Urban Energy Management: Strategies and Results in a Complex Environment

First name: 
Thomas
Last name: 
Rokholt
Class Year: 
2014
Advisor: 
Elihu Rubin
Essay Abstract: 
This is an attempt to examine the wide array of energy policy options available to cities in the United States, looking at the local, regional, and national arenas in which cities operate. The paper begins with an overview of the importance of cities to global energy issues and a history of the environment that city officials now operate in. It then examines electricity generation and distribution as exceptions to many of the rules set by other forms of infrastructure, as well as current initiatives by cities to work from these constraints towards the goals set by their leaders. After an overview of the current incentive and policy environment for energy use reduction and renewable energy technologies, this paper examines twenty years of U.S. utility data to determine the efficacy of existing programs.