Working Papers
Revenue Decoupling for Electric Utilities: Impacts on Prices and Welfare
Under traditional (cost-of-service) electric utility regulation, regulated utilities may not recover their fixed costs when their sales are lower than expected. Revenue decoupling (RD) is a mechanism that allows price adjustments so that the regulated utility recovers its required revenue. This paper investigates the welfare and distributional impacts of RD. Theoretically, we find that the […]
Read MoreMandatory Food Waste Recycling Ordinance for Large Food Establishments in Honolulu, Hawaii
A recent study by two University of Hawaii at Manoa researchers estimates that more than 26% of the available food supply in Hawaii is discarded each year. Food waste occurs at all stages of the food supply chain– after food is harvested, during packaging, shipping and storage, and finally by consumers. Since most of the […]
Read MoreIntegrating Renewable Energy with Time Varying Pricing
With increasing adoption of intermittent sources of renewable energy, effective integration is paramount to fully realizing societal benefits. This study asks the question, how valuable is residential real-time pricing (RTP) in comparison to time-of-use (TOU) rates to absorb increasing sources of intermittent renewable energy? We couple a detailed power sector model with a residential electricity […]
Read MoreWell-Being Assessment in Hawaii Creating community-level composite indices in paradise
The purpose of this report is to provide the necessary foundation for the construction of a comparative well-being index for communities in Hawaii. We begin by comparing the composite index and dashboard approaches to describing well-being. We provide guidance on the selection of indicators, their normalization, the weighting of indicators to form a composite index, […]
Read MoreNot All Regions Are Alike: Evaluating the Effect of Oil Price Shocks on Local and Aggregate Economies
Using a sample of 48 contiguous U.S. states for the period 1973-2013, we study how oil price shocks influence state-level economic growth. The analysis incorporates (1) a structural decomposition of the supply and demand factors that drive the real price of crude oil; (2) heterogeneity of states in terms of their production and consumption of […]
Read MoreWho are Driving Electric Vehicles? An analysis of factors that affect EV adoption in Hawaii
This study uses data on EV registrations by zipcode in Hawaii to analyze a variety of demographic and transportation factors that might affect EV adoption. After controlling for population and gasoline prices, zip codes with higher income and educational attainment are associated with higher levels of EV adoption. Longer commute times also influence EV adoption […]
Read MoreVariable Pricing and the Cost of Renewable Energy
On a levelized-cost basis, solar and wind power generation are now competitive with fossil fuels, and still falling. But supply of these renewable resources is variable and intermittent, unlike traditional power plants. As a result, the cost of using flat retail pricing instead of dynamic, marginal-cost pricing–long advocated by economists–will grow. We evaluate the potential […]
Read MorePublication: Joint Management of an Interconnected Coastal Aquifer and Invasive Tree
Kiawe (Prosopis pallida), a mesquite tree considered invasive in many parts of the world including Hawai’i, has been shown to reduce regional groundwater levels via deep taproots. In areas where aquifers are primary sources of fresh water, kiawe control has the potential to be an integral component of water management planning. We develop an analytical […]
Read MoreDeterminants of Residential Solar Photovoltaic Adoption
Hawaii is a leader in distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) adoption. It has the highest rate of PV-based electricity penetration in the U.S. and rivals global front runners. The policy impetus towards large-scale adoption of renewable energy comes from the Renewable Portfolio Standard, with a target of 40% net electricity sales from renewable sources by the […]
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