Official MES Newsletter: Spring 2025
Macro Energy Systems
Macro-Energy Systems Community Newsletter
Spring 2025
Recent Research Highlights
Modeling the impact of electric vehicle adoption and charging strategies in ERCOT Environmental Research: Energy Murillo, Potts, and Castellanos In this work, UT Austin's RESET Lab investigates how various light-duty EV adoption rates and charging strategies (i.e., managed and unmanaged) affect the electricity generation capacity mix, hourly dispatch, transmission capacity, carbon emissions, and costs in ERCOT. Rapid technological progress in white light-emitting diodes and its source in innovation and technology spillovers Nature Energy Weinold, Kolesnikov, and Anadón Weinold, Kolesnikov, and Anadón evaluate the different mechanisms that have contributed to the improvement of white light–emitting diodes. They evaluate the role of research and development, with a particular focus on technology spillovers, along with other mechanisms of technological change. This paper is the focus of an associated piece by Dr. Micah Ziegler (also in Nature Energy) which provides context and commentary. In this piece, Ziegler describes how understanding of the mechanisms of technological change can improve "engineering designs, public policies, and business strategies, and thereby accelerate the rate of innovation for solutions to climate change and other sustainability challenges.” | Offshore wind manufacturing, deployment, and the just transition in Texas Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews Fan, Potts, and Castellanos In this work, UT Austin's RESET Lab assesses the job creation and economic impacts of offshore wind manufacturing in Texas, the number and types of jobs that would be created, and the overall economic impact of offshore wind hubs development. In addition, the impact on ERCOT's grid is evaluated. The energy supply security pyramid: A quantitative framework for planning and policy making iScience Sulzer et al. Energy security is a complex topic often assessed through many indicators. However, the large number of complex metrics make effective communication and prioritization difficult. This article introduces the Energy Supply Security Pyramid—a five-level framework integrating conceptual and quantitative tools to assess supply security. Using Switzerland as a case study, it shows how the Pyramid can guide assessments and facilitate prioritization. |
Community News
MES is excited to announce the next event in our speaker series! Please join us on Tuesday, July 1st at 10 AM ET. The session will focus on “Supply Chains in Energy Systems.” We will explore how macro-energy systems analysis can better capture critical supply chain risks, such as mineral constraints and geopolitics, and what modeling practices can best inform policy for a resilient energy transition. The discussion will be moderated by Gang He (Baruch College, CUNY). Please register for the event here: Registration Link |
Ways to get involved with MES: If you haven’t already, make sure to join our community Slack workspace! MES is hosting a monthly virtual coffee chat on Slack, where channel members will be randomly paired with a fellow community member for a 30 minute chat to learn about their interests in MES. Join #virtual-coffee if interested! And don’t forget to look for and post jobs on our Jobs Board! |
Joseph DeCarolis, an original MES Steering Committee Member and an internationally recognized leader with technical expertise in energy systems, climate change, computing, and public policy, has been named Head of the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University effective November 1, 2025. Professor DeCarolis served as the Administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration from 2022-2025 and is currently a professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University, where he has served since 2008. Prof. Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez (UC San Diego) has been selected as the winner of this year's Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Energy Systems Division. |
Submit your news for the next newsletter!If you have a submission for the next MES newsletter, fill out this google form! The deadline for submissions is 7/31 for the Summer edition! |
Macro-Energy Systems
https://www.macroenergysystems.org/