Student Workshops

 

The Workshop in International Energy Management and Policy provides second-year IEMP students with the opportunity to apply what they have learned from their coursework, internships and prior work experience to real-world consulting engagements. Students work in teams with a faculty supervisor to assist clients on energy-focused assignments.

 

Spring 2010 Workshops:

Energy and Economic Development

Professors Philip LaRocco and Ellen Morris

In this workshop, the student will develop an understanding and working knowledge of the key parts of the modern energy value chain and how the various links in the chain influence one another through the policies, enterprises, and technologies in developing countries. Emphasis will be placed on the need to strike a balance among energy, environmental, developmental and business objectives and link the result to operative policies and regulatory conditions.  This will require participants to manage ambiguity and see how decisions are made with imperfect information.

By exploring specific transactions and projects, this workshop seeks to achieve a balanced understanding of the role of energy in development, environment and business activities in developing countries.  The workshop is designed to provide you with the tools, methodologies, and exposure to better understand, critique, and influence the development of investment models, implementation plans and policy options regarding the expansion of modern energy. 

The workshop is built on the understanding that a third of the world's population lack access to energy services; that there are deep concerns about a sustainable and secure supply of energy; and that populations with the lowest access to modern energy – populations that have contributed the least to greenhouse gas build-up -- stand to suffer the most from climate alterations and greater competition for scarce energy supplies.  By using a hands-on approach with real-world enterprises, programs, and policies, we will examine the entire value chain for delivering modern energy and understand how and when different types of analysis, synthesis, and interactions can help or harm in building a viable energy enterprise sector.  

Electricity Sector Restructuring
Professor AJ Goulding

Each student will pick a topic and a company or institution. The company should be one at which they, the professor, or other individuals at the Center have personal connections with, so as to facilitate direct contact with company leaders. Students should also choose a backup company or institution, should high level meetings prove impossible to arrange with the student's first choice. Students will be required to choose a diverse set of topics across the electricity supply chain and from different geographic locations, so as to allow for the creation of a useful case library starting from the completion of the first semester. Not all case studies are likely to be deemed worthy of electronic or print publication, however, the purpose of limiting the class size is to assure that there is a high degree of interaction between the professor and students, and to provide a degree of professional social pressure to perform to a high standard.

Strategic Policy Consulting

Professor David Nissen

The client for this workshop is Douglas-Westwood which has assigned to students a project to contribute to the ongoing energy policy debates by combining analysis of major trends with the preparation of an original publication intended for the policy audience. Students are expected to engage in hardnosed research and quantitative and qualitative analysis with a focus on strategic policy.  To that effect, they will notably conduct interviews of government and industry executives, conduct research from which they will be expected to draw policy-relevant conclusions.

Topics to be covered in this research and publication effort can be selected from one of two broad areas: natural gas in the US, and China’s energy outlook. Each of these subjects will be targeted as a separate article for publication.

Development of Energy Efficiency in Ecuador

Faculty Advisor Leah Barrett

Sponsors: Yasuni ITT Initiative

This workshop, sponsored by the Yasuni ITT Intiative, is the result of the recent developments by the Ecuadorian government to forgo extraction of the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oilfields if the international community compensates Ecuador for the projected forgone revenue at an offer of $350 million for 10 years.

The goal of the project is to assist the Ecuadorian government in its realization of the Yasuni ITT Initiative. Specifically, the workshop team will analyze the financial aspects of the project in order to provide useful recommendations for how Ecuador can attract and utilize the necessary financing to keep the Yasuni oil in the ground. This will include assessing different environmental financing mechanisms for their application to the project, and identifying both possible contributors and ways to attract a wider contributor base. The group, at the request of the Technical Team, will also help set up a longer-term framework for how future SIPA workshops can contribute to the Yasuni ITT Initiative and Ecuador’s goal to both develop a new energy matrix and more to a post-oil economy.

 

Past Workshops:

Development
Professors Philip LaRocco and Ellen Morris

The client is E+Co, a non-profit investment company for energy enterprises in developing countries. E+Co's mission is to empower local small and medium enterprises that supply clean, modern and affordable energy to households, businesses and communities in developing countries. E+Co provides a combination of enterprise development services and investment to local enterprises; resulting in access to energy for those using traditional, expensive, unhealthy and unreliable energy as well as the elimination of energy waste by offsetting fossil fuel use.

The workshop will concentrate on an analysis and validation of actual transactions, projects or partnerships aimed at delivering modern energy to un-served or under-served populations in developing countries. The workshop will be a combination of investigation and evaluation of energy investments and small businesses in a set of developing countries combined with fieldwork in Ghana, to get a first-hand view of energy enterprises serving the poor.

The course will be co-taught by Phil LaRocco, E+Co Executive Director and Ellen Morris, from Sustainable Energy Solutions, a consulting firm that advises energy practitioners and programs on energy and development, and more specifically in the area of energy and microfinance.

Admission is limited and interested students should visit CourseWorks for further information.

Electricity sector restructuring
Professor AJ Goulding

Each student will pick a topic and a company or institution. The company should be one at which they, the professor, or other individuals at the Center have personal connections with, so as to facilitate direct contact with company leaders. Students should also choose a backup company or institution, should high level meetings prove impossible to arrange with the student's first choice. Students will be required to choose a diverse set of topics across the electricity supply chain and from different geographic locations, so as to allow for the creation of a useful case library starting from the completion of the first semester. Not all case studies are likely to be deemed worthy of electronic or print publication, however, the purpose of limiting the class size is to assure that there is a high degree of interaction between the professor and students, and to provide a degree of professional social pressure to perform to a high standard.

Urban Energy Policy
Professor Steven Hammer

In late 2007, a new Shanghai-based NGO known as the Joint US-China Cooperation on Clean Energy (JUCCCE) was asked to develop a training module on local energy policymaking that can be inserted into the mayoral training program operated by the China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Dr. Hammer has been assisting JUCCCE with the design of the energy training program.

This workshop will help in the preparation of case studies identifying "best practice" energy efficiency strategies that Chinese cities should pursue. These case studies will cover a wide array of policy areas, including transportation, energy efficient buildings, renewable energy and other clean power generation projects, and project finance.

One key challenge will be defining what constitutes best practice. There are many "best practice" manuals targeting city-level activities, including those prepared by the C40, ICLEI, Energie-Cites, the Rocky Mountain Institute, etc., so our first task will be to survey key urban stakeholders to assess how they define best practice, and learn what type of information they believe should be included in a case study, to make it maximally effective.

Because one of the priorities is to make the case studies China-relevant, students will engage with experts on China to understand how a concept deemed successful in one city may need to change to be a success in China. Students will also be required to consider what type of policy support/changes may be necessary to ensure a project's success.

Once a case study is completed, it will be immediately sent to JUCCCE for translation and posting on the JUCCCE Web site.

Over the course of the term, each student will be responsible for the development of several case studies. To the maximum extent possible, students will be allowed to focus on case study topics of greatest personal or professional interest.