Publications by Dave Hoppock
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Determining the Least-Cost Investment for an Existing Coal Plant to Comply with EPA Regulations under Uncertainty
February 2012 - by David Hoppock, Dalia Patino Echeverri, and Etan Gumerman
Low natural gas prices and forthcoming Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for coal plant emissions, coal wastes, and thermal-generation cooling systems are forcing utilities and utility regulators to decide whether to retrofit or to retire and replace existing coal plants. To help utility commissions and other interested parties make informed investment decisions and quantify cost risk for ratepayers, researchers at Duke University will make the Risk Based Decision Model available to the public. The model can be employed to estimate the impact of abrupt changes, or “shocks,” and the cost of making “bad” investments that are later abandoned. To demonstrate the model, this paper models the least-cost investment decision for Louisville Gas and Electric’s Mill Creek coal-fired power plant to meet the forthcoming EPA regulations under uncertainty using publicly available data.
Reducing the Energy Penalty Costs of Postcombustion CCS Systems with Amine-Storage
January 2012
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can significantly reduce the amount of CO2 emitted from coal-fired power plants, but its high capital and operating costs are an important barrier. In this paper we analyze one alternative to reduce operating costs of amine-based CCS systems.
Cost of Wind: Comparing Distant Wind Resources to Local Resources in the Midwestern United States
October 2010
Published in the October 2010 issue of Environmental Science and Technology
Residential Energy Efficiency and the American Clean Energy and Security Act HR 2454
July 2009 - by David Hoppock and Jonas Monast
The Influence of Technology and a Carbon Cap on Natural Gas Markets
March 2009 - by Dave Hoppock, Patrick Bean, Eric Williams
Transforming Utility and Ratepayer Support for Electrical Energy Efficiency Nationwide
November 2008 - by David Hoppock, Jonas Monast, and Eric Williams
This paper is one in a series by the CCPP at Duke University to explore the barriers facing large‐scale, low‐carbon electricity generation and increased efficiency in the near‐term – primarily the next ten to fifteen years. Policy drivers may be necessary to provide the right price signal to develop low‐carbon emission technologies, but a price signal alone may not be enough to enable broad‐scale deployment.1 Significant technical, legal, infrastructural, and social barriers prevent the implementation of the necessary technologies and efficiency improvements. The series provides an overview of the barriers and outlines general policy options for lawmakers who wish to speed the development and/or wide‐scale deployment of low-carbon energy technologies. It will include papers focusing on specific energy generation technologies, including renewable energy and energy storage, and energy efficiency, a cost effective near‐term option for displacing carbon‐intensive energy generation.
Transforming Utility and Ratepayer Support for Electrical Energy Efficiency Nationwide
November 2008 - by David Hoppock, Jonas Monast and Eric Williams
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