UHERO
Michael Roberts
Research Driven Energy Policy
By Carl Bonham, Makena Coffman, and Michael Roberts Hawaii is in the midst of transforming its electricity system into one with a lot more renewable…
Net Metering Agreements in Hawaii
By Makena Coffman and Michael Roberts In Hawaii, like most U.S. states, households installing rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems receive special pricing under net-metering agreements.…
Balancing Opportunities and Costs in Hawaii’s Increasingly Green Grid
Hawaii’s tourism-dependent economy and oil-fired power plants make it the most oil dependent state in the United States. It also has the nation’s highest electricity…
Do Energy Efficiency Standards Hurt Consumers? Evidence from Household Appliance Sales
We examine the effect of energy efficiency standards on the clothes washers market using a constant-quality price index constructed from same-model price changes for a…
Who Really Benefits from Agricultural Subsidies? Evidence from Field-level Data
If agricultural subsidies are largely capitalized into farmland values then expanding support for agriculture may not benefit farmers who rent the land they farm. Suddenly…
Up to $100 Million in Monthly Electricity Savings for Hawai’i After Oil Prices Plummet
By Karl Jandoc and Michael Roberts As of January 12, the Brent Crude Price was just a shade under $47 per barrel. The last time…
Liquefied Natural Gas: A cleaner fossil fuel that’s cheaper than oil and pairs well with renewable energy
By Sherilyn Wee and Michael Roberts Spurred by low natural gas prices and a maturing market for liquefied natural gas (LNG), Hawai‘i Gas received their…
Managing a Grid with Green Energy
By Michael Roberts The calculator in the last post shows that installing solar is an incredibly valuable investment for households and businesses with the physical…
The Costs and Benefits of Installing Solar PV
By Michael Roberts Renewable energy presents many new challenges at the system level. Before we get to that, it helps to first look at things…