Powering Progress: Technology, Policy, and Innovation Across U.S. Regions

In this Energy Policy Seminar, Dr. Marilyn A. Brown, Regents’ and Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the Carter School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, will give a talk entitled "Powering Progress: Technology, Policy, and Innovation Across U.S. Regions." Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Abstract: The United States has recently experienced several energy policy paradigm shifts. Unexpected outcomes can occur when multiple levers are activated and others are retired. Using the Georgia Tech-National Energy Modeling System (GT-NEMS 2023), this talk examines how collections of policy initiatives could interact and how regions might differentially respond. Futures are modelled with and without: (1) the Inflation Reduction Act, (2) expanded electricity load growth from data centers, (3) initiatives to expand high oil and gas supply, (4) stronger light-duty vehicle standards, and (5) support for small modular reactors. Results are characterized along dimensions related to sustainability, affordability, exports and security. GT-NEMS indicates differences in how U.S. regions would likely respond to policy shifts along these dimensions.

Registration: RSVP required. A Harvard University ID is required for in-person attendance; all are welcome to attend via Zoom.

Recording: The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on the Belfer Center's YouTube channel.

Accessibility: To request accommodations or who have questions about access, please contact Liz Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu) in advance of the session.

Co-Sponsors: Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

About the Speaker

Marilyn Brown is a Regents’ and Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the Carter School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She joined Georgia Tech in 2006 after 22 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she led the Lab’s research on energy efficiency, renewables, and the electric grid. 

Her research and teaching focuses on evaluating the impact of energy technology, policy, and market innovations. Early in her career, she co-led several national energy scenario studies including the 5-lab report requested by President Clinton that enabled his signing the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. She also contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports for which the IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. She has written >250 journal articles, six books, and a forthcoming textbook with Valerie Thomas on Energy Technology and Policy Innovation. She has served on 10 National Academies committees and was a Presidential appointee and two-term regulator of the Tennessee Valley Authority (2010-2018). She is among a small number of scientists who have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

At Georgia Tech, she created the Master of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management degree and the Pathways-to-Policy DC Fellows program. She leads the Drawdown Georgia research program in collaboration with numerous partners including a Business Compact of 70 companies. Currently, she is examining the energy affordability and regional outcomes of alternative U.S. policy scenarios, which is the topic of this talk.