Modeling Obstacles to Energy Infrastructure for Improved Policy Analysis - Molly Robertson, Kevin Rennert, and Karen Palmer

Her work seeks to improve the design of environmental and technology regulations in the sector and the development of new institutions to help guide the ongoing transition of the electricity sector. [...] The goals of the project are to expand data and analysis on key obstacles to energy infrastructure, develop an improved understanding of current legislative proposals, and improve modeling capabilities to evaluate the impacts of legislative proposals. [...] The objectives of the workshops were to identify the most relevant barriers to deployment of energy infrastructure, determine the best metrics for understanding the impact of those obstacles, and inform the development of a coherent research strategy. [...] Limitations often fall into one or more of three types: the obstacle is not represented in the model either directly or by proxy, the obstacle’s impact on the system is variable or dynamic at a level of granularity that the model cannot accommodate, or the data are insufficient to accurately represent the obstacle or the policies designed to mitigate it. [...] The RFF workshop series collected the perspectives of the policy and analytical communities through a diverse group of experts equipped to ask the important data and modeling questions and provide the answers needed to inform these new policies.