The data center boom is changing grid conditions quickly—and companies want to go even faster. That provides an opportunity to include demand response—which could be implemented without changing market rules—in negotiations in a way that benefits everyone, Nicholas Institute expert Martin Ross explained to Energywire.

New modeling by Nicholas Institute experts focused primarily on the economic benefits of data center load flexibility, but it also pointed the way to reducing high-emitting natural gas plants by replacing them with solar, wind and battery storage. Author Martin Ross spoke with The Energy Mix about some of the key findings of the analysis and what additional data is needed "to evaluate how the system will respond to the growth in data centers."

Building on previous Duke University research, a new Nicholas Institute report finds flexible data center operations could favor renewable development over gas and result in up to $150 billion in cumulative savings for energy customers. Authors Martin Ross and Jackson Ewing talked with Latitude Media about their analysis and the potential impacts of flexibility to other grid stakeholders—and the grid itself—in the next decade.

Demand flexibility among data centers could reduce the need for new gas-fired generation to supply their energy consumption while driving development of additional renewables and cutting electricity prices, according to a new Nicholas Institute report. Author Martin Ross dug into the details of the findings with RTO Insider.

Even modest measures to curb data centers’ energy use during peak hours could substantially reduce the amount of new generation capacity needed to meet growing U.S. electricity demands over the next decade, according to a new Nicholas Institute report. Modeling of a range of scenarios indicates data center flexibility could also shift investment from natural gas toward renewables and reduce electricity prices for both data centers and retail customers.

The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to scrap regulations finalized under the Biden administration to limit carbon emissions from existing coal and new gas power plants, reports E&E News. “Rescinding the greenhouse gas rule is likely to significantly increase CO2 emissions by shifting generation away from gas and renewables, while increasing generation from existing coal units,” said Martin Ross, senior research economist at the Nicholas Institute.

A new analysis by Energy Pathways USA estimates how electricity demand may change in the next decade and the potential impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Modeled scenarios focused on the potential reversal of an EPA rule limiting emissions from power plants and how quickly renewable resources can be connected to the power grid.

Three Nicholas Institute experts discussed the key findings of a report offering new insights into US energy transition investments during a webinar held Jan. 25. The report from Energy Pathways USA models the intersecting effects of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean electricity development cost increases and the impacts of proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas regulations for fossil fuels.

Modeling from Energy Pathways USA finds the two policies can combine to move the country closer to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, but complementary action is needed to reach the goal by 2050.

A proposal from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector could potentially cut 50 percent of emissions remaining after the Inflation Reduction Act’s incentives for renewable power generation conclude, according to a new report from Energy Pathways USA. Co-authors Martin Ross and Jackson Ewing are available to speak with the media about the report's findings.

A new Duke-based endeavor—Energy Pathways USA—brings together partners across multiple industries to accelerate progress toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in the US. 

The Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI)—a collection of Northeast and mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia—is considering a carbon price on transportation fuels, with revenues to be invested in modernizing the transportation sector. Three organizations—Resources for the Future (RFF), Environmental Defense Fund, and Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions—organized a two-day virtual workshop to inform conversations among the states about how this effort can be most effective.

An article in The Guardian highlights a special issue in the journal Energy Economics featuring carbon tax modeling studies conducted through the Stanford Energy Modeling Forum Project.

Researchers at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions have developed a deep understanding of both the electricity sector’s potential responses to regulatory, market, and technology changes and the emissions consequences of those responses. Our legal analyses and modeling have provided a solid foundation to help states address their own distinct decision-making challenges amid uncertainty, which has only deepened as the Trump administration looks to roll back Obama-era climate policies.

EnergyWire reports that the nationwide cost to states for compliance with U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan will be "relatively inexpensive, with cost increases of 0.1% to 1.0%," according to new modeling released today by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University. That modest increase in costs to consumers is attributed to the "electricity industry's already-underway shift from coal-fired generation to natural gas and renewables generation," said Martin Ross, senior research economist and the lead author of the 73-page report.