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Applied Economics Clinic
  • Home
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    • Our People
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    • 990 Filings
    • Governance and Disclosure Statements
  • Our Work
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    • Newsletters
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Puerto Rico’s 2019 and 2021 Greenhouse Gas Inventories Report

Client: Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER)

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD, Joshua R. Castigliego, Chirag T. Lala, Sachin Peddada,
Jay Bonner, Eliandro Tavares, Sumera Patel, Alicia Zhang, Myisha Majumder,
David Jiang, and Jordan Burt; Ramón Bueno and Kari Hewitt

July 2023

On behalf of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), AEC staff and partners prepared a report that presents the results for Puerto Rico’s 2019 and 2021 greenhouse gas emission inventories together with 20-year emissions projections under several scenarios and sensitivities. AEC established a methodology for conducting greenhouse gas emission inventories in Puerto Rico, which went through a comprehensive quality assurance and quality control process by an Expert Panel (established for this project and composed of experts in greenhouse gas emissions measurement and Puerto Rico climate and energy issues). Using AEC’s Emissions Measurement Inventory Tool (AEC-EMIT), AEC calculates net greenhouse gas emissions released in Puerto Rico’s seven emitting sectors: (1) Power Supply, (2) Direct Fuel, (3) Industrial Processes and Product Use, (4) Transportation, (5) Agriculture, (6) Forestry and Other Land Use, and (7) Waste Management.

Puerto Rico’s 2019 Climate Change Mitigation, Adaption, and Resiliency Law (i.e., Puerto Rico Act No. 33-2019) measures mandated emission reductions against an estimated 2005 emissions level of 53.3 MMT CO₂e and calls for a 50 percent reduction relative to 2005 emissions by 2025 (26.7 MMT CO₂e). Emission levels achieved in 2021 (34.3 MMT CO₂e) represent a 36 percent reduction in emissions from 2005 levels. With 14 percentage points and 4 years left to go, Puerto Rico must find another 7.7 MMT CO₂e to eliminate. Based on the Business-as-Usual projection in AEC’s analysis, Puerto Rico’s greenhouse gas emission levels will reach their mandated levels (50 percent of 2005 levels, or 26.7 MMT CO₂e) in 2035, 10 years later than the required 2025 target.

Based on the analysis presented in this report, AEC has identified several key recommendations to further facilitate Puerto Rico’s work towards achieving its ambitious and necessary decarbonization goals set out in Puerto Rico’s 2019 Climate Change Mitigation, Adaption, and Resiliency Law, including: (1) better data collection, (2) increased climate progress reporting (3) reprioritization in rebuilding its electric sector, and (4) a new focus in transportation planning.

Link to Report (English)

Link to Report (Español)

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tags: Chirag-Lala, Liz-Stanton, Elizabeth A. Stanton, Joshua-Castigliego, Sachin Peddada, Jay Bonner, Eliandro-Tavares, Sumera-Patel, Alicia-Zhang, Myisha-Majumder, David-Jiang, Jordan Burt
categories: Clean Energy Transition, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Puerto Rico
Thursday 07.27.23
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Testimony on Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) Least Cost Integrated Resource Plan

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Client: Environmental Defense Fund

Liz Stanton, PhD

October 2019

On behalf of Environmental Defense Fund, Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD provided Applied Economics Clinic expert testimony to Docket 2018-0001 before the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau. In her testimony, Dr. Stanton recommended that the Energy Bureau reject Puerto Rico’s energy utility’s (PREPA) June 2019 IRP and require that the Utility submit a new IRP under a set of outlined instructions and conditions. Dr. Stanton concluded that PREPA must constrain all scenarios to follow Puerto Rican Law, must submit model runs with higher demand forecasts, must issue an all resource RFP for new generation and peak-shifting resources, and must hold stakeholder meetings for the general public for future IRPs, including meetings in Spanish.

Link to 2018-0001 Testimony

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tags: Liz-Stanton
categories: Renewable Energy, IRP, Utilities, Puerto Rico
Friday 10.25.19
Posted by Liz Stanton
 

Puerto Rico Integrated Resource Plan: Lessons from Hawaii's Electric Sector

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Client: Earthjustice

Authors: Bryndis Woods, Eliandro Tavares, Sagal Alisalad and Liz Stanton, PhD

October 2019

Researcher Bryndis Woods, Assistant Researchers Eliandro Tavares and Sagal Alisalad and Clinic Director and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD prepared a report that compares Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA’s) most recent version of its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), released in June 2019, to best practices distilled from the most recent Hawaiian electric sector planning process, which was finalized in 2016. The report presents the parallels between Hawaii and Puerto Rico’s island electric systems and outlines how important lessons from the Hawaiian context have the potential to improve Puerto Rico’s planning process, ensure that PREPA is in compliance with Puerto Rico’s climate laws, and provide the lowest possible rates to consumers.

Link to Report

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tags: Bryndis-Woods, Eliandro-Tavares, Sagal-Alisalad, Liz-Stanton
categories: Renewable Energy, IRP, Utilities, Hawaii, Puerto Rico
Wednesday 10.23.19
Posted by Liz Stanton