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Grain Handling and Transportation Policy in Canada: Implications for the United States
The grain handling and transportation system in Canada (GHTS) is currently going through a major transition, both with respect to handling and transportation. Historically, the system has pitted farmers against the railways with respect to securing individual fair shares of grain revenues. But with the removal of the single desk marketing and logistics function of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) in late 2012, a very interesting and potentially game-changing outcome is emerging with respect to the new functionality of the grain companies in the Canadian system. While historical awareness of rail s natural monopoly position in the grain handling system has kept that sector regulated (in several ways) for close to a century, we are now starting to see the effects of a less than competitive Canadian grain handling sector on revenue sharing, along with renewed movement in the industry with respect to buyouts and potential mergers. This overview will highlight some of the changes now occurring and how they are potentially going to interact or evolve as the system moves forward. For example, the on-going regulatory instrument used to regulate grain transportation rates in Canada (called the maximum revenue entitlement (MRE) or revenue cap) is under current debate because of the introduction a few months ago of a modification to an old regulatory instrument known as extended (or reciprocal) interswitching. As opposed to the revenue cap which is a direct intervention on monopoly behavior, extended interswitching is designed to encourage the major Canadian grain carriers to compete with one another and potentially seek out new traffic (Nolan and Skotheim, 2008). But the most intriguing aspect of extended interswitching is how it might allow a major rail carrier from the U.S. to solicit grain traffic in some areas of the Canadian grain transportation system.
Impact of Federal Tax Policy on Utility-Scale Solar Deployment Given Financing Interactions
In this study, the authors conducted a literature review of approaches and assumptions used by other modeling teams and consultants with respect to solar project financing; developed and incorporated an ability to model the likely financing shift away from more expensive sources of capital and toward cheaper sources as the investment tax credit declines in the ReEDS model; and used the 'before and after' versions of the ReEDS model to isolate and analyze the deployment impact of the financing shift under a range of conditions. Using ReEDS scenarios with this improved capability, we find that this 'financing' shift would soften the blow of the ITC reversion; however, the overall impacts of such a shift in capital structure are estimated to be small and near-term utility-scale PV deployment is found to be much more sensitive to other factors that might drive down utility-scale PV prices.
Distributed Solar Photovoltaics for Electric Vehicle Charging: Regulatory and Policy Considerations
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Geothermal Induced Seismicity National Environmental Policy Act Review
In 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contracted with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to assist the BLM in developing and building upon tools to better understand and evaluate induced seismicity caused by geothermal projects. This review of NEPA documents for four geothermal injection or EGS projects reveals the variety of approaches to analyzing and mitigating induced seismicity. With the exception of the Geysers, where induced seismicity has been observed and monitored for an extended period of time due to large volumes of water being piped in to recharge the hydrothermal reservoir, induced seismicity caused by geothermal projects is a relative new area of study. As this review highlights, determining the level of mitigation required for induced seismic events has varied based on project location, when the review took place, whether the project utilized the International Energy Agency or DOE IS protocols, and the federal agency conducting the review. While the NEPA reviews were relatively consistent for seismic monitoring and historical evaluation of seismic events near the project location, the requirements for public outreach and mitigation for induced seismic events once stimulation has begun varied considerably between the four projects. Not all of the projects were required to notify specific community groups or local government entities before beginning the project, and only one of the reviews specifically stated the project proponent would hold meetings with the public to answer questions or address concerns.
Barriers to distributed power generation integration in rural settings: Policy & practical barriers to small system interconnection
Presentation on energy generation project interconnection, with a particular focus on the challenges faced by smaller, 3rd party developer projects.
