Curious About Clean Energy Innovation? Take This Class (Varun Sivaram, Council on Foreign Relations)

http://blogs.cfr.org/sivaram/2016/12/19/curious-about-clean-energy-innovation-take-this-class/

Sustaining Fuel Subsidy Reform (Varun Sivaram, Douglas Dillon, Council on Foreign Relations)

Fuel consumption subsidies threaten the fiscal and economic health of countries around the world. Economists widely agree that the subsidies, which reduce consumer prices for petroleum and natural gas below free-market prices, often strain government budgets, fail to target poverty efficiently, and distribute benefits unfairly. Yet, political barriers often obstruct practical policy changes; for example, the prospect of street protest discourages sensible subsidy reform. Still, over the last two years, governments around the world have taken advantage of the plunge in oil prices and reduced or eliminated subsidies. Recognizing that low oil prices can mitigate the increase in consumer bills caused by subsidy reform, ten countries have, since 2014, completely eliminated subsidies on at least one type of fuel, and a further twelve countries have reduced subsidies. This advances U.S. economic, geopolitical, and environmental goals because subsidy reform can reduce world oil prices, instability in strategically important countries, and wasteful use of fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change. In particular, recent reforms in India, Indonesia, Ukraine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria all bring strategic benefits to the United States.

http://www.cfr.org/energy-policy/sustaining-fuel-subsidy-reform/p38366

Pairing Push and Pull Policies: A Heavy-Duty Model for Innovation (Varun Sivaram , CFR)

When policymakers mandate adoption of a particular technology, they run the risk that the technology may not yet exist or is too expensive for consumers. Similarly, when the government funds research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of new technologies, it can’t be sure that any advances it underwrites will get picked up by the private sector and successfully taken to market. Even if the government pursues both activities separately—“pulling” technologies into the market through mandates or standards and “pushing” the development of new technologies through RD&D funding—these risks don’t go away.

http://blogs.cfr.org/sivaram/2016/09/27/pairing-push-and-pull-policies-a-heavy-duty-model-for-innovation/

Venture Capital and Cleantech: The Wrong Model for Clean Energy Innovation (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

http://www.cfr.org/energy-and-environment/venture-capital-cleantech-wrong-model-clean-energy-innovation/p38236

Why the Silicon Valley Model Failed Cleantech (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

It’s no secret that venture capital (VC) has fled from the clean energy technology (cleantech) sector, and as a result, new cleantech company formation has slowed. But why did this happen, and is there a future for cleantech?

http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2016/07/26/why-the-silicon-valley-model-failed-cleantech/

Securitization: The Next Big Thing in Solar Energy Financing (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

Recent headlines from the solar energy industry have been bleak. SunEdison—a solar developer which just a year ago aspired to join the ranks of multinational oil companies as an energy “supermajor”—declaredbankruptcy in April, after wiping out $9 billion in market value. And the share prices of Yieldcos, the financial vehicles which promised to tap vast capital markets to finance renewable energy projects, have plummeted as well. Last year, I wrote that Yieldcos’ aggressive growth targets and financial model made them vulnerable to the vicious downward spiral that has played out.

http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2016/07/19/securitization-the-next-big-thing-in-solar-energy-financing/

Why the United States Should Respond to Oil Price Volatility By Reducing Oil Consumption (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2016/06/16/why-the-united-states-should-respond-to-oil-price-volatility-by-reducing-oil-consumption/

Why Solar Will Need to Cost 25¢ Per Watt by 2050, And How the Industry Might Get There (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

For solar power to become truly mainstream, how much should it cost? And is the industry on track to meet that target? We tackle each of those questions in an article released today in the journal Nature Energy. In a nutshell, our answers are: for solar power to supply nearly a third of the world’s electricity by 2050, it will ultimately need to cost around 25 cents per watt (in today’s dollars), fully installed. And that target may be out of reach without a major technological shift.

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Japan Should Increase Its Target for Renewable Energy, In Case Nuclear Restarts Stall (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

Last month, Japan commemorated the five-year anniversary of the great earthquake and tsunami that caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The disaster—three nuclear reactor meltdowns and the release of some radioactive material—forced 164,000 residents to evacuate and deeply traumatized the country. So when Japan shut down its entire fleet of nuclear reactors, it was unclear whether they would ever restart.

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Varun Sivaram. CFR. Douglas Dillon Fellow

The Supreme Court Just Clarified Rules for Modern Power Regulation…Or Did It? (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2016/01/26/the-supreme-court-just-clarified-rules-for-modern-power-regulationor-did-it/

Solar Power’s Paradoxical 2015 in Three Charts (Varun Sivaram, CFR)

http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2016/01/14/solar-powers-paradoxical-2015-in-three-charts/

Now What’s That Got to Do with the Price of Oil? (Council on Foreign Relations)

http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2015/09/08/now-whats-that-got-to-do-with-the-price-of-oil/