Spring 2014
School of Public Policy
School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Energy Technology and Policy
ISYE 6701 and PUBP 6701 and UT-Knoxville ESE 597
Wednesday 1:05-3:55 pm
Location: ESM 212
Dr. Valerie Thomas
415 Groseclose
valerie.thomas@isye.gatech.edu
Instructors:
Dr. Marilyn Brown
DM Smith Room 312
marilyn.brown@pubpolicy.gatech.edu
Course Description
This course examines the policies and technologies affecting the production and use of
energy, focusing in particular on innovative and sustainable energy options. The course
provides a fundamental understanding of energy systems, including historical trends of
supply and demand, resources and technologies, and related economic, global climate
change, and security issues. Policies and technology associated with different energy
systems will be examined including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, ethanol, and other
alternative transportation fuels; smart buildings and advanced lighting; industrial ecology
approaches; solar and wind systems; and the next generation of nuclear energy. Policies
will be examined at the national and international scale, and at the state and local level
where novel approaches are often first introduced. Given the ubiquitous nature of energy
in modern society, this course will offer insights for students pursuing a diversity of
careers.
Text and Supplies:
 M. A. Brown and B. K. Sovacool. 2011. Climate Change and Global Energy
Security: Technology and Policy Options (MIT Press).
 Kill-a-Watt Meter. (Can be purchased online, or available from public libraries in
Georgia and some other locations; Atlanta students may borrow a meter from
Prof. Brown or Thomas)
 David Hafemeister. Physics of Societal Issues. Free online for Georgia Tech
students. On the library web page http://www.library.gatech.edu/ under Search
and Find click on more, then click on ebooks then scroll down and click on
SpringerLink then type in Physics of Societal Issues, then click on the book link
then find the chapter you need and click to download the pdf.
Grades and Examinations
Class Participation: 5%
Class project:
25%
Mid-term exam:
15%
Final exam:
20%
3 Exercises:
35%
Spring 2014
Because of the highly interactive nature of the course, 5 percent of the student’s grade
depends on general class participation. Atlanta students are expected to come to the class
having read the assigned readings and to be prepared to discuss the material; distance
students are expected to participate in discussions by sending email or powerpoint
responses or comments. The instructors will encourage dialogue by helping the students
lay out the facts, pose questions, and help the class discover and understand the
underlying principles.
Students will work in teams to complete a class project researching the energy
technology and policy dimensions of a current energy problem or opportunity. The
results will be summarized in a presentation to the class near the end of the semester. The
project is worth 25 percent of each student’s grade.
Schedule for Class Projects:
March 5: 250-word Summary of Topic for Class Project
April 2: Quality Outline of Class Project Report
April 23: Final Project Report Due
Assignments for distance students will be on a one-week delay.
There will be two exams: 15 percent of the grade is based on a mid-term exam and 20
percent of the grade is based on the final exam.
The remaining 35 percent of the grade is based on three exercises:
1. Exercise 1: Evaluating Your Home’s Energy Efficiency Options 10%
2. Exercise 2: Assessment of an Energy Policy or Plan 10%
3. Exercise 3: Two homework sets 15%
Office hours:
Dr. Brown: Wednesdays 10 am – noon, and by appointment
Dr. Thomas: By appointment
Spring 2014
Schedule and Reading Assignments
Week 1. (January 8). MB & VT
Energy Overview
Overview of energy issues; history of energy use; energy data sources; climate and the
economy.
 Fouquet R. and P.J.G. Pearson. 1998. “A Thousand Years of Energy Use in the
United Kingdom.” The Energy Journal 19(4): 1-41.
 Goldemberg, Jose, Thomas B. Johansson, A. Reddy, and Robert H. Williams,
1985. “Basic Needs and Much More With One Kilowatt Per Capita.” Ambio, 14
(4-5):190-200.
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 1: “Motivation & Organization of the Book”
pp. 1-12.
 Energy Information Administration. 2013. Annual Energy Outlook 2014 Early
Release Overview, pp. 1-15.
 International Energy Agency. 2013. World Energy Outlook 2013. Executive
Summary.
Week 2. (January 15). VT & MB (Exercises 1 & 2 Handouts)
Coal, Electricity and the U.S. Clean Air Act
 Goulder, Lawrence and Ian Parry. 2008. “Instrument Choice in Environmental
Policy,” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Vol. 2: pp. 152-174.
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 2: “A Tale of Five Challenges” pp. 13-53.
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 3: “Energy Supply” pp. 65-69 and pp. 84102.
 E. Rubin, Introduction to Engineering and the Environment, Chapter 2:
“Overview of Environmental Issues,” pp. 20-35. Chapter 5: “Electric Power
Plants and the Environment” (pp. 162-175 and Sections 5.2-5.4).
Week 3. (January 22). MB & VT (Exercise 3a handout).
Wind and Solar Energy, Biopower, and Renewable Electricity Standards
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 5: “Barriers to Effective Climate and Energy
Policies,” pp. 147-177.
 Hafemeister: Chapter 13: “Renewable Energy.” Chapter 12: “Solar Buildings.”
 Levin, T., Thomas, V. M., Lee, A. J. 2011. State-Scale Evaluation of Renewable
Electricity Options: The Role of Renewable Electricity Credits and Carbon Taxes,
Energy Policy 39(2): 950-960, 2011.
Spring 2014
Week 4. (January 29). MB & VT
Industrial Energy Use, Combined Heat and Power, and Overview of Clean Energy
Financing Options. Clean Energy Seminar: “Insights from Edison Electric Institute:
“Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing
Retail Electric Business” 1
 Brown, Marilyn A., Rodrigo Cortes and Matthew Cox. 2011. “Reinventing
Industrial Energy Use in a Resource-Constrained World” in Fereidoon Sioshansi
(ed.) Energy Sustainability and the Environment (Elsevier Press), Chapter 8, pp.
337-366.
 Marilyn A. Brown, Matt Cox, and Paul Baer. 2012. “Reviving manufacturing
with a federal cogeneration policy.” Energy Policy.
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Section 8.5 on Bangladesh’s Grameen Shakti and
Section 8.2 on Germany’s FIT.
Week 5. (February 5). MB & VT
Energy-Efficient Buildings and Market Failures and Barriers to Clean Energy
 Hafemeister: Chapter 11 Energy in Buildings; Chapter 14 Enhanced End-Use
Efficiency (through 14.6 p. 364).
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Section 3.1: “Energy End Use.”
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 6: “Overcoming Barriers to Effective
Climate and Energy Policies” pp. 179-214.
 Allcott, H. and M. Greenstone. 2012. Is There an Energy Efficiency Gap? Journal
of Economic Perspective. 26: 3–28.
Week 6. (February 12) VT & Guest Lecture
Nuclear Energy, Proliferation, and Technology Learning Curves


