Future Power Markets Forum launches new website on electricity market

The Future Power Markets Forum launched a new website on electricity market structure and design called powermarkets.org.

The site features commentary from experts on key issues that the power markets industry is expected to face over the next 15 years. It also includes a library of research related to power market design. The project began back in May as the forum sought to answer the question: What should power markets look like in the future with a high penetration of low variable cost resources?

The project is led by David Hill and Cheryl LaFleur, both of the Columbia University SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy, along with Benjamin Hobbs, of the Johns Hopkins University Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, and Rob Gramlich of Grid Strategies.

“Today, changes in the power sector present tremendous opportunity for new business models, new financing solutions, and new technologies to achieve a decarbonized energy future,” Jason Bordoff, professor of practice in international affairs and founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA. “The Future Power Markets Forum will help build an understanding of how we can structure and design power markets in the future that are efficient, reliable, low-cost and low-carbon, led by experts like David, Cheryl, Ben, and Rob, and we’re proud that the Center on Global Energy Policy is a thought partner on this important project.”

The forum will highlight proposals for efficient, reliable wholesale power market design for a low-carbon electricity system. Also, it will continue to collect expert commentary and build on the research library.

“The need to mitigate the climate and health impacts of emissions of all types, including carbon dioxide and fine particulate matter, from power production is a crucial issue facing the planet,” Peter Winch, professor of international health and co-chair of the Johns Hopkins Sustainability Leadership Council, said. “If we seek to obtain the full environmental and economic benefits of the coming wave of solar, wind, and other renewable energy, we must give careful thought to implementing effective market incentives for motivating efficiency in decisions about where, when, and what kind of carbon-free resources are built and operated. This Forum provides a new avenue for the top experts in the field to work together on addressing those market design issues head on.”