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Brown, Marilyn A.

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Climate Change and Global Energy Security: Debate and Book Signing

2011-11-11 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Sovacool, Benjamin K. , Curry, Judith A. , McGrath, Robert T. , Norton, Bryan G. , Orlando, Thomas M. , Deitchman, Benjamin

Four faculty at Georgia Tech participated in a debate focusing on the theses of the newly published textbook (Climate Change and Global Energy Security) coauthored by Marilyn Brown (Georgia Tech) and Benjamin Sovacool (Vermont Law School). The book submits that our world already has most of the sustainable energy technologies it needs to do this, but it faces a system of reinforcing barriers that support incumbent technologies, handicap innovation, and prevent change.

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Energy Security Dimensions and Trends in Industrialized Countries

2011-06 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Sovacool, Benjamin K. , Wang, Yu , D‘Agostino, Anthony Louis

This article represents one of the first scholarly efforts to correlate actual energy policy and practice with expert views of the multidimensional concept of energy security. Based on the energy security performance of 22 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development between 1970 and 2007, it concludes that many industrialized countries have been unable to make progress toward the goal of achieving secure, reliable and affordable supplies of energy while also transitioning to a low-carbon energy system. However, some national best practices exist, which are identified by examining the relative performance of four countries: the United Kingdom and Belgium (both with noteworthy improvements), and Sweden and France (which have experienced notable slippage in relative performance). The article concludes by offering implications for energy policy more broadly and by providing empirical evidence that our four dimensions of energy security (availability, affordability, energy efficiency, and environmental stewardship) envelop the key strategic dimensions of energy security.

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Renewable energy in the South: a policy brief

2010-07 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Gumerman, Etan , Baek, Youngsun , Morris, Cullen , Wang, Yu

This working paper assesses the economic potential of renewable electricity generation in the South under alternative policy scenarios. Using a customized version of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS), we examine the impact of 1) expanded and updated estimates of renewable resources, 2) a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and 3) a Carbon-Constrained Future (CCF). Under the Expanded Renewables Scenario, renewable electricity generation doubles the output of the Reference forecast for the South. If a Federal RPS is imposed or the policies represented by our CCF scenario are implemented, we estimate that 15% to 30% of the South’s electricity could be generated from renewable sources. Among the renewable resources, wind, biomass, and hydro are anticipated to provide the most generation potential. As the integration of renewable sources expands through the modeled time horizon, wind gradually out-competes biomass in the renewable electricity market. Cost-effective customer-owned renewables could also contribute significantly to electricity generation by 2030 in the South, under supportive policies.

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Low Hanging Fruit: Energy Efficiency in the Southeast

2010-01-27 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Laitner, Skip , Ostrowski, Ken

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Reviving Manufacturing with a Federal Cogeneration Policy

2011-10 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Cox, Matthew , Baer, Paul

Improving the energy economics of manufacturing is essential to revitalizing the industrial base of advanced economies. This paper evaluates a federal policy option aimed at promoting industrial cogeneration – the production of heat and electricity in a single energy-efficient process. Detailed analysis using the National Energy Modeling System and spreadsheet calculations suggest that industrial cogeneration could meet 18% of U.S. electricity requirements by 2035, compared with its current 8.9% market share. Substituting less efficient utility-scale power plants with cogeneration systems would produce numerous economic and environmental benefits, but would also create an assortment of losers as well as winners. Multiple perspectives to benefit/cost analysis are therefore valuable. Our results indicate that the federal cogeneration policy would be highly favorable to manufacturers and the public sector, cutting energy bills, generating billions of dollars in electricity sales, making producers more competitive, and reducing pollution. Traditional utilities, on the other hand, would likely lose revenues. From a public policy perspective, deadweight losses would be introduced by market-distorting federal incentives (ranging annually from $30 to $150 million), but these losses are much smaller than the estimated net social benefits of the federal cogeneration policy.

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Stimulating Energy Efficiency: The Role of Local Governments and Industry

2011-03-17 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Taube, Ben

The speakers will discuss the role of local programs and industry in reducing the intensity of energy use and associated pollution in the U.S.

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The Forest Products Industry at an Energy/Climate Crossroads

2010-06 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Baek, Youngsun

Transformational energy and climate policies are being debated worldwide that could have significant impact upon the future of the forest products industry. Because woody biomass can produce alternative transportation fuels, low-carbon electricity, and numerous other “green” products in addition to traditional paper and lumber commodities, the future use of forest resources is highly uncertain. Using the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS), this paper assesses the future of the forest products industry under three possible U.S. policy scenarios: (1) a national renewable electricity standard, (2) a national policy of carbon constraints, and (3) incentives for industrial energy efficiency. In addition, we discuss how these policy scenarios might interface with the recently strengthened U.S. renewable fuels standards. The principal focus is on how forest products including residues might be utilized under different policy scenarios, and what such market shifts might mean for electricity and biomass prices, as well as energy consumption and carbon emissions. The results underscore the value of incentivizing energy efficiency in a portfolio of energy and climate policies in order to moderate electricity and biomass price escalation while strengthening energy security and reducing CO2 emissions.

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Myths and Facts about Clean Electricity in the U.S. South

2011-09 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Gumerman, Etan , Sun, Xiaojing , Kim, Gyungwon , Sercy, Kenneth

This paper identifies six myths about clean electricity in the southern U.S. These myths are either propagated by the public at-large, shared within the environmental advocacy culture, or spread imperceptibly between policymakers. Using a widely accepted energy-economic modeling tool, we expose these myths as half-truths and the kind of conventional wisdom that constrains productive debate. In so doing, we identify new starting points for energy policy development. Climate change activists may be surprised to learn that it will take more than a national Renewable Electricity Standard or supportive energy efficiency policies to retire coal plants. Low-cost fossil generation enthusiasts may be surprised to learn that clean generation can save consumers money, even while meeting most demand growth over the next 20 years. This work surfaces the myths concealed in public perceptions and illustrates the positions of various stakeholders in this large U.S. Region.

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Evaluation of southeast EECBG financing program and SEEA retrofit

2010-10-04 , Brown, Marilyn A.

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Reinventing Industrial Energy Use in a Resource-Constrained World

2010-02 , Brown, Marilyn A. , Cortes, Rodrigo , Cox, Matthew

In an increasingly resource-constrained world, improving the energy efficiency of industry is essential. In addition to its environmental, security, and competitiveness benefits, energy efficiency delivers a return on investment that contributes to the profitability of enterprises. Using international technology and policy benchmarking, this chapter examines the energy productivity of U.S. industry and its role as a technology innovator, supplying next-generation green and clean technologies. After reviewing the barriers and drivers of improved practices, the chapter concludes that the dual goals of advancing energy efficiency at industrial plants and advancing product innovation are critical to promoting the more productive consumption of energy in a resource-constrained world.

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