Energy Bite 
Karen Clay, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon, explains how energy technologies can change the price of natural gas around the world.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Growing global liquids inventories reflect lower crude oil prices from the Energy Information Administration
The Renewable Energy Data Book from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Transcript
HOST: How have some new energy technologies influenced the global price of energy? On this week’s Energy Bite, Clay Clay, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has some answers.
CLAY: Although prices for natural gas in the United States are low, the same is not true in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America where the price is two and a half to three times more expensive. This is because natural gas must be converted to liquefied natural gas, known as LNG to be transported beyond North America. The number of US plants able to produce LNG is low but more plants are being built and this will eventually lower the price.
HOST: What about transporting electricity?
CLAY: Transportation of energy in the form of electricity is easier. New underwater high-voltage direct current electricity cables linking various European countries has led to market integration and lower prices. For example, Norway exports electricity to the Netherlands. This has reduced air pollution and global climate change emissions in the Netherlands as the power from Norway is typically from hydropower and it is displacing coal. However, it has raised the electricity price in Norway and lowered the price in the Netherlands. The same might occur in the United States with natural gas. If natural gas exports increase, so might the price of natural gas in the U.S.
HOST: Are there price differences like that in North America?
CLAY: In North America, the price for natural gas is essentially the same in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Prices for natural gas in Mexico has have decreased as the country now gets its natural gas from the United States as opposed to Canada.
HOST: Are you worried about natural gas prices increasing if overseas exports increase? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
Karen Clay, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon explains how our commercial buildings can affect energy consumption.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Commercial Building Electricity Consumption Dynamics: The Role of Structure Quality, Human Capital, and Contract Incentives by Matthew E. Kahn, Nils Kok, John M. Quigley, National Bureau of Economic Research.
Average size of new commercial buildings in United States continues to grow from the Energy Information Administration
Annual Energy Outlook, “Market Trends: Electricity Demand from the Energy Information Administration
Transcript
HOST: What can happen when businesses implement new technologies to increase their energy efficiency? On this week’s Energy Bite, Karen Clay, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University explains.
CLAY: Most electricity is consumed in commercial buildings, and the average size of these buildings has increased over time. From 2003 to 2012, the number of these buildings has increased 14% and floor space 21%, and electricity consumption is expected to increase 27% by 2040. Therefore, managing the energy used in these buildings is an important part of the nation’s energy management strategy.
HOST: What factors influence energy management in commercial buildings?
CLAY: A study conducted by National Bureau of Economic Research found that although new energy technologies can reduce the electricity used for heating, cooling, and ventilation of these buildings, these savings are offset by the responses of the tenants of the building and large scale purchases of appliances. As a result, new buildings, unlike homes, have higher consumption than older buildings.
HOST: Do your energy efficiency habits change depending on whether or not you pay directly for that energy? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
Karen Clay, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon University discusses how competitive renewable energy sources are with fossil fuels.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Levelized cost comparisons help explain value of various electric generation technologies from the Energy Information Administration
Levelized Cost and Levelized Avoided Cost of New Generation Resources in the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 from the Energy Information Administration
Levelized Cost of Energy Calculator from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Transcript
HOST: Can the current price of energy influence our use of new energy technologies? On this week’s Energy Bite, Karen Clay, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has some answers.
CLAY: So that all forms are energy can be compared on the same basis, the Energy Information Administration computes something called the levelized cost of energy.
In its most recent analysis, the agency projects that although natural gas and geothermal energy costs will continue to be the lowest cost option available, wind power is becoming more competitive. The lowest projected levelized cost in 2019 for natural gas is 66.3 dollars per megawatt-hour and for unsubsidized wind power, it is 80.3 dollars per megawatt hour. The cost of coal, which is often considered to be one of the lowest cost fuels, is expected to be higher than both natural gas and wind at 95.6 dollars per megawatt-hour.
Hydraulic fracturing for the production of shale gas is another significant and growing user of water. In fact, almost every aspect of energy production and use has an impact on water.
HOST: What are the uncertainties in this analysis?
CLAY: A key uncertainty is the price of natural gas. At one time, the price of natural gas was much higher. With hydraulic fracturing, it is now much lower than in the past. The cost of natural gas, however, is expected to rise over time as demand for natural gas increases and more of it is accessible as new pipelines from shale gas regions are constructed. This would reduce the cost difference between natural gas and wind power, making wind power more competitive.
HOST: Were you surprised to see how close the price of wind power is to natural gas? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
How does tax policy affect our energy technology decisions? Karen Clay, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon University explains.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Trends and Forecasts of Highway User Revenues from the Federal Highway Administration
Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update from the U.S. Energy Information Administration
Transcript
HOST: How can tax policy influence which energy technologies we use? On this week’s Energy Bite, Karen Clay, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has some answers.
