Constraints on electric power system carbon emissions will make optimal increased reliance on variable renewable energy (VRE, mainly wind and solar generation), which has near zero marginal operating costs. Using capacity expansion modeling of electric power systems in three US regions in...

This paper examines the structure, behavior and performance of the N95 respirator market in the U.S. before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-early 2022). It focuses on the behavior and performance of government and private sector organizations in the allocation of scarce supplies of N95...

The final version of this paper will appear as Chapter 6 in the forthcoming MIT Energy Initiative study, The Future of Storage. Chapters referred to in this paper will be included in that study when it is published. In order to illuminate the role of energy storage in future decarbonized...

This paper discusses the political, regulatory and economic factors that led to California's electricity crisis in 2000 and 2001. It begins with a discussion of the origins of California's electricity restructuring and competition programs. It then discusses the structure of the wholesale and...

We examine the performance attributes of a merchant transmission investment framework that relies on market driven' transmission investment to provide the infrastructure to support competitive wholesale markets for electricity. Under a stringent set of assumptions, the merchant investment model...