Science Seminar

ERCOT Policy Analyst at Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) The energy transition represents an era-defining moment for governments, capital markets, and consumers of electricity. Global carbon emissions, electricity consumption, electric vehicle adoption, oil demand, average temperature, and renewable energy production all reached record highs in 2023. In Texas, lawmakers, market participants, and investors are navigating both extreme weather events and changing fundamentals of energy supply and demand by implementing novel market designs (e.g., expanded reserve pricing, firm fuel programs, price responsive demand, etc.) and out-of-market incentives (e.g., Texas Energy Fund). This seminar will review the impacts of the global energy transition on the state of Texas by exploring tradeoffs between market efficiency, resilience, reliability, and decarbonization.