School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Permanent link for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/188

Browse

Browsing School of Public and Environmental Affairs by Author "Carley, Sanya"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Energy-Based Economic Development
    (Elsevier, 2010-08-17) Benami, Elinor; Nourafshan, Andrew; Brown, Adrienne; Lawrence, Sara; Carley, Sanya
    The fields of economic development and energy policy and planning have converged in recent years to form an emerging discipline, which we term “energy-based economic development” (EBED). Despite the significant amount of stimulus funds, as well as state and local funding, that are being allocated to EBED initiatives in the United States, the emerging discipline has received scant attention in the energy, policy, and development literature. The link between energy and economic development in the literature is still theoretical, mostly focused on the need for and the potential benefits of EBED, and rarely applied. Furthermore, funding for EBED has outpaced understanding of the discipline, development of rigorous technical approaches, and meaningful ways to measure impact. Such information would not only help practitioners and policymakers more thoroughly understand the confines of the discipline and shape goals and approaches accordingly, but it would also help researchers identify, track, and evaluate a variety of activities in the field. With national and international attention focused on the convergence of these fields, researchers and practitioners have a rare opportunity to develop and implement the tools necessary to evaluate and communicate the potentially broader impacts that EBED may hold for society. If ways to leverage and sustain the injection of funds in this discipline are not identified, the opportunity may end before we can achieve either energy policy or economic development goals. In an attempt to respond to this need, this analysis explores the connection between energy and economic development, beginning with a review of the trends in each field and the goals that each seeks to achieve. On the basis of this information, we define the discipline of EBED, review the existing literature on it, and offer insights and perspectives on its emergence.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Historical analysis of U.S. electricity markets: Reassessing carbon lock-in
    (Elsevier, 2011-02) Carley, Sanya
    This paper evaluates whether the U.S. electricity sector is directed away from carbon- intensive technological lock-in, and which factors are contributing, or have potential to contribute, to a possible reorientation of the industry. With the application of a historical analysis of the electricity sector from the late nineteenth century through current day, this analysis finds that, although the industry still relies primarily on carbon-intensive fossil fuel operations, several recent trends indicate that the industry is becoming less carbon intensive, smaller in generation system scale, and more sustainable in operations. Crucial drivers—firm level interactions with technological change, industry leadership and market structure, government intervention and policy momentum, and citizen involvement and behavior patterns—that have traditionally shaped the structure, scale, and environmental footprint of the industry, have also played a prominent role in recent transformations. These results indicate that triggering or extraordinary events may not be necessary to initiate an escape from carbon lock-in in the electricity sector. Complete escape is not yet definitive, however, and it remains to be seen whether the industry is able to transform entirely before any significant climate change disturbances occur.