New Energy Series: Stephanie Lenhardt, Boise State University

"Regional Electricity Market Governance and Market Rules for Energy Storage"
Stephanie Lenhardt, Boise State University

In the late 1990s the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) introduced competition to the U.S. electricity sector. As part of this effort, FERC encouraged the formation of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) to operate transmission over large geographic areas and manage multilateral electricity markets. These organizations function at a regional-scale defined by technological system boundaries and spanning more than one political jurisdiction. Today, seven RTOs manage more than two-thirds of the U.S. bulk electricity supply and regional electricity market rules impact the value of investments, the price of electricity, and the pace of decarbonization.

Each RTO develops and implements its own market rules through distinct processes and with differing levels of engagement by state regulators and stakeholders – which might include large energy users, generators, emerging technology companies, residential consumer groups, traders, and environmental groups. The variations across RTOs in processes and resulting market rules raise critical questions about institutional design and how those who are affected by market rules should participate in making them.

RTO governance institutionalizes stakeholder engagement far more than most public participation processes and encompasses structures for stakeholder participation, collective decision-making, and allocation of authority. Literature on institutional design suggests that stakeholder engagement can improve instrumental policy outcomes, increasing institutional robustness, and deepen civil society. However, participation needs to be designed to further specific goals within particular contexts.

Stephanie Lenhart is a Senior Research Associate at the Energy Policy Institute and faculty in the School of Public Service at Boise State University. Her primary research focus is on the governance of energy systems, inter-organizational collaboration, and energy transitions. Her work addresses policy implementation and the negotiation of authority in polycentric systems. Recent research examines the institutional scale of change in electricity systems and organizational resilience and adaptation. Other research examines the relationship between regional transmission organization governance and market outcomes, the western energy imbalance market, microgrid adoption, and the integration of distributed energy resources by municipal and cooperative utilities. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy (Idaho National Laboratory), the Sloan Foundation, the Heising-Simon Foundation, and state agencies. She has a Master's in Public Policy from University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Public Policy from Boise State.

Dartmouth students, staff, and community members can RSVP here to receive Zoom information.

Energy Careers in Banking and Private Equity Lunch & Learn

The Revers Center for Energy is excited to host this Recruiting in Energy Banking and Finance Lunch and Learn on Wednesday, September 9 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. This is a lunch & learn for Tuck students who are exploring different fields within banking and finance. There are a variety of banks, private equity, and financial institutions who recruit on-campus and off-campus at Tuck. T’21 students who have recruited and interned in these potential careers will help navigate the different career options and share recruitment strategies for different firms and geographical locations.

Tuck staff and students sign up here.

Energy Careers Exploration Alumni Panel

The Revers Center for Energy is excited to welcome back four alumni who currently work in Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Investment Banking, and Sustainability to give T’22 students a taste for the variety of energy roles to choose from across different industries and companies. Alumni will share their career pathways pre- and post-Tuck. This session will begin with a presentation from Revers Center for Energy and Career Services so students will learn about all the resources available to them to begin a career pivot or continuation in energy!!

Tuck staff and students sign up here.

Energy 101: Power and Gas Workshop

The seminar will utilize several case studies from the power and gas industries. Some of the topics will include what the natural gas and electricity are and how they work, how regulation works and how it affects the various market participants, and what the future will look like for gas and electricity.

Tuck staff and students sign up here.

New Energy Series: Jesse Jenkins, “Clean Electricity: the Linchpin for a Net-Zero Economy”

