Economics of Energy (371-0-20)

Instructors

Mark Witte

Meeting Info

TBA: Mon, Wed, Fri 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

The material in this course will analyze the functioning and regulation of energy markets, including electricity, oil and natural gas, nuclear energy, and renewables.  A challenging aspect of these markets is the difficulty of storing energy produced when there can be high variability in both the market supply (wind, solar, disrupted oil markets) and market demand (data centers, need for heating and cooling).  A further issue is the tendency for suppliers in these markets to have high fixed costs and very low variable costs, often leading to low levels of competition.)  The material in this class overlaps somewhat with what is covered in Economics 349 Industrial Economics and Economics 350 Monopoly, Competition, and Public Policy.  Prerequisites: ECON 281-0, ECON 310-1, ECON 310-2.

Registration Requirements

Econ 281, 310-1, 310-2 (or equivalents)

Learning Objectives

Students should be able to understand the microeconomics of current energy markets and how they are likely to evolve in the future.

Teaching Method

Two lectures and one TA section per week.

Evaluation Method

Midterm, final, homework

Class Materials (Required)

"Peter Schwarz, Energy Economics. https://www.amazon.com/Economics-Routledge-Textbooks-Environmental-Agricultural/dp/0367755173/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
"

Class Attributes

SoC Individual and Social Behavior Distro

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-requisite: Students must have taken ECON 310-1 or MMSS 211-1 and ECON 281 or ECON 381-1 or MATH 386-1 or IEMS 304 or STAT 350 to successfully enroll in this course.