COMING SOON!

Congratulations to our winner: 

Paige Weber, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  INTERMITTENCY OR UNCERTAINTY IMPACTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ELECTRICITY MARKETS Paige Weber is an Assistant Professor in the Economics Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with an adjunct appointment in the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program. She uses methods in applied microeconomics and industrial organization to answer research questions in energy, equity, and policy. Her research studies energy and electricity markets, climate change policy, distributional impacts of environmental policy, and industry responses to environmental regulation. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from Yale University in 2019, and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She has professional experiences in the electricity industry, federal government, and non-governmental research organizations, all of which inform and motivate her research agenda.

And to our runner-up:

Tim Schittekatte, Massachusetts Institute of Technology  INTERMITTENCY OR UNCERTAINTY IMPACTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ELECTRICITY MARKETS Tim Schittekatte is a postdoctoral associate at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He teaches a course on engineering, economics, and regulation of the power sector and conducts research about the same topics within the MIT Energy Initiative. More specifically, his current research interests are power market design in times of crisis and electricity retail rates for decarbonizing power systems. Prior to joining MIT, he was a research fellow at the Florence School of Regulation at the European University Institute. He graduated as an engineer from Ghent University, Belgium, and completed the EMIN program with an international masters in economics. He holds a Ph.D. in energy economics from University Paris-Sud XI.

This webinar was held on Oct 14, 2022, and featured four finalists of the USAEE Young Professional Best Paper Award Competition, who presented their work to a panel of judges. The competition is open for young (35 years of age and below) energy economists working in academia, industry, government, and other organizations. The four finalists were selected through a very competitive first-round evaluation process. Each of the presenters has 12 minutes to present their work and 8 minutes for Q&A with the judges and the audience. After the event, the judges select the winner of the "Best Paper" award among the competitors, though all presenters are recognized for the quality of their work by being selected for the final competition.

The four finalists:

	Paige Weber, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  INTERMITTENCY OR UNCERTAINTY IMPACTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ELECTRICITY MARKETS Paige Weber is an Assistant Professor in the Economics Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with an adjunct appointment in the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program. She uses methods in applied microeconomics and industrial organization to answer research questions in energy, equity, and policy. Her research studies energy and electricity markets, climate change policy, distributional impacts of environmental policy, and industry responses to environmental regulation. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from Yale University in 2019, and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She has professional experiences in the electricity industry, federal government, and non-governmental research organizations, all of which inform and motivate her research agenda.
	Xingchi Shen, Yale University  INTERMITTENCY OR UNCERTAINTY IMPACTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ELECTRICITY MARKETS Xingchi Shen is a Postdoctoral Associate in Energy Economics at Yale School of the Environment (YSE). His research interests include the economics of electrification and energy efficiency, energy consumption behaviors, clean energy transition, and social equity. His previous and ongoing research examines the economic incentives and consequences of clean technology adoption (e.g., heat pumps, solar photovoltaics, electric vehicle, home battery) in the buildings and transportation sectors, which provides decision-support for decarbonization policies. Xingchi received his Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Maryland.
	Ruoyu Chen, University of Windsor  INTERMITTENCY OR UNCERTAINTY IMPACTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ELECTRICITY MARKETS Ruoyu Chen is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Windsor, specializing in the areas of environmental and energy economics, urban economics, and development economics. Ruoyu’s research primarily focuses on advancing the understanding of the effectiveness of carbon trading in restriction power sector emissions and renewable energy adoption, with a special interest in the Chinese economy. His research also encompasses the economic impacts of housing market regulations. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics and his M.A. in International Trade and Investment Policy from George Washington University, and his B.A. in English Literature and Linguistics from Tsinghua University. For more information on Ruoyu’s research, please see https://stevenrychen.com/.
	Tim Schittekatte, Massachusetts Institute of Technology  INTERMITTENCY OR UNCERTAINTY IMPACTS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ELECTRICITY MARKETS Tim Schittekatte is a postdoctoral associate at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He teaches a course on engineering, economics, and regulation of the power sector and conducts research about the same topics within the MIT Energy Initiative. More specifically, his current research interests are power market design in times of crisis and electricity retail rates for decarbonizing power systems. Prior to joining MIT, he was a research fellow at the Florence School of Regulation at the European University Institute. He graduated as an engineer from Ghent University, Belgium, and completed the EMIN program with an international masters in economics. He holds a Ph.D. in energy economics from University Paris-Sud XI.

