Competitive US power markets lowered emissions faster than non-ISO markets

摘要

Power market experts Nov. 23 discussed study results showing that US regions covered by Independent System Operator markets have decarbonized faster than regions outside ISO markets, with power plant costs and natural gas market dynamics also playing a role. “We generally found that regions associated with an ISO reduced their emissions [from power generation] by about 35% from 2005 to 2019 while other regions decreased by about 27%,” Joshua Rhodes, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin and founding partner of consulting firm IdeaSmiths, said during a webinar hosted by nonprofit ConservAmerica.