Energy is the force that powers our lives. It comes to us from the sun, wind, water, and earth. We use nuclear energy and fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. But there is a problem. The way we use energy now is dirtying our air and water and affecting the climate.
Providing enough energy and keeping our environment clean requires transforming our energy system. Cooperation and coordination at many levels will be needed. Internationally, this might lead to a policy to reduce carbon dioxide or a plan to rebuild the North American electricity transmission grid. Locally, efforts to site wind power projects are very different in Montana compared to Minnesota or Massachusetts. Local resources, existing state policies and local economic concerns—not regional or national concerns—drive these decisions.
I am interested in how we produce and use energy. I am curious about how regional, state and local policies and geography shape energy systems and drive how wind power, coal, or smart grid are developed, deployed and used throughout the world. I am also interested in how different policy tools like regulations, targets or markets are used to meet environmental or energy goals, like cleaning the air. With my Chinese colleagues we explore how different policy tools reduce sulfur pollution and how this might apply to manage carbon in China.
My research team and I use technical, energy resource and energy use data. We combine this with information on state and local policies and regulations, media information, and interviews with experts to better understand how people are thinking about energy technologies in different places. These maps give us a better idea of how policies are created and technologies are deployed.
