Recent Projects

The Department of Energy (DOE) requested input on how it should conduct analysis of the efficiency, economic impact, and emissions of general service fluorescent lamps and incandescent reflector lamps. We submitted comments encouraging DOE to monetize the full benefits of emissions reductions using the social cost of greenhouse gases.

Rhode Island is undertaking a study to understand what a state carbon pricing scheme would look like and how it would interact with the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Transportation and Climate Initiative. We submitted comments that support the exploration of implementing a multisectoral carbon price and recommend that the state study a scenario that uses the federal Interagency Working Group’s Social Cost of Carbon.

The New Jersey Bureau of Public Utilities (BPU) requested public input on its investigation of resource adequacy alternatives. We submitted comments encouraging the New Jersey BPU to recognize important uncertainties affecting the proceeding, consider a broad range of costs of pursuing a Fixed Resource Requirement, and explore the possibility of a carbon pricing program in addition to participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is amending its rules relating to utilities, electric resource planning, and renewable energy standards. We submitted comments explaining why the Commission should use Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases estimates to monetize the externalities of carbon pollution. Our recommendations include rule revisions and new language that will help include monetized estimates of climate impacts in all relevant decisionmaking. We also submitted comments and reply comments on additional rule revisions, building on our original comments to further describe how the Commission can best express and apply the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases.

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) replaced the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan, which sought substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, with the so-called Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, a far weaker policy that will, at best, yield modest reductions below business-as-usual emissions and, at worst, increase pollution from the electric sector. We filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit highlighting three key errors in EPA’s rationale for repealing the Clean Power Plan. Specifically, we explain, EPA misstates regulatory precedent and Clean Air Act legislative history supporting the Clean Power Plan and disregards the substantial harms that the ACE Rule will cause.

Advanced Energy Economy, the Electric Power Suppliers Association, and a diverse group of other stakeholders recently filed a petition for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to hold a technical conference on carbon pricing in organized wholesale electricity markets. We have worked extensively to study and promote carbon pricing, publishing a comprehensive report and several academic articles. We also hosted a conference that brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss related legal, economic, and policy questions. Our comments to FERC highlight our previous work on wholesale market carbon pricing and express our support for the requested technical conference.

The Department of Energy (DOE) proposed to change the way it selects energy efficiency standards by excluding certain efficiency levels as not "economically justified" on the grounds of effects to small businesses, market competition, or consumer convenience.The change, however, would allow DOE to irrationally and inconsistently give preference to whichever subset of economic impacts the agency wants to focus on in order to deem standards that otherwise achieve net benefits as instead being not economically justified. We submitted comments explaining how the proposal will not ensure consistent consideration of statutory factors.