Michigan City Generating Station Closure: Environmental Implications and Community Benefits

Client: Just Transition Northwest Indiana (JTNWI)

Authors: Bryndis Woods, PhD, Deja Garraway, Lila McNamee, Sumera Patel, Elizabeth A. Stanton, PhD

December 2024

On behalf of Just Transition Northwest Indiana (JTNWI), AEC assessed the retirement of Michigan City Generating Station (MCGS)—a 93-year-old coal-fired power plant located on the southern shore of Lake Michigan in Michigan City, Indiana. AEC's report presents the environmental and community impacts of MCGS' retirement, outlines opportunities for just and equitable redevelopment of the MCGS site, presents eight related case studies of coal plant redevelopment efforts, and makes five recommendations for a just transition for Michigan City to ensure that the communities most impacted by MCGS’ operations benefit from redevelopment. 

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Assessing the Net Emissions Benefit for a Clean Energy Facility in Wareham, Massachusetts

Client: New Leaf Energy, Inc.

Authors: Joshua Castigliego and Sumera Patel

November 2024

On behalf of New Leaf Energy, Inc., Senior Researcher Joshua R. Castigliego and Assistant Researcher Sumera Patel conducted analysis estimating the net change in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions resulting from New Leaf Energy’s proposed clean energy facility on Maple Springs Road in Wareham, Massachusetts. This proposed facility will house solar photovoltaics (PV) and an energy storage system (ESS) (collectively referred to as “PV+ESS facility”) and require 32.7 acres of land to be cleared of trees to make way for its development.

AEC estimated net emission savings of this proposed PV+ESS facility as the sum of “positive” CO2 emissions savings (i.e., reduced emissions) from the electric grid due to renewable energy generation and “negative” CO2 emissions (i.e., increased emissions) due to land-use conversion from forestland to grassland. Combined, these two effects result in substantial net emissions savings (i.e., reduced emissions) resulting from the proposed New Leaf Energy facility: AEC’s analysis shows that the facility’s grid emissions reductions would be roughly 4.4 times greater than its added emissions due to site development.

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Affordable Housing and Energy Resilience in Lynn, Massachusetts: Community Land Trusts and Microgrids

Client: Neighbor to Neighbor

Authors: Deja Garraway, Lila McNamee, Sumera Patel, and Elizabeth A. Stanton, PhD

July 2024

On behalf of Neighbor to Neighbor, Researcher Deja Garraway, Research Assistant Lila McNamee, Assistant Researcher Sumera Patel, and Principal Economist Liz Stanton, PhD prepared a report discussing the potential benefits of community land trusts and community microgrids in the City of Lynn, Massachusetts. In particular, AEC finds that community land trusts and microgrids provide an opportunity to improve affordable housing outcomes for low-to-moderate income communities in the City of Lynn by, for example, supporting more permanent affordable housing, encouraging community empowerment and counteracting gentrification-induced displacement.

AEC offers four recommendations for Lynn communities to take ownership of their electric production, create long-term sustainable housing options, and provide homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income communities:

1. Promote awareness and knowledge of the community land trust and microgrid models,

2. Build capacity by providing funding to bring projects to scale,

3. Promote the development of affordable housing options with land acquisition, and

4. Foster long-term sustainability of community land trusts and microgrids.

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Home Heating in Massachusetts: What Influences Future Costs?

Client: Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET)

Author: Tanya Stasio, PhD, Joshua R. Castigliego, Sumera Patel, and Elizabeth A. Stanton, PhD

March 2024

On behalf of the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), Researchers Tanya Stasio and Joshua R. Castigliego, Assistant Researcher Sumera Patel, and Senior Economist Elizabeth A. Stanton prepared a white paper that estimates the average home heating costs faced by Massachusetts households using different heating technologies.

This March 2024 AEC white paper updates the home heating cost analysis conducted in AEC’s January 2021 white paper; both analyses present operating costs only, excluding the costs of purchasing or maintaining heating equipment. Updated analysis, based on the most recent data and cost projections, finds that heating with networked geothermal and ground-source heat pumps is less expensive than heating with gas-fired furnaces today and can be expected to remain so through 2050. Our findings regarding air-source heat pumps, however, point to more questions than answers: Changes in gas and electric prices over the past few years reversed our earlier findings, suggesting that notoriously uncertain forecasts of future fuel prices are of paramount importance in understanding the likely impacts of ASHP adoption on household finances.

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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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