy for an ethanol production facility from management's perspective.
“Making Good Regulations”
Paul Boothe. Canadian Public Policy, September 2013
Ivey Professor Paul Boothe examines the changing nature of regulation-making, arguing that the traditional process is breaking down and that the quality of regulation will decline if processes do not adapt to the changing environment.
“Salience of Carbon Taxes in the Gasoline Market”
Nicholas Rivers and Brandon Schaufele. Social Science Research Network, June 2013
Nic Rivers, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa, and Ivey Assistant Professor Brandon Schaufele evaluate the carbon tax imposed by British Columbia and its impact on the gasoline demand.
“Analyzing the Impact of Environmental Variables on the Repayment Time for Solar Farms Under Feed-in-Tariff”
Bin Lu and Matt Davison. Environmental Systems Research, 2013
This Environmental Teams Research looks at the impact of the unpredictable solar insolation on the repayment time and the cash flow for solar plant developers.
“Strategic Rationale for Responding to Extra-Jurisdictional Regulation: Evidence from Firm Adoption of Renewable Power in the US”
Adam R. Fremeth and J. Myles Shaver. Strategic Management Journal, 2013
This paper examined renewable-power provision in the U.S. electric utility sector between 2001 and 2006 and found that firms respond to extra-jurisdictional regulations as well as regulations in their home jurisdictions.
"Community voices: Perspectives on renewable energy in Nunavut"
McDonald, N.C. and Pearce, J.M. Arctic, 2013
"Toward renewable energy geo-information infrastructures: Applications of GIScience and remote sensing that build institutional capacity"
Calvert, K., Pearce, J.M. and Mabee, W.E. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2013
“Assessing and Managing Regulatory Risk in Renewable Energy: Contrasts between Canada and the United States”
Guy L.F. Holburn. Energy Policy, March 2012
Ivey Associate Professor Guy Holburn assesses the foundation for how firms can assess regulatory risk that focuses on the policy-making processes and further develops strategies for how these firms can manage regulatory risks in different types of environments.
“Factors Affecting the Value of Environmental Predictions to the Energy Sector”
Matt Davison, Ozgur Gurtuna, Claude Masse and Brian Mills. Environmental Systems Research, 2012
Since energy extraction, production, and transmission systems can be impacted by the state of the environment, it makes sense to try and forecast them. How important are these environmental predictions to the operator of a given energy system? Using case studies to determine what distinguishes economically valuable forecasts from economically less valuable forecasts, this paper suggests changes in public policy and industry practices that could help unlock value from currently underused forecasts.
"Geological Compressed Air Energy Storage as an Enabling Technology for Reneable Energy in Ontario, Canada"
James Konrad, Rupp Carriveau, Matt Davison, Frank Simpson and David S.K. Ting. The International Journal of Environmental Studies, 2012
"Assessing and Managing Regulatory Risk in Renewable Energy: Contrasts Between Canada and the United States"
Guy L.F. Holburn. Energy Policy, 2012
"Information Asymmetries and Regulatory Decision Costs: An Analysis of U.S. Electric Utility Rate Changes, 1980-2000"
Adam R. Fremeth and Guy L.F. Holburn. Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, 2012
"A review of solar photovoltaic levelized cost of electricity"
Branker, K., Pathak, M.J.M. and Pearce, J.M. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, December 2011
"Optimal Control of Two-Dam Hydro Facility"
Matt Davison and Guangzhi Zhao. Systems Engineering Procedia, November 2011
"Carbon Emissions Markets"
Walid Mnif and Matt Davison. Quantitative Financial Risk Management, 2011
"Policy Risk and Private Investment in Ontario's Wind Power Sector"
Guy L.F. Holburn, Kerri Lui and Charles Morand. Canadian Public Policy, December 2010
"Governance and Regulation in the Electricity Sector: A Comparison of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario"
Guy L.F. Holburn and Kerri Lui. June 2010
"Using a Spark-Spread Valuation to Investigate the Impact of Corn-Gasoline Correlation on Ethanol Plant Valuation"
Natasha Kirby and Matt Davison. Energy Economics, 2010
"Political Capabilities, Policy Risk, and International Investment Strategy: Evidence from the Global Electric Power Industry"
Guy L.F. Holburn and Bennet Zelner. Strategic Management Journal, 2010
"Contentious Implementation and Retrenchment in Neoliberal Policy Reform: The Global Electric Power Industry, 1989-2001"
Bennet Zelner, Witold J. Henisz and Guy L.F. Holburn. Administrative Sciences Quarterly, 2009
"Information Asymmetries and Regulatory Rate-Making: Case Study Evidence from Commonwealth Edison and Duke Energy"
Adam R. Fremeth and Guy L.F. Holburn. Regulation, Deregulation and Reregulation, 2009
"Making Friends in Hostile Environments: Political Strategy in Regulated Industries"
Guy L.F. Holburn and Richard Vanden Bergh. Academy of Management Review, 2008
"Nonmarket Strategy Performance: Evidence from U.S. Electric Utilities"
Guy L.F. Holburn, J.P. Bonardi and Richard Vanden Bergh. Academy of Management Journal, 2006
"Consumer Capture of Regulatory Institutions: The Diffusion of Public Utility Consumer Advocacy Legislation in the United States"
Guy L.F. Holburn and Richard Vanden Bergh. Public Choice, 2006
"Institutional or Structural: Lessons from International Electricity Sector Reforms"
Guy L.F. Holburn and Pablo Spiller. The Economics of Contracts: Theories and Applications, 2002