The electricity sector is the linchpin in any successful transition to a net-zero emissions economy. Getting the United States to net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner entails twin challenges for the electricity sector. First, as the source of more than a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and with a variety of cost-effective low-carbon substitutes for fossil fueled power plants available today, the electricity sector must reduce emissions faster and further than any other sector. Second, electricity generation must simultaneously expand to fuel a wider range of end-use activities currently dependent on fossil fuels, including: transportation; building space heating; and low and medium-temperature industrial process heat. In this talk, Prof. Jenkins will focus on the central role of electricity in deep decarbonization of the U.S. economy and the challenges of building a 100% carbon-free electricity system, including the complementary roles of variable renewable energy, firm low-carbon resources, and energy storage technologies. This talk will draw on insights from several recent publications and preliminary findings of Princeton's Net-Zero America project, which is mapping pathways for the United States to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Jesse Jenkins is an assistant professor at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment and courtesy appointments at the Woodrow Wilson School and Princeton Environment Institute. He is a macro-scale energy systems engineer with a focus on the rapidly evolving electricity sector, including the transition to zero-carbon resources, the proliferation of distributed energy resources, and the role of electricity in economy-wide decarbonization. Jesse leads the Princeton ZERO Lab (Zero-carbon Energy systems Research and Optimization Laboratory), which works to improve and apply optimization-based energy systems models to evaluate low-carbon energy technologies and generate insights to guide policy and planning decisions in national and sub-national jurisdictions transitioning to net-zero emissions energy systems. Jesse earned a PhD in Engineering Systems and a Masters in Technology & Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked previously as a postdoctoral Environmental Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. His work has been recognized and supported by competitive fellowships from the National Science Foundation, MIT Energy Initiative, Martin Family Society for Fellows in Sustainability, and Harvard University Center for the Environment.

Dartmouth students, staff, and community members can RSVP here to receive Zoom information.

New Energy Series: Destenie Nock, “In-depth Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Air Pollutants

Electricity generation is one of the largest contributors to the production of greenhouse gases and air pollution. While efforts to electrify sectors like transportation and heating  seek to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, a systematic view of the electricity sector and its environmental impacts is needed. In this talk, Destenie Nock, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, will discuss her recent work analyzing inefficiencies in electric transmission and distribution systems and offer suggestions on ways that countries can more efficiently transition to cleaner, more efficient systems.

A Q&A, moderated by Carnegie Mellon Professor of Engineering and Public Policy Paulina Jaramillo, will follow the presentation.

Dr. Destenie Nock is an Assistant Professor in Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE), and Engineering and Public Policy (EPP). Her research is focused on applying optimization and decision analysis tools to evaluate the sustainability, equity, and reliability of power systems in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa. One of her current projects include developing a framework for understanding the sustainability and equity trade-offs for different power plant investments. Another project involves quantifying the air pollution emissions associated with electric transmission and distribution systems. Dr. Nock holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and an Offshore Wind Energy IGERT Fellow.

Dartmouth students, staff, and community members can RSVP here to receive Zoom information.

The Hopkins Center for the Arts Presents: On Animation, Live Performance and the Climate Crisis

Los Angeles-based animator, designer and performer Miwa Matreyek blurs the boundaries of theater and film by interacting with her animations as a shadow silhouette. Matreyek will showcase excerpts from two of her latest works This World Made Itself and Infinitely Yours, dreamlike meditations on the history of the earth and the climate catastrophe. She will be joined by Jodie Mack, Dartmouth Professor of Film and Media Studies, to discuss her unique approach to animation and the urgency of climate change. We encourage you to ask questions in the live chat.

Learn more and get the YouTube link to the chat here.

Alumni Sparks: Kate Bowman D’10, Utah Clean Energy

Energy Career Conversation with Kate Bowman D’10, Renewable Energy Program Manager of Utah Clean Energy

Join the Revers Center for Energy and the Dartmouth Energy Collaborative for a virtual discussion on Wednesday, August 5th at 8:00pm with Kate Bowman. Kate leads programs, initiatives, and regulatory work to advance renewable energy growth and development in Utah. Currently, she leads a partnership through the Solar Energy Innovation Network to connect several local governments with research expertise from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to identify strategies to achieve local clean energy goals She has coordinated Utah Clean Energy's Community Solar, Drive Electric, and Bike Electric initiatives, community bulk-purchase programs designed to increase solar, electric vehicle, and e-bike adoption by simplifying the purchase process and offering competitive pricing. In April 2014, Kate Bowman was recognized by the White House as a "Champion of Change" for her efforts to promote and expand solar deployment. Kate served two terms with Utah Clean Energy as a member of the Utah Conservation Corps through AmeriCorps in 2012 and 2013.  She received a BA in Government from Dartmouth College where she focused on environmental policy.

Dartmouth students, staff, and community members can RSVP here to receive Zoom information.