Energy Policy

Meet JR DeShazo, the LBJ School's new dean

Aug. 24, 2021
In July, The University of Texas at Austin named JR DeShazo the 12 th dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a school producing graduates who are both skilled policy analysts and talented leaders of public and nonprofit organizations. DeShazo comes to the Forty Acres from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he has led both the Department of Public Policy and the Luskin Center for Innovation as its founding director for more than a decade.

A federal tax credit could incentivize (and accelerate) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

July 14, 2021
A current federal tax credit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by storing carbon dioxide from industrial sources could be critical to help the U.S. reach end of decade carbon neutrality targets while yielding economic benefits, particularly on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin published today in Energy Policy .

Texas winter blackout analysis sheds light on ERCOT's summer warnings

June 17, 2021
The recent Texas freeze left more than 10 million people without electricity at its peak, some for several days, and economic losses from lost output and damage are estimated to be as high as $130 billion in Texas alone. Now, high summer temperatures and drought-induced water limitations for cooling have forced the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to issue a warning to Texas to reduce electricity use through the rest of the week.

Texas winter blackout analysis sheds light on ERCOT's summer warnings

June 17, 2021
The recent Texas freeze left more than 10 million people without electricity at its peak, some for several days, and economic losses from lost output and damage are estimated to be as high as $130

When missions align, community-based organizations can lead the way on community solar in Texas, new study finds

Sept. 22, 2020
Affordable solar energy can create significant benefits to energy consumers, but Texas is behind the nation in bringing these benefits to all energy consumers. Community-based organizations can help lead the way, according to a new roadmap for community solar in Texas from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

When missions align, community-based organizations can lead the way on community solar in Texas, new study finds

Sept. 22, 2020
"This roadmap represents a promising deployment strategy for solar in Texas." —Varun Rai, LBJ School

Energy Markets in Times of Crisis

April 23, 2020
LBJ Professor Dr. Aldo Flores-Quiroga, the former deputy secretary of energy for hydrocarbons at Mexico's Ministry of Energy, spoke with Marianne Kah, the former chief economist at ConocoPhillips and a past president of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics to look at the impact on oil markets brought on by the decrease in oil demand due to COVID-19.

Oil prices plunge as Mexico ditches Saudi-Russia production cut plans

April 10, 2020
In a story outlining the current world oil production situation, LBJ's Aldo Flores-Quiroga , the former Mexican deputy oil minister who negotiated OPEC+ deals from 2016 to 2018, weighs in on what...

Sheila Olmstead

Professor of Public Affairs and Dean Rusk Chair

Sheila Olmstead is a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin (UT), a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future (RFF) in Washington, DC and a senior fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Mont. From 2016 to 2017, she served as the senior economist for energy and the environment at the President's Council of Economic Advisers.

Before joining UT in 2013, Dr. Olmstead was a senior fellow (2013) and fellow (2010–13) at RFF, as well as associate professor (2007–10) and assistant professor (2002–07) of environmental economics at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is currently an editor of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. She has also served as vice president and a member of the board of directors of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, as associate editor of Water Resources Research, as co-editor of Environmental and Resource Economics, book review editor of Water Economics and Policy, and as editorial council member for the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Dr. Olmstead holds a Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University (2002), a master's in public affairs from The University of Texas at Austin (1996) and a B.A. from the University of Virginia (1992).

Varun Rai

Professor of Public Affairs

Varun Rai is a professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where he directs the Energy Systems Transformation Research Group, and in the Mechanical Engineering department. His interdisciplinary research at the interface of energy systems, behavioral sciences, complex systems and public policy focuses on enabling a broad diffusion of sustainable energy technologies globally. Dr. Rai has published numerous journal articles, including in Applied Energy, Energy Policy, Energy Research & Social Science, Environmental Research Letters, Global Environmental Change, Nature Climate Change and PLOS ONE.

His research has been presented at several important forums, including the United States Senate Briefings, Global Economic Symposium and Climate One at Commonwealth Club, and has been discussed in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Bloomberg News, among other venues. He serves on the editorial boards of The Electricity Journal and Energy Research & Social Science, for which he is also an associate editor. Dr. Rai was a Global Economic Fellow in 2009 and, during 2013–15, he was a commissioner for the vertically integrated electric utility Austin Energy (~$1.4 billion revenue in 2015). In 2016 the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) awarded him the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize, which "was established to honor persons who, at under the age of 40, have made a distinguished contribution to the field of public policy analysis and management." Dr. Rai is the former director of the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

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