Renewable Resources

Scholarly Publications

Assessing Opportunities for Solar Lanterns to Improve Educational Outcomes in Rural Off-Grid Regions: Challenges and Lessons from a Randomized Controlled Trial

September 2018

Author(s): 
Ognen Stojanovski, Mark Thurber, Frank Wolak, George Muwowo, Kat Harrison
Solar lanterns are promoted across rural Sub-Saharan Africa to improve both lighting in homes and educational outcomes.

The rise in global biodiesel production: Implications for food security

December 2017

Author(s): 
Policies that promote biofuels in major agricultural economies raise important questions for food prices and food security at local to global scales.

Impact of a rural solar electrification project on the level and structure of women's empowerment

September 2017

Author(s): 
Jennifer Burney, Halimatou Alaofè, Rosamond L. Naylor, Douglas Taren
Although development organizations agree that reliable access to energy and energy services—one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals—is likely to have profound and perhaps disproportionate...
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Other Publications

For wind and solar, big is (usually) better

September 2019

Author(s): 
Mark Thurber
Thurber:  "Big is beautiful" for wind and solarDistributed renewables have an important niche, especially for off-grid lighting in developing countries, but almost every challenge associated with...

Electrifying Power Africa: Balancing National Principles and International Pressures

November 2018

Author(s): 
Kate Gasparro
In 2013, President Barack Obama announced Power Africa, the U.S.’s initiative to bring energy infrastructure to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Gas-fired generation in a high-renewables world

June 2018

Author(s): 
Mark Thurber
Are gas and renewables good for each other, or are they on a collision course?  We explored this question using a multi-player, web-based game.
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News

Wolak recommends "cost based" market for Hawaiian Electric Company

November 2018

On November 2 at the University of Hawaii, PESD Director Frank Wolak gave a special seminar "How Should the Public Utilities Commission Regulate Hawaiian Electric Company for Better Integration of...

PESD workshop tackles electricity market challenges in a highly-renewables world

October 2018

Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) Director Frank Wolak, Associate DIrector Mark Thurber, and doctoral candidate Trevor Davis led an Electricity Market Simulation Workshop as part...

SCPKU World Leaders Forum features Nobel laureate Steven Chu on climate change and clean energy

November 2016

SCPKU held its second annual Lee Shau Kee World Leaders Forum on October 13 which was titled "Climate Change and Clean Energy" and keynoted by Dr. Steven Chu, the William R.
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Events

India's National Innovation System

September 11, 2017

*/ Dr. Forbes chairs the Steam Engineering Companies of Forbes Marshall, India’s leading Steam Engineering and Control Instrumentation firm. Dr.

What next for climate? Assessing the risks and the options

May 8, 2017

Abstract: Over decades, assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and many others has bolstered understanding of the climate problem: unequivocal warming, pervasive impacts, and...

Connecting the Dots 2013: The Energy, Food, Water, and Climate Nexus

April 19, 2013

Stanford experts from a range of disciplines will discuss the interconnections and interactions among humanity’s need for and use of energy, food, water, and environmental resources.
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Projects

Renewable Energy Integration

Achieving aggressive renewable energy targets, like California’s plan for 50% of electricity used in the state to be supplied by renewable energy by 2030, will require major changes in technology,...
English

Oil palm development in Indonesia: Demand, trade, and land use

Indonesia is currently the world’s top palm oil producer.
English

Smart Green Cities

August 2008

In 2008, SPRIE launched a new initiative, "Smart Green Cities", focused on innovation at the intersection of technologies, business, economics, and policy on the urban scale.
English
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People

Quentin Grafton Affiliated scholar
Jie Wang Executive Director, Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness Consulting Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering