{"429721":{"#nid":"429721","#data":{"type":"news","title":"States Can Lower Electric Bills with Clean Power Plan","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty\/bio\/brown\u0022\u003EMarilyn Brown\u003C\/a\u003E, Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Public Policy\u003C\/strong\u003E, released a report along with graduate students Gyungwon Kim and Alexander Smith detailing the way in which Georgia Tech will evaluate alternative low-carbon electricity pathways that can be implemented nationwide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe U.S. electric system faces an array of challenges. Sluggish demand growth and the rise of solar power challenge the ability of utilities to recover their costs. The digital economy requires reliable power quality, and growing cyber threats call for increased investments in grid security. On top of these issues, global climate disruption suggests that energy systems need to be transformed. As a result, most forecasts predict that electricity bills will rise significantly over the next several decades.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn response to these issues, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology examined options for the power industry\u2019s future. The report will \u201chelp states define their preferred approach for complying with proposed carbon pollution regulations,\u201d said Marilyn Brown, the project\u2019s lead investigator.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe report, \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/publications\/working-papers\/low-carbon-electricity-pathways-us-and-south-assessment-costs-and\u0022\u003ELow-Carbon Electricity Pathways for the U.S. and the South\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d examines two key issues: how states can reduce carbon pollution in the most cost-effective way and how different options impact household electricity bills.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTo minimize costs, the South needs to reduce its coal consumption more rapidly, continue to expand its gas-fired power plants, but temper this growth with aggressive policies to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy,\u201d Brown said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project took a turn when last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first ever carbon pollution standards for existing power plants (known as the Clean Power Plan). Since states have considerable latitude to define their preferred response, they are vigorously debating the pros and cons of different options.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing state-of-the-art modeling, Georgia Tech identified least-cost clean power pathways that would lower household electricity bills and reduce carbon pollution. This combination may not seem intuitive to some, but it is good news for states across the South and the nation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis work provides the type of analytic basis that is needed to inform policymaking and will guide the future of the power industry for decades,\u201d said Tim Lieuwen, director of the Strategic Energy Institute at Georgia Tech. \u201cGeorgia Tech plays an important role as honest broker in national policy discussions, and we will continue to support decision makers through these types of analyses.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOriginally featured by the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMarilyn Brown identified least-cost clean power pathways that would lower household electricity bills and reduce carbon pollution.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Marilyn Brown identified least-cost clean power pathways that would lower household electricity bills and reduce carbon pollution."}],"uid":"27498","created_gmt":"2015-07-30 11:05:30","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:19","author":"Rachel Miles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-07-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"405651":{"id":"405651","type":"image","title":"Marilyn Ann Brown","body":null,"created":"1449254135","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:35:35","changed":"1507036844","gmt_changed":"2017-10-03 13:20:44","alt":"","file":{"fid":"76092","name":"marilynbrownweb.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/marilynbrownweb.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/marilynbrownweb.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":47537,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/marilynbrownweb.jpg?itok=HzcZ-oy7"}}},"media_ids":["405651"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/spp.gatech.edu\/publications\/working-papers\/low-carbon-electricity-pathways-us-and-south-assessment-costs-and","title":"Low-Carbon Electricity Pathways for the U.S. and the South"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"213","name":"energy"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"167070","name":"serve\u2022learn\u2022sustain"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"},{"id":"83491","name":"utilities"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404.894.6016\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}