State Policies on Access to Vaccination Services for Low-Income Adults
Importance State vaccination benefits coverage and access for adult Medicaid beneficiaries vary substantially. Multiple studies have documented lower vaccination uptake in publicly insured adults compared with privately insured adults. Objective To evaluate adult Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to adult immunization services through review of vaccination benefits coverage in Medicaid programs across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Design, Setting, and Participants A public domain document review with supplemental semistructured telephone survey was conducted between June 1, 2018, and June 14, 2019, to evaluate vaccination services benefits in fee-for-service and managed care organization arrangements for adult Medicaid beneficiaries in the 50 states and the District of Columbia (total, 51 Medicaid programs). Exposures Document review of benefits coverage for adult immunization services and supplemental survey with validation of document review findings. Main Outcomes and Measures Benefits coverage for adult Medicaid beneficiaries and reimbursement amounts for vaccine purchase and administration. Results Public domain document review was completed for all 51 jurisdictions. Among these, 44 Medicaid programs (86%) validated document review findings and completed the survey. Only 22 Medicaid programs (43%) covered all 13 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices–recommended adult immunizations under both fee-for-service and managed care organization arrangements. Most fee-for-service arrangements (37 of 49) reimbursed health care professionals using any of the 4 approved vaccine administration codes; however, 8 of 49 programs did not separately reimburse for vaccine administration to adult Medicaid beneficiaries. Depending on administration route, median reimbursement for adult vaccine administration ranged from $\$9.81$ to $\$13.98$ per dose. Median per-dose reimbursement for adult vaccine purchase was highest for 9-valent human papillomavirus vaccine ($\$204.87$) and lowest for Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine ($\$18.09$). Median reimbursement was below the private sector price for 7 of the 13 included vaccines. Conclusions and Relevance Even in programs with complete vaccination benefits coverage, reimbursement amounts to health care professionals for vaccine purchase and administration may not fully cover vaccination provision costs. Reimbursement amounts below costs may reduce incentives for health care professionals to vaccinate low-income adults and thereby limit Medicaid adult beneficiary access to vaccination.
Implementation of a Technical Peer Review Process: Principles, Policy, and Cultural Change
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Foreign direct investment with tax holidays and policy uncertainty
Abstract We study foreign direct investment agreements that entitle firms to a lower tax rate during a tax holiday period. Our model considers both finite and uncertain tax holiday period settings. We show that the tax holiday duration may have, for small tax rate reductions, a nonmonotonic effect on the investment timing. For sufficiently high tax reductions, a longer tax holiday speeds up investment. A higher tax reduction during the tax holiday and a lower uncertainty are shown to have a monotonic effect on the threshold, hastening investment. However, in case of a finite tax holiday, for exceptional high salvage values, a higher uncertainty can speed up investment. We show the usefulness of our model to design an optimal incentives package that prompts investment.
Methane Ebullition in Temperate Hydropower Reservoirs and Implications for US Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The United States is home to more than 87,000 dams, 2,198 of which are actively used for hydropower production. With the December 2015 consensus adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Paris Agreement, it is imperative for the U.S. to accurately quantify greenhouse gas fluxes from its hydropower reservoirs. Methane ebullition, or methane bubbles originating from river or lake sediments, can account for nearly all of a reservoir’s methane emissions to the atmosphere. However, methane ebullition in hydropower reservoirs has been studied in only three temperate locations, none of which are in the United States. This study measures high ebullitive methane fluxes from two hydropower reservoirs in eastern Washington, synthesizes the known information about methane ebullition from tropical, boreal, and temperate hydropower reservoirs, and investigates the implications for U.S. hydropower management and growth.
DECISION FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING THE MACROECONOMIC RISKS AND POLICY IMPACTS OF CYBER ATTACKS.
Abstract not provided.
Electrification of industrial boilers in the USA: potentials, challenges, and policy implications
Decarbonization of the industrial heat demand through electrification could contribute significantly to climate change mitigation efforts. In the US industry, thermal processes accounted for 75% of the total final energy demand in 2018, of which 17% is consumed by conventional industrial boilers (excluding cogeneration) for steam generation. Electric boilers have a small share in the US industrial steam generation due to several techno-economic reasons. Here, this study employs a bottom-up approach to investigate the sector-level and state-level techno-enviro-economic potentials of deploying electric boilers in the US industry in different timeframes. The results show that the technical potential energy and CO 2 savings by electrifying industrial boilers are 595 PJ and 200 MtCO 2 per year in 2050, respectively; however, these incur additional costs in each sector. Although there may be individual cost-effective opportunities for electrifying boilers in specific industrial sites, the overall costs are high in all industrial sectors and states due to the large disparity between electricity and combustion fuel prices. To overcome the highlighted techno-economic barriers, a comprehensive action plan for different stakeholders is also formulated. This study provides novel insights that should inform policymakers’ and executives’ decisions about the electrification of the current and future US industrial boiler systems.
