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on Regulation |
| By: | Maguire, Karen; Munasib, Abdul |
| Abstract: | Several papers have used panel data analyses to examine the effectiveness of U.S. state-level Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in promoting renewable capacity development, but the findings are inconclusive. Estimation of average treatment effects, however, can mask the fact that RPS policies across states are disparate and the treatment states are heterogeneous. We use the Synthetic Control Method (SCM) to conduct individual case studies of the early adopter states. Our findings indicate that the impact of RPS varied across states. We find Texas to be unique among these early adopters in that RPS in Texas has led to increased renewable capacity. |
| Keywords: | Renewable portfolio standard (RPS), renewable energy, wind energy, synthetic control method (SCM), Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q4, Q42, Q48, H7, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:202851&r=reg |
| By: | Matthew J. Kotchen |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an ex post evaluation of how changes to a building energy code affect energy consumption. Using residential billing data for electricity and natural gas over 11 years, the analysis is based on comparisons between residences constructed just before and just after a building code change in Florida. While an earlier study using 3 years of data for the same residences showed savings for both electricity an natural gas, new results show an enduring savings for natural gas only. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for age versus vintage effects and all sources of energy consumption when conducting evaluations of building codes. More broadly, the results provide a counterpoint to the growing literature casting doubt on whether ex ante forecasts of energy efficiency policies and investments can provide useful information about actual energy savings. Indeed, more than a decade after Florida's energy code change, the measured energy savings still meets or exceeds the forecasted amount. |
| JEL: | Q4 Q48 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21398&r=reg |
| By: | Kim, Hyungkwan; Preckel, Paul V.; Eales, James S.; Gotham, Douglas; Liu, Andrew L. |
| Keywords: | Electricity, Energy, Smart Grid, Smart Meter, TIme-of-Use, Demand management, Ontario, Demand and Price Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205262&r=reg |
| By: | Pieralli, Simone; Ritter, Matthias; Odening, Martin |
| Abstract: | This article examines the efficiency of wind energy production. Using non-convex efficiency analysis, we quantify production losses for 19 wind turbines in four wind parks across Germany. In a second stage regression, we adapt the linear regression results of Kneip, Simar, and Wilson (2014) to explain electricity losses by means of a bias-corrected truncated regression analysis. The results show that electricity losses amount to 27% of the maximal producible electricity. Most of these losses are from changing wind conditions, while 6% are from turbine errors. |
| Keywords: | wind energy, efficiency, free disposal hull, bias correction, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, D20, D21, Q42, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205415&r=reg |
| By: | Hunter, Elizabeth; Crago, Christine; Spraggon, John |
| Abstract: | In the context of climate change and heightened concerns about our energy future, academics and policy makers have taken an interest in the different motivational factors influencing individuals’ energy use. One area of particular interest is the role of information and other non-financial motivators: When traditional financial incentives are not appropriate, can contextualized information programs be used to encourage energy conservation? In our research we conduct an experiment to examine the effect of feedback and social nudges on the energy consumption of renters in utility-inclusive contracts. A sample of 64 households at a University of Massachusetts Amherst family housing complex was selected to participate in this experiment. These residents pay utility-inclusive rent and previously had no means of gaining access to information regarding their personal energy consumption. Households were randomly divided into a control and two treatment groups. During the first phase of the experiment, both treatment groups received weekly Home Energy Reports [HERs] with feedback pertaining to their electricity consumption and its associated financial cost. During the second phase of the experiment both treatment groups continued to receive these HERs as before but with one distinction: households in one of the treatment groups received additional information as to how their electricity consumption compared to the electricity consumption of others in the complex (a social nudge). Analysis of this experiment suggests that feedback on own electricity usage reduced electricity consumption on average by 1.9%, while the social nudge increased electricity consumption by 3.6%. Further investigation into the cause of this positive effect on electricity consumption from social contextualization reveals that this figure was driven by low-consumers of electricity, who subsequently increased their electricity consumption upon receiving the social nudge. |
| Keywords: | energy efficiency, energy conservation, social nudge, social norms, feedback, field experiment, boomerang effect, split incentives, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205414&r=reg |
| By: | Okwelum, Edson |
| Abstract: | Measuring consumer response to gasoline price changes is a fundamental issue in the design and regulation of environmental externalities. In this paper, we document the importance of accounting for heterogeneity in consumer utilization of durable goods in explaining the apparent undervaluation of future fuel costs. We develop a Bayesian method within the context of heterogeneous discrete choice model paired with pricing equations derived from Bertrand competition to estimate heterogeneous demand elasticity for gasoline price changes, and use our results to conduct counterfactual analyses of alternative tax policies. We find that accounting for heterogeneity in utilization and other dimensions all but eliminates undervaluation of future operating costs. Results from our counterfactual analyses imply that gasoline taxes lead to welfare increases that are 20% higher than those obtained under a fuel economy regime. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian Econometrics, Heterogeneity, Gasoline Prices, Gasoline Policy, Simulation, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205897&r=reg |
| By: | Baerenklau, Kenneth A. |
| Keywords: | urban water conservation, tiered pricing, welfare effects, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2015–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205723&r=reg |
| By: | Yaroslav Kryukov (Carnegie-Mellon University); Ulrich Doraszelski (University of Pennsylvania); David Besanko (Northwestern University) |
| Abstract: | -- |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:296&r=reg |
| By: | Pérez-Domínguez, Ignacio; Araujo-Enciso, Sergio-René; Santini, Fabien |
| Abstract: | Technological developments in recent years, especially the 'fracking' technique, have allowed for a economically profitable extraction of shale gas, evolving into an increasingly important source of energy in the United States. Agriculture is increasingly more linked energy markets, traditionally through the input side (i.e. energy and fertilizer costs), but since the 2000s also through the production of biofuels. To analyse the potential effects on agricultural markets of the 'shale gas boom', a scenario analysis is carried out with the Aglink-Cosimo model. This scenario depicts a situation where the North America (US and Canada) benefits from certain energy price advantage versus the rest of the world. Our analysis shows a sizeable gain in competitiveness for US crop producers, with average production costs in the US decreasing considerably over the baseline period. These lower costs of production are expected to trigger lower producer prices and higher production, especially for energy intensive crops such as maize, sorghum and sugar beet. However, the presence of uncertainty regarding the future development of crude oil prices can considerably affect these margins. |
| Keywords: | shale gas, agriculture, fertilizer markets, energy, modelling, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–07–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205633&r=reg |