Browsing by Subject "Climate change mitigation"

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    Assessing a Solar Project and a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement Between the Red Lake Nation and the Minnesota Department of Transportation
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2023-03) Chan, Gabriel; Harrington, Elise; Grimley, Matt
    In this report, we analyze the feasibility of a northern Minnesota solar project and accompanying Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) between the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Red Lake Nation. We analyze three sets of benefits for MnDOT: government-to-government relations, environmental, and economic. In government-to-government relations, we find great potential for the VPPA to further a first-of-its-kind Tribal energy project and Tribal sovereignty. We also summarize lessons from other governmental entities in pursuing VPPAs. For environmental benefits, we find the array will avoid between 48,000 and 89,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent gases, resulting in a monetized environmental value of between $1 million and $9.4 million in avoided emissions-related damages. Finally, for economic benefits while we find the array has a net present value (NPV) between a negative $5.5 million and negative $16.5 million to MnDOT, we identify several project adjustments that could increase the value to more than a positive $3 million in NPV. In conclusion, we recommend MnDOT form a "strike team" to develop the project further, communicate the project clearly, and consult with outside experts on further project opportunities.
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    Shifting perspectives: A comparison of travel-time-based and carbon-based accessibility landscapes
    (Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2021) Kinigadner, Julia; Vale, David; Büttner, Benjamin; Wulfhorst, Gebhard
    Undoubtedly, climate change and its mitigation have emerged as main topics in public discourse. While accessibility planning is recognized for supporting sustainable urban and transport development in general, the specific challenge of reducing transport-related greenhouse gas emissions has rarely been directly addressed. Traditionally, accessibility is operationalized in line with the user perception of the transport system. Travel-time-based measures are considered to be closely linked with travel behavior theory, whereas CO2 emissions are not necessarily a major determinant of travel decisions. Given the changed prioritization of objectives, additional emphasis should be placed on the environmental costs of travel rather than solely the user costs. Accessibility analysis could account for this shift in perspectives by using CO2 emissions instead of travel time in the underlying cost function. While losing predictive power in terms of travel behavior compared to other implementations of accessibility, carbon-based accessibility analysis enables a normative understanding of travel behavior as it ought to be. An application in the Munich region visualizes the differences between travel-time-based and carbon-based accessibility by location, transport mode, and specification of the accessibility measure. The emerging accessibility landscapes illustrate the ability of carbon-based accessibility analysis to provide new insights into land use and transport systems from a different perspective. Based on this exercise, several use cases in the context of low-carbon mobility planning are discussed and pathways to further develop and test the method in cooperation with decision-makers are outlined.