Policy implications of allocation methods in the life cycle analysis of integrated corn and corn stover ethanol production
Here, a biorefinery may produce multiple fuels from more than one feedstock. The ability of these fuels to qualify as one of the four types of biofuels under the US Renewable Fuel Standard and to achieve a low carbon intensity score under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard can be strongly influenced by the approach taken to their life cycle analysis (LCA). For example, in facilities that may co-produce corn grain and corn stover ethanol, the ethanol production processes can share the combined heat and power (CHP) that is produced from the lignin and liquid residues from stover ethanol production. We examine different LCA approaches to corn grain and stover ethanol production considering different approaches to CHP treatment. In the baseline scenario, CHP meets the energy demands of stover ethanol production first, with additional heat and electricity generated sent to grain ethanol production. The resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for grain and stover ethanol are 57 and 25 g-CO 2 eq/MJ, respectively, corresponding to a 40 and 74% reduction compared to the GHG emissions of gasoline. We illustrate that emissions depend on allocation of burdens of CHP production and corn farming, along with the facility capacities. Co-product handling techniques can strongly influence LCA results and should therefore be transparently documented.
Co-Optimization of Electricity Transmission and Generation Resources for Planning and Policy Analysis: Review of Concepts and Modeling Approaches
The recognition of transmission's interaction with other resources has motivated the development of co-optimization methods to optimize transmission investment while simultaneously considering tradeoffs with investments in electricity supply, demand, and storage resources. For a given set of constraints, co-optimized planning models provide solutions that have lower costs than solutions obtained from decoupled optimization (transmission-only, generation-only, or iterations between them). This paper describes co-optimization and provides an overview of approaches to co-optimizing transmission options, supply-side resources, demand-side resources, and natural gas pipelines. In particular, the paper provides an up-to-date assessment of the present and potential capabilities of existing co-optimization tools, and it discusses needs and challenges for developing advanced co-optimization models.
Changing the policy paradigm: A benefit maximization approach to electricity planning in developing countries
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Assessment of mobility decarbonization with carbon tax policies and electric vehicle incentives in the U.S.
Not Available
Microreactor-liquid metal battery system in energy markets: An evaluation of potential costs, technology, and policy impacts
Microreactors represent an emerging innovation in the nuclear industry; yet have been overshadowed by their high capital costs. With the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), new opportunities have emerged to improve the economics of microreactor systems. This work examines liquid metal batteries (LMB) as a value-adding technology as part of microreactor-LMB systems within three U.S. electricity markets: ERCOT, PJM, and MISO. Our investigation considers key uncertainties: the cost of microreactors, the performance of LMBs, and the eligible tax credit levels. To this end, we use a dispatch optimization to trace not only the changes in system economics but also to provide a granular picture of energy delivery within the systems. We find that even with favorable costs for microreactors, significant regional variations in the project sizing and returns exist across the markets. Our heuristic method identifies their non-electric application potentials beyond electricity and technical requirements to maximize returns. The results suggest that 12–39 % of reactor heat could be cost-effectively diverted to produce more valuable by-products in U.S. markets. Including the impacts of tax credits, we establish the outcomes of each provision with varying rates. Coupling an LMB to a microreactor consistently improves the net present value of a microreactor compared to its standalone operation. In conclusion, for reasonable assumed conditions, we quantify a heterogeneous impact of round-trip efficiency (RTE) and extended LMB service life across the three markets—a one-year extension in LMB service life is roughly equivalent to a 2.11 % improvement in RTE for ERCOT, 1.16 % for PJM, and 1.04 % for MISO.