Category: Law Review Articles

Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #31 – Yael Lifshitz

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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 rental units. As more people rely on rentals, this can seriously limit rooftop solar. Yael proposes private law solutions that could remove these roadblocks.

Yael also explains her research on conflicts between neighboring landowners over wind power. She describes how extraction of wind power by one landowner can have both local and area-wide impacts. Yael suggests how policymakers can look to water law and oil and gas law for possible solutions to these conflicts.

The discussion builds on two of Yael’s recent articles: “Private Energy,” which was published in the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, and “Winds of Change: Drawing on Water Doctrines to Establish Wind Law,” which was published in the NYU Environmental Law Journal.

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #29 – Monika Ehrman

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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 argues that the keep-it-in-the-ground movement is ignoring the economic and geopolitical impacts of cutting off oil and gas production and lays out her theory of energy realism: she argues that the energy industry and the keep-it-in-the ground movement could both benefit from more careful assessment of the science and math supporting both the economic necessity and climate risks of fossil fuel production. My recent op-ed supporting sustainable oil development rather than simple bans also supports this vision of energy policy.

The discussion builds on Monika’s recent article, “A Call for Energy Realism:  When Immanual Kant Met the ‘Keep It In the Ground’ Movement,” which was published last year in the Utah Law Review, and Monika described earlier in a guest blog here at EnergyLawProf.com.

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #27 – Kristen van de Biezenbos

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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 the origins of the term and explains what she thinks it should mean: she argues that local communities should not have a veto over linear infrastructure such as pipelines and power-lines, but that they should have some buy-in through consultation and a share in some of the benefits of these projects.

This discussion explores Kristen’s recent paper, which was published in the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law and is titled, “Rebirth of Social License.” 

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #21 – Joshua Macey

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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 when they are actually providing power. He critiques the way that interstate grid operators and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have implemented these capacity markets, arguing that current rules discriminate against renewable resources such as wind and solar power.

The discussion builds on Joshua’s forthcoming University of Pennsylvania Law Review article with Jackson Salovaara, “Rate Regulation Redux.”

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #20 – Carey King

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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 lower employment” and explains how this could affect economic growth and inequality.

NB: This increased emphasis on capital investment means that the cost of cleaner energy will increasingly depend on reducing the cost of capital, a challenging task in a time of legal uncertainty. I have recently published two pieces on this topic: “Energy Market and Policy Revolutions: Regulatory Process and the Cost of Capital” and “Pipelines & Power-Lines: Building the Energy Transport Future.”

The discussion builds on two of Carey’s recent articles: “Modeling the point of use EROI and its implications for economic growth in China” & “Delusions of grandeur in building a low-carbon future.”

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #13 – Eisen & Welton

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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. This price is higher than that received by other power generators. Net metering offers environmental benefits but imposes costs on other electricity users. David kicks off the discussion by addressing the common question whether net-metering is regressive and segues into a discussion of the broad array of studies on the effects of net metering.

The interview builds on Joel & Shelley’s just-published article in the Harvard Environmental Law Review, which is titled “Clean Energy Justice: Charting an Emerging Agenda.”

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #12 – Amy Stein

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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 provide this reliability. And she describes how these “reliability resources” may be a poor fit with historical methods of utility investment and regulation.

The interview builds on Amy’s 2016 article on “Distributed Reliability,” which was published in the University of Colorado Law Review.

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #10 – David Adelman

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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 concludes that carbon pricing is “dramatically more effective at reducing carbon emissions and increasing the percentage of renewables than a renewable portfolio standard.” And he explains why even a modest carbon tax could be better for the climate than a relatively aggressive renewable portfolio standard. At the same time, David acknowledges that renewable portfolio standards may, in some cases, help surmount non-market barriers to renewable power.

The interview principally draws from a 2018 article that David wrote with with David Spence titled “U.S. climate policy and the regional economics of electricity generation.”

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #9 – Nathan Richardson

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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 much will be accomplished under the existing Clean Air Act and lays out some of the costs and benefits of alternate approaches such as a carbon tax and the Green New Deal.

The interview builds on a 2014 article that Nathan wrote with Art Fraas, who is a fellow at the think tank, Resources for the Future. Here’s the article: “Comparing the Clean Air Act with a Carbon Price.” 

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Energy Tradeoffs Podcast #7 – Michael Wara

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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.

The interview builds on Michael’s 2017 article in the NYU Environmental Law Journal, which is titled “Competition at the Grid Edge:  Innovation and Antitrust in the Electricity Sector.” 

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