Congratulations to our winner: 

Stephen Jarvis, Energy & Resources Group and Energy Institute at Haas, University of California Berkeley, for his paper "The economic costs of NIMBYism: Evidence from renewable energy projects".

This webinar features four finalists of the USAEE Young Professional Best Paper Award Competition, who will present their work to a panel of judges. The competition is open for young (35 years of age and below) energy economists working in academia, industry, government, and other organizations. The research papers were solicited in the summer and have undergone initial evaluation by the judges. Each of the presenters will have 15 minutes to present their work and 10 minutes for Q&A with the judges and the audience. After the event, the judges will select the winner of the "Best Paper" award among the competitors, though all presenters are recognized for the quality of their work by being selected into the final competition.

The presentations will occur in this (randomly selected) order:

Sylwia Bialek, Institute for Policy Integrity, New York University

Efficiency in wholesale electricity markets: On the role of externalities and subsidies 

Sylwia Bialek Paper

Sylwia Bialek, PhD, works as an economist at the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University, studying the efficacy of environmental policies. Recently, her focus has been on environmental policies in the context of electricity market design and regulation, in particular in connection to capacity markets. In addition to producing scholarly research, Dr. Bialek has also engaged actively in PJM and NYISO proceedings and working groups.

Rodney Kizito, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Stochastic optimization of distributed generator location and sizing in an islanded utility microgrid during a largescale grid disturbance

Rodney Kizito Abstract

Rodney Kizito graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2017 and is currently pursuing his PhD in Industrial Engineering at the University of Tennessee (UT), while working for the U.S. Department of Energy in the Research and Development division. His current research focuses on the optimization of solar-based microgrids during large-scale power disturbances, as well as the application of predictive analytics through the use of machine learning. Rodney’s graduate career currently includes four publications, and awards such as the Rising African American Leaders Award from Pitt’s African American Alumni Council, the 2020 Outstanding Graduate Student Award and the Chad Holliday Graduate Fellowship from UT’s Industrial and Systems Engineering department. He is very active in his many communities through his work with underserved Middle and High School students and commits himself to helping these students realize that future careers in STEM fields are a possibility for them, regardless of their backgrounds.

Stephen Jarvis, Energy & Resources Group and Energy Institute at Haas, University of California Berkeley

The economic costs of NIMBYism: Evidence from renewable energy projects

Stephen Jarvis is a PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley’s Energy & Resources Group and a Researcher at the Energy Institute at Haas. His research interests are centered on energy and environmental economics, with a focus on applied econometrics and machine learning methods. His current research includes work looking at the phase-out of nuclear power in Germany and a study of the social costs of NIMBYism in the context of renewable energy deployment. He came to Berkeley after three years working for Ofgem, the UK’s energy regulator, and before that he studied at the London School of Economics.

Amanda J. Harker Steele, KeyLogic Systems LLC

Modeling disruptions in power system reliability using a state contingent production function approach

Amanda J. Harker Steele Abstract

Dr. Harker Steele works as an economist for KeyLogic Systems LLC. supporting the Systems Engineering and Analysis Directorate at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Lab (NETL). In her current role she utilizes economic theory and empirical methodology to analyze the economic impacts of R&D being conducted by the lab. Her research focuses on the development and deployment of carbon capture technologies, electricity market infrastructure changes, coal markets, and demand response for natural gas. In general, her  research interests center on understanding the economic efficiency and distributional equity implications of policies related to energy production and consumption across the United States. She has a strong interest in energy economics, environmental economics, production economics, and regional economic issues.