The Future of Nuclear Power, Executive Summary, Chapters 1-3 or more, and
Update of the 2003 Report (MIT).
Seth Herron and Eric Williams, 2013. “Modeling Cascading Diffusion of New
Energy Technologies: Case Study of Residential Solid Oxide Fuel Cells in the
U.S. and Internationally” Environmental Science and Technology.
Week 7. (February 19) MB & VT (Exercise 1 Due) (Exercise 3a due)
The Electric Grid, Smart Grid, & Electricity Poverty, Review of Key Concepts for
Midterm


1
Brown, Marilyn A. and Shan Zhou. 2013. "Smart-Grid Policies: An International
Review," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs): Energy and Environment, 2:
121-139.
Levin, T. and Thomas, V. M. Energy Services in Developing Countries: Low cost
technologies and financing. Submitted to Energy, August 2013.
75 5th Street NW, 3rd Floor Hodges Room, Atlanta 12:30-2:00 pm. Second half or class starts is
2:30-3:55 pm.
Spring 2014


The Future of the Electric Grid, MIT, Chapter 1, pp. 1-30.
Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Section 8.1 on Denmark’s Electricity Policy.
Week 8. (February 26) VT & MB. Midterm Exam
Electric Vehicles, Life Cycle Assessment, and Automotive Efficiency Standards
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Section 2.2: “Transportation” pp. 25-33.
 Choi, D.-G., Kreikebaum, F., Thomas, V. M., Divan, D. Coordinated EV
adoption: double digit reductions in emissions and fuel use for $40/vehicle-year.
Environmental Science and Technology 47(18): 10703-7, 2013.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es4016926
Week 9 (March 5) MB and VT
Petroleum, Oil Economics, and Natural Gas – Bridge to a Clean Energy Future?
(Project Summaries Due)
 International Energy Agency. 2012. World Energy Outlook 2012. Chapter 3.

