Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Management
Committee Chair/Advisor
Ahmet Colak
Committee Member
Safak Yucel
Committee Member
M. Serkan Akturk
Committee Member
Lawrence Dean Fredendall
Abstract
The U.S. electricity generation portfolio is transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables like solar and wind, posing challenges due to renewable intermittency. The first chapter examines the relationship between renewable and conventional generation technologies, focusing on operational flexibility. Using panel data from 2002 to 2019, our empirical strategy reveals that flexible generation investments stimulate future wind and solar capacity and respond to current renewable penetration, especially wind energy. This dynamic highlights flexible generation's role in ensuring grid reliability. We also analyze the influence of renewable portfolio standards, market competition, and natural gas infrastructure on investment dynamics.The second chapter explores the economic interplay between intermittent renewables and flexible conventional generation, considering infrastructure development and market competition. Using principal component analysis, k-means clustering, and Tobit models, we find that flexible generation investments boost renewable investments in scenarios with no or similar pre-existing capacities but discourage them in scenarios with dissimilar capacities. These insights have implications for policymakers and investors. In the third chapter, we introduce a continuous measure of flexibility based on power plant startup times to evaluate its impact on renewable investments. Higher flexibility scores attract more renewable investments, particularly wind energy. A 1% increase in regional flexibility correlates with a substantial rise in wind and solar investments. This chapter underscores the critical role of grid flexibility in supporting renewable integration and provides strategic insights for investment decisions and policy formulations. This dissertation highlights the essential role of flexible energy infrastructure in the modern electricity grid's dynamics.
Recommended Citation
Seyed Haeri, Seyed Amin, "Empirical Studies on Flexible and Renewable Investment Interaction in the Modernizing Electricity Grid" (2024). All Dissertations. 3734.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/3734
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1646-4569
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons