May 28th, 2015

Summit Power Group is an energy development company with a focus on carbon capture for enhanced oil recovery. This talk will provide a high-level overview of the status of CCUS in the power industry and discuss how different policy mechanisms under consideration can enable projects and support the growth of this emerging industry.

May 21st, 2015

The Annual Energy Outlook 2015, prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, presents long-term annual projections of energy supply, demand, and prices through 2040. The projections, focused on U.S. energy markets, are based on results from EIA’s National Energy Modeling System. NEMS enables EIA to make projections under alternative, internally-consistent sets of assumptions, the results of which are presented as cases.

May 12th, 2015

As opponents of oil and gas development continue to urge colleges and universities to divest their endowments of fossil-fuel related stocks, a new study suggests the costs associated with adopting such policies are real and enormous. Authored by Professor Daniel R. Fischel, president of Compass Lexecon and a professor emeritus of law and business at the University of Chicago Law School, this first-of-its-kind report compares two investment portfolios over a 50-year period: one that included energy-related stocks, and another that did not. Based on those models, Prof.

April 9th, 2015

As the world looks to address climate change the demand for renewable power generation will increase. Energy storage will be needed to shift intermittent energy resources to match the demand for power. Solar thermal electric technologies (STE) offer the potential for low cost and efficient integrated energy storage. This talk will discuss the evolution of Abengoa’s thermal energy storage technologies for STE plants and how it can be used to help increase penetration of intermittent renewable generation and help support grid reliability.

March 31st, 2015

Climate intervention is no substitute for reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and adaptation efforts aimed at reducing the negative consequences of climate change. However, as our planet enters a period of changing climate never before experienced in recorded human history, interest is growing in the potential for deliberate intervention in the climate system to counter climate change. This study assesses the potential impacts, benefits, and costs of two different proposed classes of climate intervention: (1) carbon dioxide removal and (2) albedo modification (reflecting sunlight).

February 3rd, 2015

Solar photovoltaics (PV) makes up a small but rapidly growing portion of the nation’s electric generation capacity. Notwithstanding the increasing popularity and growth, questions remain regarding the basic costs and benefits, the nature and magnitude of subsidies, impacts on electric rates, and cost shifting among utility customers. This presentation provides an analytical framework for assessing the economics of solar PV within the electric utility sector.

January 27th, 2015

M-WERC envisions that, through its efforts, the Midwest Region will become the leading region in the United States for the energy, power and control industries and will be known worldwide for its leading-edge research and technology development in these areas, resulting in innovative products, market leadership, employment opportunities, and vibrant technology transfer.    

January 15th, 2015

December 18th, 2014

December 15th, 2014

This presentation assesses the benefits of CO₂ and compares these to estimates of the social cost of carbon (SCC) that have been published by the Federal government.  CO₂ is the basis of life on Earth, and the successful development of fossil fuels, which generate CO₂, facilitated successive industrial revolutions, created the modern world, and enables the high quality of life currently taken for granted.  There is a strong causal relationship between world GDP and CO₂ emissions over the past two centuries, and this relationship is forecast to con