Dartmouth Events

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Meeting ID: 916 2296 8729
Passcode: 030369

The Open Energy Outlook Initiative seeks to examine US energy futures to inform energy and climate policy efforts. It does so by applying the gold standards of policy-focused academic modeling, maximizing transparency, and building a networked community. Using "Modeling to Generate Alternatives," we created a range of cost-effective pathways toward achieving a net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) future for the US energy system. Through an analysis of correlations in technology adoption and interactions within the energy system, we uncover interconnected technologies. These findings highlight the existence of diverse yet comparable pathways for achieving deep decarbonization at the system level, providing insights into the technology mix that can lead to a near cost-optimal net-zero CO2 future.

To surpass the limitations of energy system models and offer a more comprehensive view of energy transitions, the concept of socio-technical feasibility space emerges as a promising solution. A socio-technical feasibility space considers impacts across various attributes, including climate change, supply chain vulnerabilities, labor impacts, environmental justice, energy equity, and social acceptability. Leveraging modeling outputs like those presented in this talk, my future research aims to expand the modeling tools to enable the development of a socio-technical feasibility space for energy system decarbonization.

Hosted by Professor Lee Lynd.