CLAY: Tax policies such as taxes and tax credits influence both the energy technologies we use and the taxes we pay. These policies can be “carrots or sticks” that either encourage or discourage certain forms of energy.
Hydraulic fracturing for the production of shale gas is another significant and growing user of water. In fact, almost every aspect of energy production and use has an impact on water.
HOST: Can tax policies increase some forms of energy production?
CLAY: One study found that the national wind production credit has increased wind energy deployment by 1.4 gigawatts annually, and that it influenced the effectiveness of state polices that set state targets for these technologies.
HOST: What are the challenges with tax policies focused on energy technologies?
CLAY: Part of the price we pay at the pump for gasoline is for taxes. The federal portion of those taxes, about 18 cents per gallon, is used for projects supported by the highway trust fund. Due to the use of energy efficient technologies in vehicles, consumers use less gasoline than in the past and thus pay lower total gasoline taxes. Due to concerns about inefficient funds for the nation’s highways, some policymakers have proposed increasing this rate.
HOST: Would you be willing to pay more per gallon of gasoline to support the nation’s roads? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
From cooling power plants to use in hydraulic fracturing, our energy production has a great effect on water resources. Jared Cohon, Director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and President Emeritus of Carnegie Mellon University, explains how we can reduce the negative effects of energy production on our water supply.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Thermoelectric Power Water Use from the U.S. Geological Survey
How much water does a fracking well require? from the U.S. Geological Survey
Transcript
HOST: What are the impacts of energy on water? On this week’s Energy Bite, Jared Cohon, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, has some answers.
COHON: Among the most significant impacts is the need for water to cool thermalelectric power plants that burn coal or natural gas or use nuclear energy. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 41% of all freshwater withdrawals- for all uses, not just energy- in the United States are for cooling at power plants.
Hydraulic fracturing for the production of shale gas is another significant and growing user of water. In fact, almost every aspect of energy production and use has an impact on water.
HOST: What can we do about it?
COHON: One way to lessen energy’s impact on water is to be efficient by recycling and matching sources to their uses. For example, do we have to use pristine river water for hydraulic fracturing? Or could we use acid mine drainage from old coal mines? Second, we should have rigorous standards that require adequate treatment of wastewaters. And, third, by supporting research to explore alternatives to eliminate or significantly reduce water use and to develop new, more effective treatment technologies.
HOST: Are you concerned about the impact of energy on water? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
The full cost of energy isn’t always obvious, and the broad effects of our energy use are not always clear to consumers. Energy Bite expert Jared Cohon, Director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and President Emeritus of Carnegie Mellon University, explores the hidden costs of energy.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use, The National Academies of the Sciences (2010)
Electricity Explained: Electricity and the Environment from the U.S. Energy Information Administration
Energy and You from the Environmental Protection Agency
Power Profiler from the Environmental Protection Agency
Transcript
HOST: What are the hidden costs of energy? On this week’s Energy Bite, Jared Cohon, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, explains.
COHON: When we use energy, we create impacts that we might not realize. For example, much of the electricity that we use in our homes comes from coal-fired power plants. Burning coal creates air pollution which impacts people living in the vicinity or downwind of the plant and global climate change that impacts everyone.
These impacts are called externalities. They represent a hidden cost because, while we get the benefit of using the electricity in our homes, but do not pay for – and likely aren’t even aware of – the damages caused by the power plant.
HOST: How much is this “hidden cost of energy”?
COHON: A National Academy of Sciences committee that I chaired found that burning coal produces $60 billion a year of external impacts, primarily health-related. Fueling our cars with oil accounts for another $60 billion a year, also due to air pollution health impacts. Most economists agree that the best way to deal with these impacts is to put a price on it, so that these costs would be factored into our decisions about our energy use.
HOST: Would you be willing to pay more for your fuel to take into account externalities? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
The more efficient we are with our use of energy, the less we rely on foreign resources. Energy Bite expert Jared Cohon, Director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and former President of Carnegie Mellon University, explores the relationship of energy efficiency to national security.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Energy Conservation Research from RAND
Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use from the National Academies Press
Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States from the National Academies Press
Intelligence Community Assessment on Global Water Security from the U.S. Department of State
Energy Information Administration FAQ: Petroleum Imports
Transcript
HOST: How can maximizing our energy and water efficiency bolster national security? On this week’s Energy Bite, Jared Cohon, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, has some answers.
COHON: Becoming more efficient in the way we use energy and other natural resources has important implications for national security. The more efficient we are with our use of energy, the less oil we import and the less complications related to where that oil comes from – such as the Middle East.
Some think that more wars are fought about oil than any other issue. And even when there is no active conflict, the United States invests significantly to maintain a military posture that protects the Nation’s interests, including its access to energy supplies.
HOST: How does water factor into this?