World Energy Outlook Special Report. 2011. Are We Entering a Golden Age of
Gas? International Energy Agency, Summary, pp. 7-9.
Week 10. (March 12). VT & MB (Exercise 2 Due) (Exercise 3b handout)
Biofuels, Hydrogen & Fuel Cells, and Renewable Fuels Standards



U.S. Department of Energy. 2005. Biomass as a Feedstock for a Bioenergy and
Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“Relation of Biofuel to Bioelectricity and Agriculture: Food Security, Fuel
Security, and Reducing Greenhouse Emissions,” V. M. Thomas, D. Choi, D. Luo,
A. Okwo, J. H. Wang, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 87, 11401146, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2009.06.017
Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Section 8.3 on Brazil’s Biofuels Program.
Spring Break (Week of March 19)
Week 11. (March 26). MB & VT (Guest Lecture: Professor Kim Cobb)
Climate Change, Carbon Dioxide and Other Greenhouse Gases (Project Outline
Due)



Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Sections 2.3 - 2.6: “A Tale of Five Challenges:
Climate Change” pp. 33-64.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “Summary for Policymakers” in
Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working
Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, T. F. Stocker and D. Qin, eds., 2013.
Judy Curry on video. See the video at:
http://hdl.handle.net/1853/43270. Go to the bottom of the page where there is a
list of files and click on “brown.mp4”. After an introduction, comments by Ben
Spring 2014
Deitchman, and my defense of the book’s thesis, Judy is the first of four faculty to
critique the book. After three more excellent speeches by faculty, the video ends
with comments by Benjamin Sovacool.
Week 12. (April 2). MB & VT
Technologies to Address Climate Change
& Project Presentations





Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Section 3.3: “Capturing and Sequestering Carbon”
(pp. 102-110)
Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 4: “Technologies for Geo-Engineering and
Adaptation” pp. 125-146.
Xu, M.; Crittenden, J. C.; Chen, Y.; Thomas, V. M.; Noonan, D. S.; DesRoches,
R.; Brown, M. A.; French, S. P. 2010. “Gigaton Problems Need Gigaton
Solutions.” Environmental Science & Technology,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es903306e.
Socolow, R. and S. W. Pacala (2006) “A Plan to keep Carbon in Check”,
Scientific American, 195 (3), 50-57.
Broecker, W. 2013. Does Air Capture Constitute a Viable Backstop Against a
Bad CO2 Trip? Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.
Week 13. (April 9). VT & MB (Exercise 3b due)
Climate Policy: UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and Carbon Trading
& Project Presentations
 Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 7: “The Case for Polycentric
Implementation” pp. 215-240.
 Thomas J. Wilbanks. 2007. “Energy Myth Thirteen – Developing Countries Are
Not Doing Their Part in Responding to Concerns about Climate Change” in
Energy and American Society.
Week 14. (April 16). MB & VT
Energy Sustainability Indicators, The Environmental Kuznets Curve, & Case
Studies of Energy Programs in the Developing World
& Project Presentations
 Grossman, G.M., and A.B. Krueger, “Economic growth and the environment,”
Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 110, 1995, pp. 353-377.
 Carson, Richard T., “The Environmental Kuznets Curve: Seeking Empirical
Regularity and Theoretical Structure,” Review of Environmental Economics and
Policy, Volume 4, Issue 1, Winter 2010, pp. 3-23.
 Brown, Marilyn A., Frank Southworth, and Andrea Sarzynski. 2009. “The
Geography of Metropolitan Carbon Footprints,” Policy and Society 27: 285-304.
 Sovacool, Benjamin K. and Marilyn A. Brown. 2010. “Twelve Metropolitan
Carbon Footprints: A Preliminary Comparative Global Assessment,” Energy
Policy 38(9): 4856-4869.
Week 15 (April 23) VT & MB
Spring 2014
Review of Key Concepts
& Project Presentations

Brown and Sovacool. 2011. Chapter 9: “Conclusions” pp. 317-330.
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