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There are several widely recognized tests for determining whether government should intervene in the marketplace. Does the public policy improve efficiency, equity, or stability, or does it pursue widely accepted social objectives? This paper examines the formulation of public policies toward new energy carriers such as hydrogen, in terms of what they ought to be and what they are in actuality. It goes on to examine policy implementation issues, which will be strongly affected by the hydrogen economy's likely development trajectory. Hydrogen, as currently conceived, can be expected to evolve from a local market to a continental market over time, implying that state and local policies will strongly influence its development. The paper closes with strategic policy recommendations

Abstract Regional systems, increased competition, and environmental imperatives are forcing a reallocation of state and federal regulatory responsibilities for the US electric power sector. The great extent of regional diversity in the sector raises a policy relevant empirical question. Is this diversity due to choice or circumstance? This paper finds circumstance to be a more significant determinant of fundamental performance than choice, but also finds evidence that decisions at the margin reflect the diverse preferences of regional policies. This suggests a continued role for (more responsive) state level regulation in order to satisfy diverse preferences. Uncertainty about the optimal endpoint of restructing reinforces the value of continued state regulatory experimentation.

The small land footprint of nuclear power has been one of its attractions, especially in comparison to land-intensive renewable energy sources that have begun entering widespread use. But what happens to that footprint when nuclear accidents are included? Adding the land impacts of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents doubles nuclear's km2/GWh footprint, though it remains slightly less land-intensive than other energy sources. However, one more accident will put it on par with solar, and the long-term trend favors renewables.

This paper discusses the evaluation of risk management strategies as a part of integrated resource planning. Value- and scope-related uncertainties can be addressed during the process of planning, but uncertainties in the operating environment require technical analysis within planning models. Flexibility and robustness are two key classes of strategies for managing the risk posed by these uncertainties. This paper reviews standard capacity expansion planning models and shows that they are poorly equipped to compare risk management strategies. Those that acknowledge uncertainty are better at evaluating robustness than flexibility, which implies a bias against flexible options. Techniques are available to overcome this bias. >

Abstract This paper analyzes the 1992 and 2003 US Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey microdata files to show the extent to which certain heating, cooling, lighting, and window technologies are entering use, and the resulting impacts on the intensity of energy use. Excepting the case of fluorescent lights, no technology dominates the entire market but instead each conquers a specific niche. Most of the buildings in which these technologies are installed do not have lower-than-average energy intensity, measured as annual energy use per square meter of floor space. The exceptional technology that does measurably correlate with reduced energy intensity is daylighting. These results suggest that technologies are adopted to serve comfort or quality objectives rather than to save energy, or that buildings’ users confound the designers’ intentions. Decision makers thus should improve operating and maintenance practices, invest in building commissioning, and rely more heavily on passive design features to save energy.

The developments in sensing modalities and computing platforms enable many new sensing technologies and data sources for monitoring occupant presence and actions. The wealth of data opens new opportunities for extracting knowledge through data-driven modeling of occupant presence and actions. In particular, the many opportunities with machine learning techniques including supervised and unsupervised learning for classification, regression and clustering problems. Utilizing these opportunities creates new models and information relevant for generating new knowledge on multi-aspect environmental exposure, building interfaces, human behaviour, occupant-centric building design and operation. Subtask 2 of the new IEA EBC Annex 79 is addressing these opportunities and is inviting researchers and practitioners to participate. The developed data-driven models can, among others, be applied for example for calculating new schedules or models based on the actual conditions observed in buildings, data-driven analysis of the performance design versus the built, model predictive controls for buildings and fault detection and diagnostics.

This paper investigates factors explaining the adoption of energy-efficient heating, cooling, window, and lighting technologies in U.S. commercial buildings. It presents multinomial logit models of technology adoption using the 2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey microdata set, examining, first, fundamental building components, and, second, energy-efficient adaptations. Key findings are that the choice of fundamental building components is strongly influenced by locational factors, the activities that are expected to take place in the building, and building-specific characteristics. Lighting technologies are an exception, and are poorly explained by these factors. By contrast, energy-efficient heating, cooling, window, lighting, and control adaptations appear to share common drivers, and are more likely to be adopted in newer, larger, more energy-intensive, owner-occupied buildings. These are the buildings that can best afford the up-front costs of innovation, which is often a design-intensive process. Absent policy interventions, the energy-efficient adaptations are unlikely to diffuse rapidly to the rest of the commercial building stock.

Comparisons of buildings in similar climates built in accordance with different regional construction practices and building rating systems can provide useful insights in sustainable design practices. The objectives of this study were: (1) to perform energy related life cycle assessments of a typical LEED-H (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes) single-family home in New Jersey (US), and a typical Minergie-P single-family home in Chur, Switzerland; and (2) to assess the effect of rating systems and construction practices on the buildings’ environmental impacts. Inventory data was obtained from the Ecoinvent 2.2 database with a replacement of the Western European electricity mix with the US or New Jersey electricity mix for the New Jersey home. The Swiss building performed better regarding nonrenewable energy consumption, Global Warming Potential and Acidification Potential mainly due to the geothermal heat pump and the Swiss electricity mix while there was less of a difference regarding Ozone Layer Depletion Potential and Eutrophication Potential. The influence of electricity sources exceeded the effects of longer building life time or the removal of the Swiss basement. Regional building practices, local codes and environmental policies should take the electricity mix into account because it is so important.

This article examines key issues facing public and private decision makers advocating for - or affected - by the possible emergence of a hydrogen economy. It offers alternative visions of a hydrogen future, explores the extent to which society can manage this technological transition identifies key business and public policy issues, and offers recommendations. Hydrogen advocates should take the time to understand the culture of a sector, industry, or enterprise to enable identification of events and circumstances that prompts action. Also, hydrogen as currently conceived is expected to evolve from a local market to a continental market over time, implying that state and local policies is also strongly influencing its development.