COHON: If oil has been a major source of conflict up to now, water will be the flash point of the future. Rivers and lakes don’t respect political boundaries. Access to shared water bodies already creates tremendous friction among countries and states. Consider the Jordan River in the Middle East or the Colorado River here in the U.S. And, these tensions will likely get worse as our continued use of fossil fuels alters climate and water patterns—which brings us back to the importance of energy efficiency.
HOST: Would concerns about national security enhance your energy efficiency habits? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
What do we do with dangerous waste from nuclear energy production? Energy Bite expert Jared Cohon, Director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and former President of Carnegie Mellon University, discusses the challenges to disposing of our nuclear waste.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Civilian Nuclear Waste Disposal from the Congressional Research Service
Nuclear and Uranium Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration
Radioactive Waste: Production, Storage, Disposal from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Transcript
HOST: Nuclear energy plants generate waste. How is that waste shipped and stored? On this week’s Energy Bite, Jared Cohon, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, has some answers.
COHON: America has a nuclear waste problem. Every year, commercial nuclear power plants must replace a third of nuclear fuel they use. We have the challenge of managing this spent fuel, along with similar waste from the Nation’s nuclear weapons program and nuclear submarines. This nuclear waste is enough to kill everyone on earth.
HOST: That is astonishing. What’s being done about it?
COHON: Today, nuclear waste is stored at the power plants where it’s generated. The spent fuel rods from are put in big, deep swimming pools of treated water while the rods are still “hot.” After they cool down, which takes years, they are placed in thick metal containers that sit on concrete pads at the plant sites. Waste is rarely shipped, but when it is, it’s in similar storage containers.
The U.S. has been looking for a permanent location for its nuclear waste for more than 30 years. The basic problem is that no one wants a nuclear waste facility in their area. It’s a classic case of what we call NIMBY – or Not in my back yard.
HOST: What do you think should be done with the nation’s nuclear waste? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production of 90.5 WESA Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
Energy Bite expert Jared Cohon, Director of the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and former President of Carnegie Mellon University, explains how the National Energy Labs started and the kinds of work they do.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories
The Department of Energy National Laboratories website
Transcript
HOST: Perhaps you’ve heard of national energy labs like Los Alamos and Sandia. Have you ever wondered what they do? On this week’s Energy Bite, Jared Cohon, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, has some answers.
COHON: The origin of the national energy labs was the Manhattan project that focused on the development and manufacturing of nuclear weapon systems. Over time, the mission of the labs expanded to other specialized science and technology capabilities.
Today, the United States has 17 national energy labs. Three from the nuclear weapons era such as New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Lab. Four applied labs such as Pittsburgh’s National Energy Technology Lab focused on oil and gas research and Colorado’s National Renewable Energy Lab. And there are ten science labs that conduct basic research in physics.
HOST: How have the labs been criticized?
COHON: Some have criticized the labs as too expensive and too duplicative in their activities. While some of this criticism is fair, a committee I chair for DOE has found the labs play an important role in providing research abilities that no one university or corporation could financially maintain on its own.
HOST: What do you think of our national energy labs? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
ANNOUNCER: Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
Automated vehicles can be safer and make life more efficient than conventional vehicles, but all of that affects energy use. Energy expert Jeremy Michalek, professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Director of the Vehicle Electrification Group, tells us how it works.
Listen
Respond
Learn more
“Autonomous Vehicle Technology: A Guide for Policymakers” from the RAND Corporation.
The GM Collaborative Research Lab at Carnegie Mellon University
“Self-driving Cars Save Lives and Energy” from IEEE
“Self-driving Cars Could Cut Greenhouse Gas Pollution” from Scientific American
“Self-driving Cars: The Next Revolution” from KPMG
Transcript
HOST: Will automated vehicles help save energy? On this week’s Energy Bite, Jeremy Michalek, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, has some answers.
MICHALEK: Some of today’s vehicles already offer early levels of automation, such as adaptive cruise control or lane-centering. When vehicles are automated, they may cause fewer accidents and less congestion, while improving driving efficiency, so energy use could be significantly reduced.
HOST: What about fully autonomous self-driving vehicles?
MICHALEK: With fully autonomous vehicles it’s anybody’s guess. For example, safe 1-seater driverless taxis could revolutionize the commute, enable cities to pack more vehicles per lane, and eliminate the need for a parking lot in front of every business.
But they could also encourage people to live farther from work, spend a large portion of their day in transit, and they could increase travel demand from groups like children or those with disabilities.
Given these massive potential changes, it’s too early to know whether autonomous vehicles will use more or less energy.
HOST: Would you purchase a vehicle with automated features to save energy? Take our poll, see the results, and ask your energy questions at Energy Bite dot org.
Energy Bite is a co-production between 90.5 WESA and Carnegie Mellon’s’ Scott Institute for Energy Innovation.
Energy Bite 