Browsing by Author "Sun, Bixuan"

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    How Markets, Policies and Consumers Influence the Transition to Clean Energy
    (2018-08) Sun, Bixuan
    Climate change poses fundamental threats to human populations and ecosystems. Transitioning to a cleaner and more sustainable energy system is central to combating climate change while ensuring universal energy access. However, the transition to clean energy is not free of obstacles. The major players in the energy system, including producers, regulators and consumers, have diverse objectives. My dissertation studies how these players shape the transition to a cleaner, more efficient energy system. The first chapter models the strategic interactions between the dirty producer and the clean producer in the transition to clean technology, showing that the incumbent dirty producer can use market power to deter the entry by the clean producer and suppress R&D investment in clean technology. The impacts of tax and subsidy on peak pollution stock, as well as social welfare, are also analyzed. In the second chapter, I develop a theoretical model of consumers’ responses to energy efficiency policies, and present empirical evidence that shows a negative direct rebound effect for Energy Star dishwashers and a potentially positive direct rebound effect for Energy Star air conditioners. Negative rebound effects can amplify energy savings, while positive rebound effects can offset energy savings from using more efficient technologies. The third chapter uses machine learning methods to study how the impacts of solar rebate programs vary with the presence of other solar policies and demographic characteristics in the U.S. The results show a positive average treatment effect of solar rebate programs with significant heterogeneity. Important factors explaining the heterogeneity include Renewable Energy Portfolio, residential electricity rate and year of installation. Relationships between treatment effect and important explanatory factors display significant non-linearity. These findings suggest that legislative goals are more likely to support rebate programs than other types of solar policies, and certain solar market characteristics are indicative of high program effects.
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    Optimal Bus Scheduling Considering Operating Costs and Emissions: A Multiple Objective, Mixed Integer Programming Framework
    (2015-12) Sun, Bixuan
    Traditional vehicle scheduling problems primarily focus on minimizing operating costs, and few of them consider the environmental impacts of the fleet operation. This study develops a framework that optimizes bus assignments to routes with the objective of minimizing both operating costs and the environmental impacts of emissions. The optimization model is applied in a case study of Metro Transit in Minneapolis/St Paul area. The results show a set of tradeoff relationships between operating costs and emissions. The optimized vehicle assignments generated by the model can significantly reduce both the operating costs and emissions of the current fleet. It is also found that hybrid electric buses were underused by Metro Transit in 2013 and should be assigned to service more often. The analysis can also provide useful supporting information for strategic decisions such as vehicle replacement and purchase.
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    Solar Energy Development and Regulation in Carver County
    (Resilient communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2015) Gurke, Kate; Kirgis, Alison; Sun, Bixuan
    This project was completed as part of a year-long partnership between Carver County and the University of Minnesota’s Resilient Communities Project (http://www.rcp.umn.edu). Increasingly, public and private agencies are proposing renewable energy projects in Carver County, most of the proposals being solar projects. The County had no regulatory guidelines for solar development projects and wanted guidance in establishing effective policies at both municipal and county levels. The goal of the project was to identify best practices and policy tools that can be used by Carver County and local government to accommodate and attract high-quality solar and other alternative energy projects while protecting community interests. In collaboration with project lead Brenda Lano at the Carver County CDA, a team of students in PA 5721: Energy and Environmental Policy, proposed policies to accommodate solar development that addressed community concerns and benefits, and created an educational video about solar development for both the public and decisions-makers. A final report, PowerPoint slides, and poster from the project are available.