Ways Forward in Energy Markets and the Environment

Author

Jacob NelsonFollow

College

College of Business Administration

Date of Last Revision

2023-05-04 20:49:31

Major

Economics

Honors Course

3250:497-004

Number of Credits

3

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Date of Expected Graduation

Spring 2021

Abstract

Renewable energy sources have come to the forefront of energy production policy over the last twenty years. Studies of external and direct costs of both renewable and nonrenewable energy sources have contributed to growing understandings of ways in which these energy sources can be compared in a monetary context. Using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) alongside international data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) among other sources, we have developed forecasts for the future costs, both direct and social, of each energy source as well as a difference-in-difference experiment to determine potential effects of state-level energy policy changes on state level energy prices. Forecasting is generally reliable as long as no major shocks to the variables in question present themselves during the period being forecast. This paper finds that renewable energy’s social and direct costs are both forecasted to be lower than nonrenewable energy’s cost even while considering renewable energy’s higher up-front costs. Additionally, statewide energy policy appears to have no significant effect on renewable energy prices in the three years following adoption, so further research with larger datasets is recommended.

Research Sponsor

Ali Enami, PhD

First Reader

Ali Enami, PhD

Second Reader

Amanda Weinstein, PhD

Honors Faculty Advisor

Sucharita Ghosh, PhD

Recommended Citation

Nelson, Jacob, "Ways Forward in Energy Markets and the Environment" (2021). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 1426.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/1426