In chapter 1, I study long term contracts in retail electricity markets. Deregulation of retail electricity markets gives consumer choices over contracts of different lengths. Long term contracts allow consumers to hedge against future price increase, but they can be more expensive than spot contracts. There is little empirical evidence on how consumers value long term contracts. Using a dataset from an incumbent retailer containing 10-year panel of consumer contract choice data, this paper analyzes consumers' valuations of long term contracts. I first document that a significant percentage of consumers actively choose long term contracts when they are more expensive than shorter contracts. To quantify the value of long term contracts and welfare implication of product innovation after retail deregulation, I build and estimate a dynamic model that incorporates risk preference, price expectations and consumer inertia. Counterfactual calculation shows that on average consumers gain about 6% per month from long term contracts. In chapter 2, I quantify the effect of introducing large-scale renewable energy on the wholesale electricity market. Renewable energy capacity has increased in many markets as renewable is crucial to reduce emission in the energy sector. More than 8GWh of wind capacity has been added in Texas between 2014 and 2017. Using hourly data from Texas, I find increasing daily wind energy production results in statistically significant reduction of wholesale electricity price for all hours of the day except 10pm, and the effect is larger during peak hours. Increasing wind production reduces output from both coal and natural gas power plants. Using hours when no transmission limit is binding and load is above 50th percentile in the load distribution, I find increasing hourly wind production reduces offer prices submitted by owners of fossil fuel power plants. In chapter 3, I study the effect of transmission limit on market outcomes. Wholesale electricity markets are often subject to transmission constraints that prevent efficient dispatch of power. Increasing renewable capacity demands transmission infrastructure investment. In 2011 to 2013, Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) constructed several high voltage transmission lines from the wind-rich west Texas to demand centers. Using data on electricity production, demand, price and information on grid congestion, this paper shows that an increase of 100MW in the transmission limit from the West to the North reduces the hourly output of fossil fuel generators in the North by 71.1MWh and decreases the price in the North by 0.17$/MWh when the transmission constraint from the West to the North is binding. Meanwhile, the increase of the transmission limit reduces dispatch of coal and combined cycle gas power plants in the North, but increases production of simple cycle and steam gas power plants in the North.

New federal legislation proposes to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with biofuel production. To comply, existing corn ethanol plants will have to invest in new more carbon efficient production technology such as dry fractionation. However, this will be challenging for the industry given the present financial environment of surplus production, recent profit declines, numerous bankruptcies, and lender imposed covenants. This study examines a dry-mill ethanol firm's ability to invest in dry fractionation technology in the face of declining profitability and stringent lender cash flow repayment constraints. Firm level risk aversion also is considered when determining a firm's willingness to invest in dry fractionation technology. A Monte Carlo simulation model is constructed to estimate firm profits, cash flows, and changes in equity following new investment in fractionation to determine an optimal investment strategy. The addition of a lender-imposed sweep, whereby a percentage of free cash flow is used to pay off extra debt in high profit years, reduces the firm's ability to build equity and increases bankruptcy risk under investment. However, the sweep increases long-run equity because total financing costs are reduced with accelerated debt repayment. This thesis shows that while ethanol firm profits are uncertain, the lender's imposition of a sweep combined with increased profit from dry fractionation technology help the firm increase long-run financial resiliency.

This dissertation is about economic resilience of local governments to natural disasters. Specifically, the dissertation investigates resilience on regional level. Moreover, the dissertation also investigates growth in the green job sector in local governments. The findings indicate that local governments working with each other helps green job creation. In addition, the dissertation finds that green jobs, following disasters, experience three percent growth. This dissertation is important because it investigates the relationship between climate- related disasters and green jobs, which is an area that is under-investigated.

The objective of this study is to develop a model to evaluate the economic feasibility of biofuels production, and in particular to isolate the variables crucial to feasibility. The model constructed to define these variables is unique in its ability to accommodate a variety of plants and to integrate all portions of the production process; it was tested on a case study of a Euphorbia lathyris industry. The model minimizes costs of production to determine the best configuration for the industry. Total cost equals the sum of costs incurred in each segment of the process: growth, harvest, transport, and extraction. The solution is determined through a non-linear transportation- transshipment algorithm which describes production as a series of nodes and links. Specific application of the model was analysis of E. lathyris biofuel production in Arizona. Simulations were run examining the sensitivity of biocrude cost to changes in input parameters. Conclusions are summarized as follows. * No change in any single element can reduce final cost sufficiently to enable competitive production in the near future. * The major factor necessary to bring cost into range is improvement in biological yield. Two components of equal importance are tonnage produced per acre and percentage extractables recovered in processing. * Lowering cropping costs provided the most effective improvements of economic inputs. Perennial crops significantly reduced farm costs. * Transportation costs outweighed economies of scale in extraction; extractor location close to crops is more efficient than centralized. The cost minimization model was successfully used to isolate the critical factors for an E. lathyris industry in an arid region. Results determine that this industry would not be competitive in Arizona without dramatic improvements in yields and moderate changes in a combination of input costs. Viability is critically dependent on improvements in tonnage yield produced per acre and percent extractables recovered.

A mixed integer programming model is developed to determine a logistical design for maximizing rates of return to harvest, storage, transportation, and bioreflning of herbaceous crop residue for production of biofuels and feed for ruminant animals. The primary objective of this research is to identify the optimal location, scale, and number of pretreatment and biorefinery plants in northeastern North Dakota. The pretreatment and biorefinery plants are modeled under the assumption that they utilize recent technological advancement in AFEX and Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation, respectively. Potential feedstocks include wheat straw, barley straw, Durum straw, and com stover. Results indicate that the minimum ethanol rack price that will effectively trigger the production of cellulosic ethanol is $1.75 per gallon.