Use of Improved Biomass Stoves in Karnataka and Maharashtra States, India: Understanding Factors Affecting Widespread Adoption
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Burning of biomass in traditional stoves is associated with a host of ills among an estimated 2.5 billion people around the world, even though cleaner and more efficient technologies exist that could mitigate the problems. This study examines what factors affect cooking mode choice and utilization, with the objective of developing an econometric model that is useful for efforts to encourage the adoption of improved biomass stoves. The project also seeks to offer insights on poorly understood processes of technology adoption among poor populations and to understand the magnitude of health, development and environmental benefits that might be achievable.
Walter P. Falcon Lounge
Mark C. Thurber
Program on Energy and Sustainable Development
616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall East, Rm E412
Stanford, CA 94305
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mthurber@stanford.edu
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PhD
Mark C. Thurber is Associate Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) at Stanford University, where he studies and teaches about energy and environmental markets and policy. Dr. Thurber has written and edited books and articles on topics including global fossil fuel markets, climate policy, integration of renewable energy into electricity markets, and provision of energy services to low-income populations.
Dr. Thurber co-edited and contributed to Oil and Governance: State-owned Enterprises and the World Energy Supply (Cambridge University Press, 2012) and The Global Coal Market: Supplying the Major Fuel for Emerging Economies (Cambridge University Press, 2015). He is the author of Coal (Polity Press, 2019) about why coal has thus far remained the preeminent fuel for electricity generation around the world despite its negative impacts on local air quality and the global climate.
Dr. Thurber teaches a course on energy markets and policy at Stanford, in which he runs a game-based simulation of electricity, carbon, and renewable energy markets. With Dr. Frank Wolak, he also conducts game-based workshops for policymakers and regulators. These workshops explore timely policy topics including how to ensure resource adequacy in a world with very high shares of renewable energy generation.
Dr. Thurber has previous experience working in high-tech industry. From 2003-2005, he was an engineering manager at a plant in Guadalajara, México that manufactured hard disk drive heads. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a B.S.E. from Princeton University.
Associate Director for Research at PESD
Social Science Research Scholar
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Frank Wolak
Stanford University
Economics Department
579 Jane Stanford Way Stanford, CA 94305-6072
Website: https://fawolak.org/
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wolak@zia.stanford.edu
Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in Economics
Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Frank A. Wolak is a Professor in the Department of Economics at Stanford University. His fields of specialization are Industrial Organization and Econometric Theory. His recent work studies methods for introducing competition into infrastructure industries -- telecommunications, electricity, water delivery and postal delivery services -- and on assessing the impacts of these competition policies on consumer and producer welfare. He is the Chairman of the Market Surveillance Committee of the California Independent System Operator for electricity supply industry in California. He is a visiting scholar at University of California Energy Institute and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
Professor Wolak received his Ph.D. and M.S. from Harvard University and his B.A. from Rice University.
Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development
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Seminars
Sharon Gourdji
Energy and Environment Building
MC 4205
473 Via Ortega, room 365
Stanford CA 94305
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sgourdji@stanford.edu
Postdoctoral scholar
Sharon Gourdji has a B.A. in mathematics from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan. Her dissertation research focused on estimating land-atmosphere carbon exchange at large regional scales using in-situ atmospheric CO2 measurements. Now, she is applying her statistical and data analysis skills to understand the relationships between climate variability/ change and agricultural yields around the globe. More generally, she has an interest in policy-driven science linked to democratic processes, for the purpose of supporting and planning sustainable development.
Video: Morse Led the SLAC Colloquium on Coal Renaissance in a Post-Kyoto World
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On Monday, June 13, 2011, as part of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's colloquium series, Richard Morse from the Program on Energy on Sustainable Development led the talk on “Addressing the ‘Coal Renaissance’ in a Post-Kyoto World.”
Morse discussed the outlook for global carbon policy, how international coal markets are evolving, and what strategies and technologies might realistically be used to reduce emissions from coal. This Included discussions on the latest developments in Europe, China, and the US in carbon policy, and an analysis of international coal markets highlighting key issues for the future of Chinese energy consumption.
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Transmission Policies to Unlock America's Renewable Energy Resources
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On behalf of PESD, Stanford co-hosts PIE, TomKat, and SIEPR, and external sponsors Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and the Kauffman Foundation, convened an all-day conference on September 15 on “Transmission Policies to Unlock America’s Renewable Energy Resources”
The traditional transmission paradigm was well-adapted to fossil fuel plants built near cities and operated by vertically-integrated utilities. We need a whole new transmission paradigm to realize the potential of intermittent wind and solar generation in today’s wholesale markets.
The conference sessions (see Agenda) focused on different aspects of what this new paradigm will have to look like, focusing on the Western region. How can markets for renewable energy credits help drive transmission policy? Who will pay for new transmission that straddles state lines and service areas? How can environmental impacts be weighed without bogging down transmission planning?
Our distinguished speakers and discussants have many years of experience working on precisely these issues from the academic, industry, nonprofit, and government perspectives. This event brought new insights into how to move forward on transmission in the West, and we thank everyone who participated.
For conference photos, click here
Opening remarks by Frank Wolak, Director, Program on Energy and Sustainable Development
Session 1: The Paradigm Shift in the Role of the Transmission Network
Speaker—Lorenzo Kristov, Principle, Market and Infrastructure Policy, California Independent System Operator (ISO)
Discussants: James Bushnell, Associate Professor, UC Davis Department of Economics and Udi Helman, Director, Economic and Pricing Analysis, BrightSource Energy
Session 2: Policy Tools for Meeting Renewable Energy Goals
Speaker—Harry Singh, Vice President, Goldman Sachs
Discussants: Sydney Berwager, Director, Strategy Integration, Bonneville Power Administration and Julie Fitch, Director, Energy Division, California Public Utilities Commission
Session 3: Developing a Regional Transmission Planning Process
Speaker—Brad Nickell, Director of Transportation Expansion Planning Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Discussants: Scott Cauchois, Transmission Expansion Planning Policy committee Chair, Western Electricity Coordinating Counsil and Rebecca Wagner, Commissioner, Nevada Public Utilities Commission
Session 4: Paying for Transmission
Speaker—Douglas Kimmelman, Senior Partner, Energy Capital Partners and Perry Cole, Managing Director, Energy Captial Partners
Discussants: Michael Hindus, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Darrel Thorson, VP, Business Development North America, BP Wind Energy
Session 5: Environmental Impacts of Transmission Siting
Speaker—Sean Gallagher, Managing Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, K Road Power
Discussants: Julia Souder, Project Development Manager, Clean Line Energy Partners and Carl Zichella, Director of Western Transmission, Natural Resources Defense Council
Session 6: Lessons for Transmission Planning and Pricing
from Other Jurisdictions
Speaker—Benjamin Hobbs, Director, Environment, Energy, Sustainability,
and Health Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Discussants: Cristian Munoz, Engineer, AES Gener, Santiago, Chile and
Alex Papalexopoulos, President and CEO, ECCO International, Inc.
Koret-Taube Conference Center
366 Galvez Street
Stanford University
Conferences
Transmission Policies to Unlock America's Renewable Energy Resources
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The Program on Energy and Sustainable Development in collaboration with Stanford co-hosts PIE, TomKat, and SIEPR, and external sponsors Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and the Kauffman Foundation hosted an all-day conference on "Transmission Policies to Unlock America's Renewable Energy Resources" on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at Stanford University.
Our distinguished speakers and discussants from the academic, industry, nonprofit, and government perspectives. This event brought new insights into how to move forward on transmission in the West, and we thank everyone who participated.
For conference materials, click here
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